UC Irvine Institute of Transportation Studies

Increasing emphasis is found on the objective evaluation of public transit performance. In the past, transit management has often attracted little attention; growing public interest in transportation issues and increasing costs in public transit have brought transit management increased visibility. With such visibility, clear evaluation procedures become necessary. 

Performance indicators may be used to evaluate the performance of individual transit routes in much the same manner in which they evaluate the performance of the entire transit system. The selection of appropriate performance indicators requires the clear definition of goals and objectives for each transit system. Once selected, there exist several different ways in which performance indicators may be implemented and their desired standards defined. 

This report suggests techniques for the development of route evaluation procedures and the range of goals which transit might be expected to facilitate. It then reviews the route evaluation procedures used by three transit properties in California and two properties in other states.