1
Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
TCAT Quick Stats ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Service Metrics ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Fixed-Route Ridership ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
System Ridership 2004 – 2013 ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Ridership by Route 2012 – 2013 ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Ridership by Stop - 2013 ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
Ridership by Hour - 2013 ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Ridership by Month - 2013 ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Ridership by Fare Type 2008 – 2013 ................................................................................................................................. 13
Service Productivity ............................................................................................................................................................... 15
Other Ridership ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Vanpool ............................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Bicycles .............................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Half-Fare & Mobility Devices............................................................................................................................................. 16
Gadabout & Paratransit .................................................................................................................................................... 17
Operations Metrics ................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Bus Narratives ................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Vehicle Metrics by Series ...................................................................................................................................................... 21
Fuel Efficiency by Series .................................................................................................................................................... 21
Labor Hours per 1,000 Miles Driven by Series .................................................................................................................. 21
Parts Cost per 1,000 Miles Driven by Series ...................................................................................................................... 22
Road Calls per 1,000 Miles Driven by Series ..................................................................................................................... 22
Vehicles by Rank.................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Other Maintenance Metrics .................................................................................................................................................. 24
Road Calls .......................................................................................................................................................................... 24
Inspections ........................................................................................................................................................................ 24
Preventive Maintenance Services (PMs) ........................................................................................................................... 25
Accidents & Incidents ........................................................................................................................................................ 25
Other Metrics, Projects, & Challenges ...................................................................................................................................... 27
Fuel Costs .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Operating Budget and Budget Challenges ........................................................................................................................ 27
Marketing & Communications Initiatives .......................................................................................................................... 28
Website and Trip Planner Usage ....................................................................................................................................... 30
Human Resources ............................................................................................................................................................. 31
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Prepared by Matt Yarrow
Service Analyst
June, 2014
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At TCAT, every year brings the fulfillment of work done in previous years.
In 2013, TCAT continued to reap the benefits of hard work from previous years. Ridership increased for the seventh straight
year to a record 4,388,699 rides. Continued growth in ridership is likely due to, among other things, an increasing willingness
to use public transportation among college students and younger workers, high gas prices, and TCAT's efforts to
accommodate demonstrated and latent ridership demand. Green Street Station continued to be TCAT’s most popular stop,
followed closely by the Seneca Street Station. The maintenance team was able to keep an aging fleet in excellent condition,
as evidenced by an inspection pass rate of 95% by the end of 2013. TCAT bus operators provided 120,663 hours of transit
service to the community with an accident
rate so low that distance between incidents
is measured in hundreds of thousands of
miles.
In 2011, the American Public Transit
Association recognized TCAT as an industry
role model by awarding the organization its
highest recognition for systems its size. In
2012, TCAT surpassed the 4 million ride
mark and entered into a new APTA size
category: 4 million to 30 million rides per
year. In 2013, TCAT added 260 thousand
new rides to its ridership total, showing that
local residents are increasingly utilizing and
appreciating
TCAT’s
service.
When
compared with other transit systems in
upstate New York and beyond, TCAT has
shown more consistent growth and higher
rates of commuting by bus. TCAT is part of
what makes Ithaca and Tompkins County
unique and vibrant.
“TCAT ridership has trended upward for the past several years to an all-time
high of nearly 4.4 million annual trips in 2013 – phenomenal for a service area of
our size! We need to maintain that momentum with consistent and adequate
funding. Clearly, investment in public transit nets dividends that benefit the local
economy, the environment and the overall quality of life for all of our citizens”
Looking toward future challenges, TCAT staff
focused their 2013 efforts on identifying
funding for a technology project that would
bring real-time information to our
-Joe Turcotte, TCAT General Manager
passengers, while streamlining many of the
administrative and maintenance tasks that we perform daily. With funding in place, this project will move forward in 2014.
Growing awareness that TCAT’s facility, bus fleet and transit system are being utilized at or near their maximum capacity has
lead TCAT staff and the TCAT board to consider options for a new facility and to work to secure capital funding that will allow
TCAT to function efficiently and effectively in the foreseeable future.
TCAT depends on the local community to help fund its mission of providing safe, high quality, reliable and efficient public
transportation. This includes financial support but also the foresight to consider transit as integral to local planning efforts
and development projects. This yearbook considers in detail TCAT’s ridership patterns, efficiency, and internal performance;
we hope that it gives community members and decision-makers the information required to promote and support this critical
community service.
All throughout the year, bus operators provided the customer service that keeps passengers returning to the buses, and the
maintenance team provided the vehicle service that keeps the buses running in top condition. 2014 and beyond will bring
new challenges, but TCAT knows that every successful year builds on the hard work of previous years.
TCAT… We’ll Get You There!
2
TCAT QUICK STATS
In 2013, TCAT…
…boarded 4,388,699 riders on fixed routes;
…operated 1,584,294 revenue miles;
…operated 120,663 revenue hours.
As of December 31, 2013, TCAT…
…operated 33 routes (32 fixed routes & 1 hybrid fixed/ demand responsive route);
…had 53 vehicles (50 transit buses & 3 mini-buses).
According to the US Census Bureau…
…Ithaca had an estimated population of 30,515 in 2013;
…Tompkins County had an estimated population of 103,617 in 2013;
TCAT recorded 42.4 rides per capita in 2013 (based on the population of Tompkins County)
According to the Census Transportation Planning Product (based on 2006-2010 five year estimates)….
Means of transportation to work (workers 16 years and over)
Geographical Area
United States
US - Urban
US - Rural
New York State
New York City Metro
Ithaca
Syracuse
Buffalo
Albany
Binghamton
Rochester
3
Bus or
All Public
Trolley Transportation
2.7%
3.3%
0.4%
6.6%
8.5%
11.5%
7.6%
7.7%
9.5%
6.4%
8.3%
4.9%
6.3%
0.6%
26.5%
30.5%
11.8%
7.6%
9.9%
9.9%
6.5%
8.4%
SERVICE METRICS
FIXED-ROUTE RIDERSHIP
System Ridership 2004 – 2013
At the close of 2013, TCAT completed its seventh straight year of ridership growth, ending with 6.3% more boardings than
2012, for a total of 4,388,699 unlinked passenger trips.
Figure 1: Growth in TCAT Ridership 2004 - 2013
TCAT Annual Ridership: 2004 - 2013
5.0M
4,388,699
Ridership in millions
4.5M
3,944,625
4.0M
3,351,792
3.5M
4,128,242
3,106,215
3,094,360
3,577,579
3.0M
3,317,711
3,065,309
2.5M
2,739,660
2.0M
Annual Percent change in ridership:
1.5M
12.9%
-0.9%
1.3%
6.8%
1.0%
6.7%
10.3%
4.7%
6.3%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
1.0M
2004
In 2005, ridership jumped close to 13% as Hurricane Katrina caused a spike in gas prices (a 22% increase in Upstate NY) and
consumers looked to transit to reduce their commuting costs. Also in 2005, Cornell began a program that provided free bus
passes to first-year students. After a year of stagnant growth in 2006, TCAT’s ridership resumed its steady increase in 2007.
2008 brought another spike in gas prices, as did the “Great Recession” of the late 2000s. The rate of growth decreased in
2009 as gas prices plummeted 27.7% in Upstate New York, but remarkably stayed positive. 2010 was a year of significant
change for TCAT. TCAT implemented a new, rechargeable, durable plastic fare card and offered premium fare media, such as
RFID-enabled stickers. TCAT simplified its fare structure into day-based and ride-based passes that could be purchased in any
desired increment. Implementation of the recommendations from the Transit Development Plan of 2009 restructured and
streamlined the fixed-route system and introduced TCAT’s first demand-response services (Rt. 41). Finally, TCAT unveiled the
flagship Green Street Station, with an indoor waiting area and food concession area. These positive changes, coupled with
another sharp rise in gas prices, generated high ridership growth in 2010 and 2011. In 2012, there was a fare increase for
trips originating in Zone 2 (rural areas) from $1.50 to $2.50. However, outbound trips originating in Zone 1 continued to be
priced at $1.50. Despite this fare increase and service cuts on Routes 14, 52, 54, 68, and 83, TCAT ridership continued to
increase in 2012. The first half of 2013 brought a high rate of growth in ridership (8.7%), this rate slowed in the second half of
the year (3.9%). Overall, this represented a gain of 260,500 rides in 2013.
Several national and regional trends deserve mention as factors that likely have contributed to continued ridership increases.
First, the gas prices are frequently cited as a factor influencing transit ridership. In Upstate NY, 2013 gas prices were down
slightly as compared to 2012, but remained quite high compared to 2009 and 2010. Michael Melaniphy, the president of
APTA (American Public Transportation Association), stated in a New York Times article that as the economy picked-up and
unemployment fell in 2013, more people are using transit to commute to work. Another key factor is that young people are
at the leading edge of a national trend of decreasing vehicle miles; from 2001 to 2009 the average annual vehicle miles
4
traveled by 18-34 year-olds dropped 23%. Given that Ithaca is a college town with large numbers of young people, it is likely
that this trend toward less car miles is playing out locally, contributing to increased transit ridership.
Table 1: 2013 Growth in Bus Ridership for Select Cities and 2013 US Averages by City Size
Location of Transit System
Ithaca, NY
Albany, NY
MTA - New York City
Buffalo, NY
Champaign-Urbana, IL
State College, PA
Chapel Hill, NC
Madison, WI
Ann Arbor, MI
US cities by population
Below 100,000 inhabitants
100,000 to 499,999 inhabitants
500,000 1,999,999 inhabitants
2 million+ inhabitants
US Total Ridership (Bus)
US Total Ridership (All Modes)
2013 Unlinked Passenger Trips
4,388,699
15,976,900
811,905,900
21,725,800
12,532,300
7,281,100
6,957,400
14,740,700
6,504,900
2013 Ridership Growth Rate
6.31%
5.17%
1.81%
-6.77%
11.31%
7.65%
4.48%
1.02%
0.51%
190,029,000
462,210,000
1,016,253,000
3,689,377,000
5,357,870,000
10,652,391,000
3.83%
0.60%
-1.07%
-0.11%
-0.10%
1.09%
Data from APTA: http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2013-q4-ridership-APTA.pdf
TCAT’s bus ridership tops the growth rates reported by APTA for other NY cities (see Table 1). It also outpaces the growth rate
for small cities under 100,000 inhabitants. It is notable that transit systems that serve large universities, such as in State
College PA and Champaign-Urbana IL, showed some of the highest ridership growth in the country in 2013. This underlines
the importance of young riders in the growth of transit ridership.
Table 2: Ridership by Route Type, 2004 – 2013
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Urban Total
Campus
Campus Day
Campus Night
Urban
2,400,221
902,264
805,922
96,342
1,497,957
2,735,944
1,026,261
912,409
113,852
1,709,683
2,674,183
876,575
777,038
99,537
1,797,609
2,713,008
850,437
752,856
97,581
1,862,571
2,862,428
848,242
743,487
104,755
2,010,748
2,869,689
833,048
718,450
114,598
2,036,641
3,089,507
1,040,386
903,188
137,198
2,049,121
3,407,935
1,154,271
979,944
174,327
2,253,664
3,591,621
1,200,811
995,650
205,161
2,390,810
3,839,443
1,271,435
1,027,417
244,018
2,568,008
Rural Total
Rural Large
Rural Min.
Total
339,439
244,298
95,141
2,739,660
358,416
260,432
97,984
3,094,360
391,126
276,983
114,143
3,065,309
393,207
270,646
122,561
3,106,215
455,283
300,824
154,459
3,317,711
482,103
311,317
170,786
3,351,792
488,072
298,674
189,398
3,577,579
536,690
339,617
197,073
3,944,625
536,621
334,036
202,585
4,128,242
549,256
336,086
213,170
4,388,699
Ridership increased in all three route categories in 2013 – urban, rural and campus-specific routes. Between 2004 and 2013,
urban, non-campus routes provided the largest absolute contribution to ridership increases (1,070,051 additional rides in
2013 compared to 2004) as well as the greatest
increase as a percentage of 2004 ridership (71.4%
Table 3: Absolute & Relative Ridership Changes 2004 - 2013
greater in 2013 compared to 2004). See below for
2004
2013
# Change % Change
additional information on urban routes.
Though ridership from rural routes represents a
smaller fraction of overall TCAT ridership, that
fraction has grown steadily over the past decade.
Rural routes registered an additional 209,817 rides,
an increase of 61.8%, compared to 2004 ridership.
See below for additional information on rural
routes.
5
Urban Total
Campus
Campus Day
Campus Night
Urban
2,400,221
902,264
805,922
96,342
1,497,957
3,839,443
1,271,435
1,027,417
244,018
2,568,008
1,1439,222
369,171
221,495
147,676
1,070,051
60.0%
40.9%
27.5%
153.3%
71.4%
Rural Total
Rural Large
Rural Min.
Total
339,439
244,298
95,141
2,739,660
549,256
336,086
213,170
4,388,699
209,817
91,788
118,029
1,649,039
61.8%
37.6%
124.1%
60.2%
Campus route ridership has grown as well, though not as strongly as other routes. From 2004 to 2013, rides on campus
routes increased 40.9%, representing an additional 369,171 rides. Campus night and weekend-only routes, formerly known as
the “Blue Light Routes”, grew at a faster rate than other route categories – close to 19% in 2013 and 153.3% in the period
between 2004 and 2013. See below for additional information on campus routes.
Urban Routes
Urban routes include routes 10,
11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 30, 31, 32, 51,
70 and 72.
Figure 2: TCAT Ridership on Urban Routes 2004 - 2013
TCAT Ridership: Urban, Non-Campus Routes
Urban
3.0M
% Change from Previous Year
30%
Boardings/ Year
% Change from Previous Year
Ridership on urban routes has
25%
steadily increased, without a
2.5M
single decrease in the past
20%
decade. Urban routes showed
2.0M
14.1%
especially strong increases in 2005
15%
and 2011; growth on urban routes
10%
1.5M
10%
7.4%
was above the ten-year average in
6.1%
2013. It is important to note that
8.0%
5%
1.3%
1.0M
5.1%
0.6%
the ridership on many of these
3.6%
3.6%
0%
routes is heavily influenced by the
0.5M
patterns of campus life at Cornell
-5%
and Ithaca College. Route 10 in
particular
provides
frequent
0.0M
-10%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
service between downtown and
Cornell and utilized routinely by
Cornell students and staff. Nevertheless, strong growth in urban routes indicates that people in Ithaca’s urban core find the
TCAT’s service useful. It also underlines the important of high population density areas in sustaining and growing TCAT’s
ridership.
Boardings/ Year
% Change from Previous Year
Rural Routes
Figure 3: TCAT Ridership on Rural Routes 2004 - 2013
TCAT has traditionally divided
TCAT Ridership: Rural Routes
rural routes into “minimum
Rural Min.
Rural Large
% Change from Previous Year
service” and “large market”
routes.
Rural
“minimum
600K
30%
service” routes have a few peak
25%
hour trips and perhaps one mid500K
20%
day trip. These routes include
15.8%
20, 22, 36, 37, 40, 53, 65, 74, 75
400K
15%
& 77. “Large market” routes
10.0%
9.1%
10%
generally serve outlying villages
5.9%
300K
and may have additional service
5%
2.4%
1.2%
0.0%
throughout the day. These
5.6%
200K
0%
routes
include
21
0.5%
(Trumansburg), 41 (Freeville/
-5%
-8.6%
100K
Etna),
43
(Dryden),
52
-10%
(Caroline), and 67 (Newfield).
0K
-15%
These divisions are used for
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
analysis and description only
and are not meant to imply
hierarchy or priority. After a zone 2 fare increase in 2012 halted ridership growth for rural routes, it is a positive sign that
2013 brought modest growth to this route category.
6
Figure 4: TCAT Ridership on Campus Routes 2004 - 2013
Campus Routes
Ridership on Cornell campus
routes received a large boost in
2005 with the distribution of
OmniRide passes to all students.
It received another very large
boost in 2010 with the expansion
of Rt. 82 to East Hill Plaza.
TCAT Ridership: Campus Routes
Campus Night
Campus Day
% Change from Previous Year
40%
1.4M
1.0M
Boardings/ Year
During the intervening years,
ridership on campus routes
actually decreased. At the same
time, use of non-campus routes
(such as the Rts. 10 & 30) by
Cornell affiliates increased. Thus,
it’s likely that the decrease in
campus route ridership was not a
decrease in actual ridership, but
rather a shift to other routes.
30%
24.9%
20%
13.7%
10.9%
0.8M
4.0%
-3.0%
0.6M
5.9%
10%
-0.3%
0%
-7.1%
-1.8%
-10%
0.4M
-14.6%
0.2M
% Change from Previous Year
1.2M
-20%
-30%
0.0M
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Night
service
increased
significantly on routes 11 and 90 in the middle of 2011. Although, campus night service is a small percentage of total campus
ridership, it did grow substantially in 2013 – at a rate of 18.9%.
Ridership by Route 2012 – 2013
From 2012 to 2013, changes in ridership by route ranged from a high of 28% (Rt. 90) to a low of -28% (Rt. 17). The average
increase in ridership across all routes was 6.3%. Routes 90 and 93 – which link the Commons and SE Ithaca to Cornell and
Collegetown – exhibited important increases in 2013. Another fast-growing route is the 15 – serving Southside and the
southwest shopping district and linking to Cornell through interlined routes 32 and 72. Interestingly, the number of rides per
trip averages 29 rides on weekends and 23 rides on weekday trips indicating a high demand for access to weekend shopping.
Figure 5: Percent Change in Ridership by Route 2012 - 2013
% Change in Ridership by Route 2012-2013
35%
Percent Change by Route
30%
90
Average Percent Change = 6.3%
93
25%
20%
15
72
22
15%
10%
70
75
92
32
14 10
30 40 53 83
51 20 82 37 81
5%
11 67 52
36 43
0%
65 21 41
74
-5%
-10%
7
Route numbers
77
31 13
Route 30 gained the most rides (55,072) between Table 4 Routes Sorted by Route Number
2012 and 2013, contributing to the strong gains on
urban routes. Route 10 came in second place with
38,589 rides more in 2013 over 2012. Routes 32
and 15 and weekend only routes 72 and 70 also
showed important ridership increases in 2013. It is
not surprising that dispatch was regularly adding
backup busses to address overcrowding on routes
30, 32, and 70 by the spring of 2013. In the fall of
2013, these backup buses were added to the
regular schedule, however peak hour crowding is
the norm for many routes that travel the route
30/32 corridor from downtown through central
campus.
Rt.
-
Destination
Recodes
2012
2013
∆#
∆%
454
94
-360
N/A
10
CU-Commons
440,588
479,177
38,589
8.76%
11
IC-Commons
205,351
211,803
6,452
3.14%
13
Northside-Mall
56,821
52,522
-4,299
-7.57%
14
West Hill
112,295
122,536
10,241
9.12%
15
SW Shopping
98,672
119,338
20,666
20.94%
17
TCAT-Fall Creek
49,501
35,285
-14,216
-28.72%
20
Enfield
46,152
48,314
2,162
4.68%
21
Trumansburg
106,919
105,454
-1,465
-1.37%
22
Taughannock
7,685
8,896
1211
15.76%
30
Commons-Mall
707,786
762,858
55,072
7.78%
There were a few routes that had negative growth
31 NE Ithaca
121,426
114,359
-7,067
-5.82%
in 2013. Heading the list is route 17, which
32 Airport
256,010
282,637
26,627
10.40%
connects the TCAT garage to the Commons and
36
South
Lansing
19,617
19,736
119
0.61%
the beginning of other routes. In the past there
have been problems with erroneous coding of
37 North Lansing
27,687
28,852
1,165
4.21%
rides on the route 17; the ridership total in 2013 is
40 Groton
34,581
37,004
2423
7.01%
a more accurate (lower) count. Because of its
41 DR Freeville
19,445
19,060
-385
-1.98%
operational importance and the convenience it
43 Dryden-TC3
141,337
141,701
364
0.26%
offers residents of the Fall Creek neighborhood,
51 Eastern Hts
134,821
143,075
8,254
6.12%
route 17 is not considered a candidate for route
52 Caroline
43,990
45,327
1,337
3.04%
restructuring. Route 13 lost about 4,300 rides in
2013 – a somewhat disappointing performance for
53 Ellis Hollow
13,747
14,690
943
6.86%
a key urban route. TCAT’s Service Planning
65 Danby
21,251
20,991
-260
-1.22%
department has analyzed this route in depth and
67 Newfield
41,547
42,849
1,302
3.13%
made an effort to talk to riders to see if changes in
70 Wkend Mall
152,984
175,402
22,418
14.65%
the route could improve its utility for residents of
72 Wkend Airport
53,012
62,534
9,522
17.96%
the Northside and Fall Creek neighborhoods.
74 Wkend Groton
4,468
4,339
-129
-2.89%
Barring a major system restructuring, no clear list
of route changes emerged from this analysis,
75 Wkend Dryden
7,628
8,587
959
12.57%
however minor changes will be made to improve
77 Wkend Warren
451
433
-18
-3.99%
transferability with other routes. Route 31 was on
81 C.U. Weekday
548,821
569,609
20,788
3.79%
a detour alignment for all of 2013 due to
82 C.U. Weekday
394,393
411,312
16,919
4.29%
construction in the Warren Rd corridor. This is the
83 C.U. Weekday
51,894
55,395
3,501
6.75%
most parsimonious explanation for a dip in
90 C.U. Night
44,631
57,270
12,639
28.32%
ridership on this route. Route 77 offers a very
92 C.U. Night
116,019
129,310
13,291
11.46%
minimal service on Saturdays only and is thus
93 C.U. Night
46,258
57,950
11,692
25.28%
affected by small changes in the number of rides –
in fact, this route only lost 18 rides in 2013. The
TOTAL
4,128,242
4,388,699 260,457
6.31%
other routes with negative growth were rural
routes indicating a possible lingering effect of the Zone 2 fare increase in 2012. However, the loss in ridership on these routes
was negligible and some fluctuation is expected year to year.
Ridership by Stop - 2013
For 2013, all boarding locations were analyzed and grouped by the closest bus stop. In previous years this analysis was done
at the time point level. A time point is a stop that appears in TCAT’s published schedules and at which drivers must wait until
the published time to proceed if they are running early. Data at the time point level includes boardings at any stop after that
8
time point and before the next time point that the bus passes. The data for 2013 are more precise, as they have been
manually assigned to all existing stops, even infrequently used stops not appearing in TCAT’s schedules.
The most popular stop in this analysis is Green @ Commons, the location of TCAT’s flagship Green Street Station. On average
more than 1,000 rides are initiated at Greet St every day. Seneca @ Commons, the stop paired with Green Street Station on
the north side of the Commons, has the second largest number of boardings. Together, the downtown stops comprise 15.1%
of all TCAT boardings. Uris Hall, Statler Hall, and Sage Hall are TCAT’s three primary stops on Cornell’s Central Campus. These
th
th
three stops account for 11.3% of TCAT boardings. College @ Dryden and Schwartz Performing Arts Center are the 5 and 7
most popular stops; together, these Collegetown stops make up 6.4% of TCAT boardings. Rockefeller Hall and Goldwin Smith
th
Hall are paired stops on East Ave and together account for 6.0% of ridership in 2013. Finally, Shops at Ithaca Mall came in 11
place with 127,127 rides in 2013.
Figure 6: 2013 Ridership by Stop – Stops with most boarding
Rural stops (defined as those stops
Annual Ridership at Stops with over 100,000 boardings - 2013
in Fare Zone 2) have lower ridership
Schwartz PAC
as compared to the urban and
145,378
Sage Hall 144,636
campus stops; nevertheless, these
Risley Hall 148,797
College @ Dryden
rural routes provide a critical service
134,633
to Tompkins County residents. The
Statler Hall 149,525
Dryden Village and TompkinsRockefeller Hall
Cortland Community College (TC3)
132,946
stops on Rts. 43 and 75 are the most
Goldwin Smith Hall
Seneca @
popular rural stops. The main stop in
130,439
Commons 292,218
Groton at the Express Mart on Main
St is third most utilized rural stop.
Uris Hall Across
Trumansburg has four stops in the
Street 130,141
rural ridership chart above; all the
Shops at Ithaca
Trumansburg stops generated more
Green @ Commons
Mall 127,127
than 28,000 rides in 2013. The
371,663
remaining rural stops with significant
A Lot 106,747
Kennedy Hall
103,901
ridership are distributed fairly evenly
among the rural routes. The maps in Figure 8 provide a spatial representation of the most popular stops in 2013.
Figure 7: 2013 Ridership by Stop – Rural Stops
Annual Ridership at Rural Stops - 2013
TC3
Dryden
Village
Campus 56%
Suburban 13%
Rural 4%
Other Rural
Groton Main St
Trumansburg
Park-n-ride
Urban 27%
Trumansburg
W Main St
Trumansburg Central School
Enfield Park-n-Ride
Enfield Center
Aubles Trailer Park
Newfield -TownHall
9
Caroline Town Hall
Figure 8: Maps showing the magnitude of annual ridership at the stop level both county-wide and in the Ithaca area
10
Ridership by Hour - 2013
With the 6.3% growth in ridership, the average boardings per hour grew across the board in 2013, however the boarding
patterns by hour and day stayed remarkably consistent from 2012. It is worth noting that ridership growth did tend to be
higher in the evenings after 7 pm and on the weekends.
General hourly ridership patterns are as follows: Weekday ridership spikes dramatically in the morning hours, reaching its
high point between 8 and 9 a.m. with an average of 1,683 boardings in that hour. Ridership drops, and plateaus by 10 a.m. at
approximately 900 boardings per hour until 4 p.m. when boardings spike again at an average of 1,446. Ridership trails off
steeply until 7 p.m., at which point
Figure 9: 2013 Average Ridership by Hour and Day of Week
the rate of decrease levels off.
Average Ridership per Hour - 2013
2,000
Mon.
Tues.
Wed.
Thurs.
Fri.
Sat.
Sun.
1,800
1,600
Boardings per Hour
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
11 PM - 12 AM
10 PM - 11 PM
8 PM - 9 PM
9 PM - 10 PM
7 PM - 8 PM
6 PM - 7 PM
5 PM - 6 PM
4 PM - 5 PM
3 PM - 4 PM
2 PM - 3 PM
1 PM - 2 PM
12 PM - 1 PM
11 AM - 12 PM
10 AM - 11 AM
8 AM - 9 AM
9 AM - 10 AM
7 AM - 8 AM
6 AM - 7 AM
5 AM - 6 AM
4 AM - 5 AM
3 AM - 4 AM
2 AM - 3 AM
1 AM - 2 AM
0
12 AM - 1 AM
The early morning hours of
Saturday see a small bump
between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. as
late-night Friday bar-hoppers go
home for the night. Saturday
ridership picks up later in the
morning than weekday ridership
and shows a single “hill” rather
than
two
distinct
peaks.
Boardings reach a maximum
between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., but
do not decrease sharply. Instead,
they trail off slowly, until the
average number of Saturday
boardings actually exceeds the
average weekday boardings at 9
p.m.
The early morning hours of
Sunday see the same bump in
ridership as the early morning hours of Saturday. Ridership for the rest of Sunday follows a similar pattern with a smaller
magnitude as Saturday until 6 p.m. At this point, most routes stop operating and ridership trails off.
Figure 10: Ridership by Day of Week - 2013
Total & Average Boardings by Day of Week
14,000
700,000
12,000
600,000
10,000
500,000
8,000
400,000
6,000
300,000
4,000
200,000
2,000
100,000
0
11
800,000
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Total
684,841
724,153
721,115
722,644
743,522
328,374
203,551
Avg.
13,170
14,199
14,140
14,169
14,299
6,315
3,914
0
Total Boardings by Day of Week
Avg. Boardings by Day of Week
16,000
As shown in the ridership by
day graph, weekdays see
higher
ridership
than
weekends. Fridays, which
have benefited from night
service increases both in the
early hours and after 9 p.m.,
have the highest average
ridership, with 14,299 rides.
Mondays have the lowest
average weekday ridership,
with 13,170 rides. Low
ridership on Saturdays and
Sundays reflects the lack of
commuter traffic and TCAT’s
reduced service levels.
Ridership by Month - 2013
TCAT’s annual ridership patterns reflect the collegiate academic year, with ridership peaks in the spring and autumn while
classes are in session. After recording more than 400,000 riders in one month for the first time ever in April 2011, TCAT had
six months of 400k+ ridership in 2013. These are the months that classes are in session for at least 3 weeks out of the month.
As expected, the majority of ridership occurs on weekdays with weekends making up a small fraction of total boardings by
month.
Figure 11: Weekday, Weekend and Total Boardings by Month - 2013
Total Boardings and Weekday/Weekend Boardings by Month - 2013
500,000
450,000
400,000
Total Boardings
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Total Rides
326,686
454,678
410,813
467,720
341,496
211,455
247,982
299,024
445,813
469,429
414,263
299,340
Total Wkday
290,913
397,804
355,393
413,075
286,439
181,759
223,619
260,785
378,253
410,892
354,336
260,481
Total Wkend
35,773
56,874
55,420
54,645
55,057
29,696
24,363
38,239
67,560
58,537
59,927
38,859
The annual average boardings per weekday is 14,897, with a peak monthly average of 19,890 occurring in February and a low
of 9,088 weekday average rides in June. Over the course of 2013, weekend average ridership is only 37% of weekday average
ridership. Weekend ridership is above 40% of weekday ridership in September and October as new students venture out on
weekends to explore the area and go shipping at the Shops at Ithaca Mall or the SW Ithaca Commercial district.
Figure 12: Average Weekday and Weekend Boardings by Month - 2013
Average Weekday and Weekend Boardings by Month - 2013
25,000
Average Boardings
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Avg. Wkday
13,223
19,890
16,923
18,776
13,020
9,088
10,165
11,854
18,012
17,865
17,717
12,404
Avg. Wkend
4,472
7,109
5,542
6,831
6,882
2,970
3,045
4,249
7,507
7,317
6,659
4,318
12
Ridership by Fare Type 2008 – 2013
As a percentage of total boardings, Cornell fare types remain the most common of all fares, comprising 71.4% of 2013
ridership. This is a slight increase from 2012, when Cornell rides accounted for 70.6% of TCAT ridership.
Cash rides are the second most common fare
type, at 11.7% but they have been decreasing
from their high of 14.5% in 2008.
Figure 13: Ridership by Fare Type - 2013
Ridership by Fare Type - 2013
TCAT passes are the third most common fare
type. Their use has increased from 8.3% of total
rides in 2008 to 10.3% of total rides in 2013,
which represents a 65.5% increase in the
number of rides taken with TCAT passes of
during this period. The simplification of the fare
structure in 2010, new discounts on bulk ridebased passes, and the convenience of the
reusable electronic fare card (TCard) most likely
have contributed to the increase in the share of
rides taken with a pass and decreased the use of
cash at the farebox.
Cash
TCAT Passes
Cornell
Ithaca College
TC3 Student
Government
Other
71.4%
10.3%
11.7%
2.8%
2.9%
0.5%
0.3%
Rides taken with an Ithaca College or TC3 ID card have represented the largest percentage increases from 2008 to 2013.
Ithaca College rides increased 102.1%, from 1.9% of total system ridership to 2.9% of total system ridership, or 128,614 rides.
TC3-specific passes were introduced in 2010; in just one year their use jumped 71% to a total of 17,317 rides. In 2013, TC3
passes logged 23,871 rides, which represents a slight decrease from 2012 – perhaps indicating that route 43 is at capacity.
TC3 kicks off a new farm-to-table restaurant and educational program in downtown Ithaca in Fall 2014, which may lead to
increases in TC3 ridership.
Table 5 gives a complete
accounting of how ridership
by fare type has changed
from 2008-2013.
13
Figure 14: Ridership by Fare Type 2008 - 2013
Ridership by Fare Type 2008 - 2013
5,000,000
4,500,000
4,000,000
Boardings/ Year
In 2012, a new rural fare
zone
(Zone
2)
was
introduced into the fare
structure. In order to keep
the categories consistent
through time, Zone 2 was
not broken out as a separate
category in the table on the
following page. However, the
number of rides that
initiated in Zone 2 decreased
slightly from 171,693 in 2012
to 170,036 in 2013. This
represents just 3.9% of the
total ridership in 2012.
Overall, the fare increase in
Zone 2 has had a fairly minor
impact on ridership.
Other
3,500,000
3,000,000
IC
2,500,000
TCAT
2,000,000
Cash
1,500,000
Cornell
1,000,000
500,000
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
14
2008
Cash
481,290
N/A
Adult
N/A
Youth
N/A
Half
276,095
TCAT Passes
56,633
Ride Passes
182,097
Day Passes
0
Other Passes
37,365
Youth
2,382,602
Cornell
All-County Pass
Tompkins County Only 1,736,136
479,088
Zone 1 Pass
115,634
Eve + Weekend Pass
205
90s Routes Only
51,539
Not Specified
63,650
Ithaca College
N/A
Faculty/ Staff
N/A
Student Semester
0
Student 15-Ride Pass
0
Student Month Pass
0
TC3 Student
0
Unlimited Pass
0
Limited Pass
11,272
Government
3,676
City of Ithaca
7,596
Tompkins County
102,807
Other
30,334
Other
72,473
Transfers
3,317,716
Total
Fare Type
Table 5: Ridership by Fare Type
2013
11.7%
9.4%
1.1%
1.2%
10.3%
3.1%
5.7%
0.2%
1.4%
71.4%
0.0%
55.5%
10.9%
4.6%
0.0%
0.5%
2.9%
1.1%
1.0%
0.6%
0.2%
0.5%
0.4%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2.8%
0.0%
2.7%
100.0%
2012
12.4%
9.9%
1.2%
1.3%
10.4%
3.3%
5.7%
0.1%
1.3%
70.6%
0.0%
54.5%
11.5%
4.1%
0.0%
0.5%
3.0%
1.1%
1.2%
0.5%
0.1%
0.6%
0.5%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2.7%
0.1%
2.6%
100.0%
2011
13.2%
10.6%
1.2%
1.4%
10.7%
3.5%
5.9%
0.1%
1.1%
69.1%
0.2%
52.3%
12.6%
3.8%
0.0%
0.2%
2.9%
1.2%
1.2%
0.4%
0.1%
0.4%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
3.4%
0.6%
2.8%
100.0%
2010
12.7%
10.4%
0.9%
1.4%
11.5%
3.2%
6.6%
2.9%
0.6%
70.7%
0.5%
53.3%
12.8%
3.9%
0.0%
0.2%
2.0%
1.1%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
0.1%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
2.4%
0.0%
2.4%
100.0%
2009
13.7%
11.3%
0.8%
1.6%
9.4%
2.6%
5.4%
1.4%
1.3%
72.5%
0.5%
53.3%
13.8%
4.2%
0.0%
0.7%
1.8%
1.0%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.2%
0.2%
2.3%
0.1%
2.2%
100.0%
2008
14.5%
N/A
N/A
N/A
8.3%
1.7%
5.5%
0.0%
1.1%
71.8%
0.0%
52.3%
14.4%
3.5%
0.0%
1.6%
1.9%
N/A
N/A
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.1%
0.2%
3.1%
0.9%
2.2%
100.0%
2013
514,408
414,691
47,199
52,518
454,077
134,502
249,326
8,110
62,139
3,134,298
0
2,435,977
477,574
200,236
88
20,423
128,614
47,500
44,667
27,861
8,586
23,871
18,630
5,241
11,893
3,235
8,658
121,538
1370
120,168
4,388,699
2012
510,997
408,571
49,050
53,376
430,863
135,700
235,349
4,831
54,983
2,913,855
142
2,250,147
474,200
169,031
109
20,226
123,231
45,814
49,471
21,770
6,176
25,356
19,252
6,104
11,722
2,747
8,975
112,218
2,898
109,320
4,128,242
2011
520,536
416,422
47,822
56,292
421,411
139,217
233,180
5,439
43,575
2,725,731
7,055
2,062,831
498,508
150,135
139
7,063
114,502
45,698
47,817
15,716
5,271
17,317
13,560
3,757
11,588
2,931
8,657
133,540
23,927
109,613
3,944,625
2010
456,010
373,571
32,069
50,370
412,548
113,008
237,837
103,662
19,744
2,528,728
17,127
1,907,606
458,384
139,239
280
6,092
71,570
38,404
33,166
0
0
10,129
7,777
2,352
11,807
4,306
7,502
86,786
0
86,786
3,577,579
460,515
378,627
28,165
53,724
313,396
85,648
180,060
47,689
45,149
2,430,129
17,348
1,786,268
461,981
141,735
180
22,617
61,275
32,831
28,444
0
0
0
0
0
10,876
5,318
5,557
75,626
1,870
73,756
3,351,817
Percentage of Total Annual Rides by Fare Type
2009
Number of rides by Fare Type
0.7%
5.4%
7.6%
4.4%
-5.9%
0.0%
8.3%
6.3%
6.9%
64.5%
31.5%
102.1%
135.7%
5.5%
18.2%
32.3%
2008-2013 2012-2013
Percent Change
SERVICE PRODUCTIVITY
Service productivity measures the broad
trend of how much ridership is gained per
unit of service delivered. The most
common units of measure are trips per
revenue mile and trips per revenue hour.
In 2012, system-wide averages were 2.64
riders per revenue mile and 34.5 riders
per revenue hour. In 2013, these
measures were 2.77 riders per revenue
mile and 36.4 riders per revenue hour,
representing modest increases of 4.9% and
5.4% respectively. These are likely the
highest service productivity measures
TCAT has ever experienced; the modest
increases in these metrics reflect the
strains on TCATs system, especially at peak
hours. When the buses are full, there is
little room for increased efficiency.
Unsurprisingly, routes that travel through
areas of high density during peak transit
use hours, namely urban and campus
routes, are the most productive based on
these measures.
Rural routes seem highly unproductive
based on these measures. Rural routes
must travel far distances over longer trips
in order to pick up riders. A better measure
of rural route productivity would be the
utilization of the capacity of the bus—i.e.
how “full” the bus is. Because TCAT has the
technology to count passengers only as
they board, and not as they disembark,
there is no easy and standardized way to
measure the “fullness” of buses without
actually riding the buses and handcounting passengers. TCAT staff has
documented very full buses on rural routes
43, 40 and 21 during certain trips.
The average revenue speed is not a
productivity measure per se, given that it
does not include ridership. However, 2013
revenue speed numbers show that rural
routes operate at a speedier 22.7 miles per
hour, while campus and urban routes
average 10.2 MPH.
Table 6: Fixed-Route Service Productivity
Riders
Urban Total
Campus
Campus Day
Campus Night
Urban
3,839,443
1,271,435
1,027,417
244,018
2,568,008
948,628
268,165
200,978
67,187
680,463
549,256
336,086
213,170
635,665
359,185
276,480
4,388,699
1,584,294
Rural Total
Rural Large
Rural Min.
Total/ Avg.
Rev. Miles
92,702
30,198
24,540
5,658
62,504
Riders/
Hr.
41.4
42.1
41.9
43.1
41.1
Rev.
Speed
10.2
8.9
8.2
11.9
10.9
0.9
0.9
0.8
27,962
15,978
11,983
19.6
21.0
17.8
22.7
22.5
23.1
2.77
120,663
36.4
13.1
Rev. Hrs
Figure 15: Riders per Revenue Mile by Route Category - 2013
Riders per Revenue Mile by Route Category - 2013
Route Category
Average = 2.77
6.0
5.1
5.0
3.8
3.6
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.9
0.8
Rural Large
Rural Min.
0.0
Campus Day
Campus Night
Urban
Figure 16: Riders per Revenue Hour by Route Category - 2013
Riders per Revenue Hour by Route Category - 2013
Route Category
50
45
41.9
43.1
Average = 36.4
41.1
40
35
30
25
21.0
17.8
20
15
10
5
0
Campus Day
15
Riders/
Mi.
4.0
4.7
5.1
3.6
3.8
Route Category
Campus Night
Urban
Rural Large
Rural Min.
OTHER RIDERSHIP
The discontinuation of service to Schuyler
County in January 2011 triggered the formation
of the first vanpool group in the region. By the
end of 2011, a second group had formed. Total
vanpool ridership in 2013 was down from 2011
and 2012 due to a couple passengers dropping
out of the program.
Bicycles
In 1996, TCAT became the first agency in New
York State to install bicycle racks throughout its
fleet. Today, all 53 TCAT vehicles are equipped
with bicycle racks mounted on the bus.
Figure 17: Vanpool Ridership 2013
TCAT Vanpool Program Ridership 2011 - 2013
600
Total Rides per Month
Vanpool
500
400
300
200
100
2011
In 2013, the number of bikes apparently
decreased to 33,534 from 38,116 in 2012.
However, this decrease may reflect incomplete
collection of bike data on the part of TCAT
operators. Many drivers and riders have
indicated that the number of bikes boarded
has not shown a decrease. In fact, there are
numerous documented instances when the
bike racks are full and the bus cannot accept an
additional bike.
40,000
Half-Fare & Mobility Devices
15,000
TCAT’s vehicle fleet is universally accessible to
people who use mobility devices such as
wheelchairs. In 2013, TCAT transported
approximately 1,674 passengers with their
mobility devices. This is a decrease of 3.1%
from the 1,727 wheelchairs transported in
2010 and an increase of 47% over 2012. The
increase in paratransit rides operated by
Gadabout may have contributed to this
decrease in passengers transported with their
mobility devices on TCAT from 2010-2012. In
2013, the number of paratransit rides actually
decreased for the first time since 2009,
indicating that some of these passengers may
have returned to TCAT.
10,000
TCAT offers a 50% discount off cash rides and
ride-based passes for seniors ages 60 and
older, Medicare recipients, and people with
disabilities. In 2012, TCAT recorded a total of
103,253 half-fare rides taken, or 2.5% of total
ridership, in 2013, 103,271 half-fare rides were
taken, or 2.4% of total ridership.
2012
2013
0
Figure 18: Bicycles on TCAT Buses 2010-2013
Bikes on TCAT Buses 2010 - 2013
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
5,000
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
Figure 19: Number of TCAT Riders with Mobility Devices 2010 – 2013
2,000
Riders boarding with Mobility Devices 2010 - 2013
1,600
1,200
800
400
0
2010
2011
2012
2013
16
Gadabout & Paratransit
Table 7: Gadabout Service Statistics 2008 - 2013
As required by the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990, TCAT contracts with
Gadabout to provide complementary
paratransit to people who are unable to
take fixed-route transit due to their
disability. In addition to TCAT’s paratransit
service,
Gadabout
also
provides
transportation for senior citizens in
Tompkins County.
Total Gadabout trips decreased 3.3% from
2012 to 2013, the first time since 2009 that
Gadabout has experienced negative annual
ridership growth. This relatively minor drop
comes after Gadabout ridership increased
5.0% from 2008 to 2013, driven by increases
in ADA trips. ADA trips increased 56.6% from
2008 to 2013, while non-ADA trips
decreased.
2008
Ridership
20,221
ADA Trips
%∆Prev. Year
8.2%
43,588
Non-ADA Trips
%∆Prev. Year
11.2%
Total Trips
63,809
%∆Prev. Year
10.3%
Service & Productivity
Rev. Hrs
21,409
Rev. Miles
378,402
Rev. Speed
17.7
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
20,764
2.7%
41,246
-5.4%
62,010
-2.8%
22,515
8.4%
40,113
-2.7%
62,628
1.0%
26,578
18.0%
38,658
-3.6%
65,236
4.2%
32,462
22.1%
36,845
-4.7%
69,307
6.2%
31,657
-2.5%
35,351
-4.1%
67,008
-3.3%
21,864
389,508
17.8
22,645
397,755
17.6
23,893
417,856
17.5
27,416
468,004
17.1
28,340
474,123
16.7
Figure 20: Gadabout Ridership 2008 - 2013
Gadabout Ridership: ADA & Non-ADA Rides 2008 - 2013
80,000
15%
70,000
10.3%
60,000
In fact, non-ADA trips have decreased in five
out of the past six years primarily due to
economic factors. People who qualify for
ADA service but who previously didn’t bother
with the certification process have now
become certified to take advantage of the
lower TCAT half fare. As seniors and people
with disabilities have less disposable income
for trips and shopping, they cut back on their
use of transportation services. Finally, other
consumers of Gadabout’s services, such as
nursing homes, have cut back on their
contracts as their budgets have shrunk.
10%
6.2%
Rides
50,000
40,000
1.0%
4.2%
5%
30,000
20,000
0%
-2.8%
-3.3%
10,000
0
-5%
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Non-ADA
43,588
41,246
40,113
38,658
36,845
35,351
ADA
20,221
20,764
22,515
26,578
32,462
31,657
%∆
10.3%
-2.8%
1.0%
4.2%
6.2%
-3.3%
Figure 21: Gadabout Service Efficiency Measures
Gadabout Trips v. Revenue Miles
Total Trips
Gadabout Trips v. Revenue Hours
Rev. Miles
Total Trips
80,000
600,000
70,000
500,000
60,000
400,000
50,000
40,000
300,000
30,000
200,000
20,000
100,000
10,000
0
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Rev. Hrs
80,000
40,000
70,000
35,000
60,000
30,000
50,000
25,000
40,000
20,000
30,000
15,000
20,000
10,000
10,000
5,000
0
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Gadabout’s revenue mileage has steadily increased since 2008 (and before); anecdotally, Gadabout reports an increase in
trips with a rural origin or destination. Gadabout’s revenue hours decreased from 2006 to 2008 as they improved their
scheduling processes, but increased from 2009 to 2013, again, reflecting the increasingly rural nature of their clients.
17
OPERATIONS METRICS
Bus Narratives
Thanks to federal stimulus funds, TCAT was able to purchase 15 new buses for delivery in 2011. TCAT’s 2011 federal stimulus
procurements included 2 hybrid diesel/ electric buses from Gillig (vehicles 1102 & 1103), 6 diesel buses from Gillig (vehicles
1104 through 1109) and another 7 from Orion of New York State (vehicles 1110 through 1116). No new vehicles were added
in 2012 or 2013.
As of December 31, 2013, TCAT’s inventory included 53 vehicles with an average age of 7.13 years.
TCAT anticipates needing to retire 22 vehicles (the 2001 Nova and 2002 New Flyer series, the trolley, the 30’ International,
“Old 914” and the T-kittens (610-612)) by 2014. As discussed below in “Vehicle Metrics by Series,” these vehicles are among
the most costly to maintain in terms of parts cost, labor time, and road calls/ disruptions to service. As of the time of writing,
TCAT had two 40’ Gillig buses on order and secured options to purchase five additional Gilligs and four under 30’ cutaway
buses (T-kittens). These new buses will be a welcome addition to the fleet; however, replacement of aging buses remains a
high-priority task for TCAT’s leadership.
Table 8: 2013 Fleet Summary
Bus Nos.
Year
Total
#
Age
Replacement Year
914
1991
1
22
2003
73
2001
1
12
2013
101 - 108
2001
8
12
2013
201-204,
206-209
2002
8
11
2014
601-608
2006
8
7
2018
610-612
2006
3
7
2013
613-615
2006
3
7
2018
701-703
2007
3
6
2019
704
2007
1
6
2014
901-902
2009
2
4
2021
2011
2
2
2023
2011
6
2
2023
2011
7
2
2023
11021103
11041108
11101116
Type of
Vehicle
Transit
Bus
Trolley
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Mini-Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Transit
Bus
Body
Power
Manufacturer
Length
(ft.)
Width
(in.)
Diesel
35
96
Chance
Diesel
30
96
41
Nova
Diesel
40
102
39
38
New Flyer
Diesel
40
102
38
28
Gillig
Diesel
40
102
16
6
Ford
Gas
23
93
38
28
Gillig
Hybrid
40
102
38
28
Gillig
Hybrid
40
102
22
11
International
Diesel
30
96
38
28
Gillig
Diesel
40
102
38
25
Gillig
Hybrid
40
102
38
28
Gillig
Diesel
40
102
36
41
Orion
Diesel
40
102
Seats
Stands
38
20
Orion
28
21
37
As of 12/31/2013
Table 9, below, shows the principal maintenance metrics for each individual bus, by vehicle series.
18
Table 9: 2013 Bus Statistics
2013
Miles
Traveled
Fuel
Gallons
of Fuel
Used
Maintenance
Miles
per
Gallon
Labor
Hours
Parts
Cost per
Mile
Major
Road
Calls
(84)
Rd.
Calls/
1K Mi.
Orion '91
914
21,974
5,510
3.99
425.6
$9,469.23
$0.43
4
5
0.40
Trolley
73
5,286
1,452
3.64
191.2
$4,124.45
$0.78
0
1
0.19
101
32,050
7,881
4.07
290.8
$15,648.80
$0.49
8
4
0.37
102
20,999
5,232
4.01
302.3
$14,444.32
$0.69
3
4
0.33
103
31,328
8,407
3.73
335.3
$14,592.82
$0.47
4
3
0.22
104
19,319
4,987
3.87
395.3
$32,292.60
$1.67
7
4
0.57
105
31,992
8,143
3.93
338.1
$15,690.82
$0.49
10
3
0.41
106
31,058
8,260
3.76
484.6
$16,593.25
$0.53
2
6
0.26
107
33,639
8,347
4.03
370.0
$15,653.08
$0.47
2
7
0.27
108
31,577
7,846
4.02
419.2
$23,063.73
$0.73
5
5
0.32
TOTAL
231,962
59,103
N/A
2935.7
$147,979.42
N/A
41
36
N/A
AVG.
28,995
7,388
3.92
367.0
$18,497.43
$0.64
5.13
4.50
0.33
201
31,629
7,683
4.12
371.5
$15,123.62
$0.48
2
4
0.19
202
24,264
6,260
3.88
327.8
$15,118.59
$0.62
8
6
0.58
203
26,327
6,959
3.78
390.5
$14,052.57
$0.53
7
1
0.30
204
35,058
9,407
3.73
357.6
$8,585.88
$0.24
5
3
0.23
206
20,271
5,494
3.69
588.7
$58,843.92
$2.90
6
7
0.64
207
23,302
5,961
3.91
411.1
$15,426.16
$0.66
2
2
0.17
208
32,905
8,272
3.98
412.5
$15,980.45
$0.49
6
4
0.30
209
29,840
7,852
3.80
372.0
$18,748.37
$0.63
3
6
0.30
TOTAL
223,596
57,887
N/A
3231.6
$161,879.56
N/A
39
33
N/A
AVG.
27,950
7,236
3.86
404.0
$20,234.95
$0.72
4.88
4.13
0.32
601
30,649
7,670
4.00
225.4
$7,842.10
$0.26
3
2
0.16
602
40,459
10,396
3.89
290.2
$7,359.89
$0.18
4
2
0.15
603
39,195
10,158
3.86
279.4
$6,778.79
$0.17
1
1
0.05
604
40,194
10,137
3.97
231.6
$7,433.56
$0.18
1
2
0.07
605
39,559
10,120
3.91
324.0
$12,996.68
$0.33
3
6
0.23
606
39,798
10,044
3.96
297.1
$10,832.99
$0.27
3
2
0.13
607
42,560
10,707
3.98
227.3
$4,916.33
$0.12
4
4
0.19
608
40,034
10,610
3.77
338.4
$10,003.56
$0.25
3
1
0.10
TOTAL
312,448
79,841
N/A
2213.4
$68,163.90
N/A
22
20
N/A
AVG.
39,056
9,980
3.91
276.7
$8,520.49
$0.22
2.75
2.50
0.13
609
6,441
1,032
6.24
68.5
$777.57
$0.12
1
1
0.31
610
17,907
2,821
6.35
121.0
$2,913.57
$0.16
2
1
0.17
611
23,796
3,764
6.32
191.9
$4,375.27
$0.18
0
4
0.17
612
25,584
3,845
6.65
168.2
$3,559.40
$0.14
1
6
0.27
TOTAL
73,728
11,462
N/A
549.6
$11,625.81
N/A
4
12
N/A
AVG.
18,432
2,865
6.43
137.4
$2,906.45
$0.16
1.00
3.00
0.22
613
27,698
6,239
4.44
250.6
$12,316.56
$0.44
3
2
0.18
614
24,708
5,539
4.46
227.9
$6,910.73
$0.28
1
2
0.12
615
28,595
6,229
4.59
254.4
$12,065.67
$0.42
7
3
0.35
TOTAL
81,001
18,006
N/A
732.9
$31,292.96
N/A
11
7
N/A
AVG.
27,000
6,002
4.50
244.3
$10,430.99
$0.39
3.67
2.33
0.22
Gillig (2006)
New Flyer (2002)
Nova (2001)
Bus No.
Ford Vans (2006)
Cost of Parts
Road Calls
Minor
Road
Calls
(85)
Series
Hybrids (2006)
19
Mileage
2013
Bus No.
Miles
Traveled
Fuel
Gallons
of Fuel
Used
Maintenance
Miles
per
Gallon
Labor
Hours
Cost of Parts
Road Calls
Parts
Cost per
Mile
Minor
Road
Calls
(85)
Major
Road
Calls
(84)
Rd.
Calls/
1K Mi.
701
25,090
5,312
4.72
164.5
$11,926.16
$0.48
0
7
702
24,059
5,548
4.34
290.1
$14,891.07
$0.62
2
5
0.28
0.29
25,474
5,995
4.25
289.8
$17,265.72
$0.68
1
3
0.16
74,623
16,855
N/A
744.4
$44,082.95
N/A
3
15
N/A
AVG.
24,874
5,618
4.43
248.1
$14,694.32
$0.59
1.00
5.00
0.24
Int'l
704
23,891
2,912
8.20
256.3
$7,707.40
$0.32
1
1
0.08
901
31,535
8,328
3.79
269.8
$18,893.35
$0.60
0
2
0.06
902
37,576
10,080
3.73
314.1
$11,721.80
$0.31
2
7
0.24
TOTAL
69,111
18,408
N/A
583.9
$30,615.15
N/A
2
9
N/A
AVG.
34,556
9,204
3.75
291.9
$15,307.58
$0.44
1.00
4.50
0.16
1102
36,997
8,032
4.61
243.7
$9,944.69
$0.27
3
4
0.19
1103
35,991
7,640
4.71
213.6
$5,106.42
$0.14
3
3
0.17
TOTAL
72,988
15,672
N/A
457.2
$15,051.11
N/A
6
7
N/A
AVG.
36,494
7,836
4.66
228.6
$7,525.56
$0.21
3.00
3.50
0.18
1104
40,679
10,725
3.79
221.4
$6,644.80
$0.16
2
6
0.20
1105
41,103
10,751
3.82
224.9
$7,920.46
$0.19
5
10
0.36
1106
35,246
9,661
3.65
210.4
$10,803.54
$0.31
2
5
0.20
1107
36,742
9,592
3.83
233.7
$5,418.48
$0.15
1
4
0.14
1108
37,575
10,106
3.72
229.5
$7,634.31
$0.20
2
10
0.32
1109
34,695
9,386
3.70
265.5
$6,384.62
$0.18
5
9
0.40
TOTAL
226,040
60,222
N/A
1385.4
$44,806.21
N/A
17
44
N/A
AVG.
37,673
10,037
3.75
230.9
$7,467.70
$0.20
2.83
7.33
0.27
1110
41,438
11,330
3.66
196.4
$9,060.01
$0.22
7
3
0.24
1111
41,304
11,162
3.70
269.4
$10,051.43
$0.24
3
5
0.19
1112
37,932
10,319
3.68
214.3
$9,110.64
$0.24
2
4
0.16
1113
82,170
10,305
3.74
177.7
$7,847.20
$0.10
2
3
0.06
1114
39,329
10,700
3.68
193.5
$8,091.59
$0.21
1
3
0.10
1115
34,145
9,259
3.69
260.9
$8,042.68
$0.24
3
2
0.15
1116
43,404
11,670
3.72
217.6
$8,289.74
$0.19
1
4
0.12
TOTAL
319,722
74,743
N/A
1529.7
$60,493.29
N/A
19
24
N/A
AVG.
45,675
10,678
3.69
218.5
$8,641.90
$0.19
2.71
3.43
0.13
TOTAL
1,736,370
422,073
N/A
15,237
$637,291.44
N/A
169
214
N/A
AVG.
32,311
7,909
4.01
282.70
$11,878.94
0.37
3.17
4.02
0.22
TOTAL
1,434,030
360,078
N/A
12,752.9
$535,238.61
N/A
145
173
N/A
AVG.
34,394
8,711
3.86
304.8
$12,866.61
$0.37
3.51
4.20
0.22
TOTAL
228,612
50,533
N/A
1,934.5
$90,427.02
N/A
20
29
N/A
AVG.
28,577
6,317
4.52
241.8
$11,303.38
$0.40
2.50
3.63
0.21
TOTAL
73,728
11,462
N/A
549.6
$11,625.81
N/A
4
12
N/A
AVG.
18,432
2,865
6.43
137.4
$2,906.45
$0.16
1.00
3.00
0.22
Orions (2011)
Gilligs (2011)
Hybrids
(2011)
703
TOTAL
Gillig (2009)
Hybrids (2007)
Series
Mileage
Fleet
Diesel
Hybrid
Ford
Vans
20
VEHICLE METRICS BY SERIES
Figure 22: Fuel Efficiency by Vehicle Series
Fuel Efficiency by Series
Most vehicles in the TCAT fleet got
3.8 to 4.7 miles to the gallon (MPG)
over the course of 2013. The main
outlier is the 2007 International
which cruised in at an impressive 8.2
MPG. This vehicle has a smaller,
efficient diesel engine and a lighter
chassis than the other buses.
Fuel Efficiency (MPG) by Vehicle Series
9
8.2
8
7
6.4
6
4.7
5
4.5
4.4
4.0
4
The second most fuel efficient
vehicles are the 2006 Ford Vans.
They are smaller vehicles with a
lighter chassis and are the only
gasoline-powered vehicles in the
fleet.
3.9
3.9
3.9
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.6
3
2
1
0
The three hybrid series and the 1991
Orion were in the mid-upper
efficiency range – breaking 4 MPG.
A hybrid diesel/ electric engine increases fuel efficiency from the typical 3.86 MPG of a diesel bus to 4.52 MPG, an
improvement of about 17.2%. Hybrid diesel/ electric buses cost approximately $100,000 - $200,000 more than a non-hybrid
diesel bus. The fuel cost savings from hybrids do not cover the increased purchase cost. Unfortunately, the newer 2009 and
2011 Gilligs and the 2011 Orions appear to be less efficient than very similar vehicles only a few years older.
Labor Hours per 1,000 Miles Driven by Series
There are not many surprises in the distribution of labor hours among bus type. It is probably fair to say the trolley’s novelty
has long since worn out. In 2013, the trolley was on the top of the list of vehicles requiring the most work to maintain per
mile driven. The 1991 Orion also had elevated labor hours per 1k miles driven; several costly structural job were done on this
bus including a new wheelchair lift.
Figure 23: Labor Hours per 1k Miles
The 2001 Novas and 2002 New
Labor Hours per 1,000 Miles Driven
Flyers require a lot of work to
maintain. These vehicles are known
40
36.2
for problems with their series 40
35
engines and fuel injectors.
The 2006 and 2007 hybrids also
necessitate many labor hours. The
hybrids have more (electronic)
parts than the diesels and replacing
these parts when they fail adds to
labor hours.
The vehicles that take the least
work to maintain are the newest
vehicles: the 2011 hybrids, Gilligs
and Orions.
21
30
25
19.4
20
15
10
5
0
5.5
6.1
6.3
7.1
7.5
8.4
9.0
10.0
10.7
12.7
14.5
Parts Cost per 1,000 Miles Driven by Series
Topping the list of the most expensive vehicles to maintain in terms of parts cost are the 2001 Novas, the 2002 New Flyers
and the trolley. A unique (and older) vehicle in the fleet, the trolley parts costs are unfortunately quite high. As previously
mentioned, the Novas and New
Flyers are known for engine Figure 24: Parts Cost per 1k Miles by Series
problems, and many of the vehicles
Parts Cost per 1,000 Miles Driven
had engine replacements or partial
$900
“in-frame” replacements in 2013.
The vehicles requiring the least cost
in parts to maintain were the Ford
Vans followed by the 2011 Gilligs
and Hybrids. The Ford Vans use
many basic automotive parts that
can be acquired very inexpensively
directly from a consumer parts
supplier, helping to keep their parts
cost down. The 2011 Gilligs and
Orions had a fair amount of
warranty work done in 2013,
especially on the emission control
system. Luckily for TCAT, the cost of
warranty work doesn’t figure into
parts or labor costs.
$780
$800
$724
$700
$591
$600
$500
$386
$400
$300
$200
$638
$431 $443
$323
$218 $219
$158 $198 $206
$100
$-
Road Calls per 1,000 Miles Driven by Series
Vehicles with more road calls tend to be older, like the 1991 Orion, the 2001 Novas and the 2002 New Flyers. These vehicles
are known to be “quirky”—for example, if they hit a pothole or curb, they will require a road call to reset the bus leveling
mechanism. The 2011 Gilligs had numerous road calls due to the “check engine light” that would come on and require that
the bus be taken back to the garage for evaluation. This issue was associated with faulty emission control systems that were
fortunately still under warranty.
Figure 25: Road Calls per 1k Miles by Series
The 2006 and 2007 Hybrids also have
Road Calls per 1,000 Miles Driven
a significant number of road calls.
Again, this series appears to have
0.45
0.41
reoccurring problems, especially with
0.40
electronic components.
0.33
0.35
The vehicle series that had the
fewest road calls were generally the
newest vehicles and the vehicles that
drive fewer miles. Since vehicles are
serviced preventively based on both
the number of miles driven and the
length of time since their last service,
vehicles that are driven less are often
serviced on a shorter mileage interval
than their counterparts that are used
daily. This may account for their solid
maintenance performance.
0.32
0.30
0.27
0.25
0.22
0.20
0.13
0.15
0.10
0.16
0.16
0.18
0.22
0.24
0.19
0.08
0.05
0.00
22
VEHICLES BY RANK
Based on the metrics of fuel efficiency, labor hours per 1,000 miles driven, parts cost per 1,000 miles driven, and road calls
per 1,000 miles driven, which are TCAT’s “best” vehicles?
Each vehicle series was ranked according to the metrics on the previous pages. The best vehicle series for a given metric (e.g.
highest fuel efficiency or least parts cost) was assigned 1 point, while the worst vehicle series was awarded 13 points (there
are currently 13 vehicle series in the fleet). The points for each metric were summed to determine the total number of points
and the series rank.
Table 10: Bus Series Ranked by 2013 Performance
By Vehicle Age
23
Orion ('91)
1
Hybrids ('11)
13
Trolley ('01)
13
13
13
6
45
2
Ford Vans ('06)
2
5
1
7
15
13
Nova ('01)
7
10
11
12
40
3
Int'l ('07)
1
9
6
1
17
12
New Flyer ('02)
9
11
12
11
43
4
Gillig ('06)
8
4
4
2
18
8
Gillig ('06)
8
4
4
2
18
5
Orions ('11)
12
1
5
3
21
Ford Vans ('06)
2
5
1
7
15
Gilligs ('11)
11
2
2
10
25
8
Hybrids ('06)
4
7
7
8
26
7
Hybrids ('06)
4
7
7
8
26
7
Hybrids ('07)
5
8
10
9
32
8
Gillig ('09)
10
6
9
4
29
7
Int'l ('07)
1
9
6
1
17
9
Hybrids ('07)
5
8
10
9
32
5
Gillig ('09)
10
6
9
4
29
10
Orion ('91)
6
12
8
13
39
3
Hybrids ('11)
3
3
3
5
14
11
Nova ('01)
7
10
11
12
40
Gilligs ('11)
11
2
2
10
25
New Flyer ('02)
9
11
12
11
43
Orions ('11)
12
1
5
3
21
Trolley
13
13
13
6
45
Age
8
3
3
Vehicle Series
Labor
Hours
12
Parts
Cost
8
Road
Calls
13
Total
Rank
39
By Rank
Fuel
Efficiency
6
Rank
6
12
13
Vehicle Series
Fuel
Efficiency
3
Labor
Hours
3
Parts
Cost
3
Road
Calls
5
Total
Rank
14
According to this analysis, the 2011 Gillig hybrids, 2006 Ford Vans and the 2007 International are the “best” vehicles in TCAT’s
fleet, followed by the 2006 Gilligs and the 2011 Orions. The trolley has the worst ranking followed by the 2002 New Flyers
and the 2001 Novas. This suggests that TCAT should retire the 2002 New Flyers and 2001 Novas as soon as they reach
retirement age and replacement buses have been procured. There is already a campaign underway to retire the trolley as it
not only performs poorly in the four metrics examined here, but it is also uncomfortable and noisy.
Figure 26: Total Ranked Value for Bus Series - 2013
Vehicles by Series, Ranked - 2013
Rank Total (smaller numbers are better)
45
23
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
OTHER MAINTENANCE METRICS
Figure 27: Road Call Totals and Road Call/ 1k Revenue Miles
Road Calls
The number of road calls per 1,000
revenue miles closely mirrors the
absolute number of road calls per
year. That is, in years where there
are fewer road calls, the rate of
road calls is correspondingly lower,
regardless of the number of miles
driven. This seems to suggest that
the total number of road calls in
any year is not dependent on the
total miles driven. Road calls may
be more dependent on other
variables, such as fleet age or rate
of on-time maintenance servicing.
Major & Minor Road Calls, 2007-2013
Major Road Calls
0.30
600
0.30
0.27
0.25
0.28
0.24
0.24
500
Total Annual Road Calls
Road Calls/ 1k Rev. Miles
0.24
0.25
121
400
135
0.20
170
118
182
300
196
200
0.15
214
0.10
391
326
305
251
100
287
186
169
2013 had 383 total road calls, up
from 382 in 2012. However, the
0
number of road calls per ride went
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
down in 2013 to its lowest level
since 2007, indicating that an average passenger now experiences the lowest number road calls in recent history.
Road Calls/ 1,000 Miles
Minor Road Calls
0.05
0.00
Interestingly, the number of major road calls in 2013 was actually the highest since 2007. This may be partially due to
problems with check engine lights on some of the 2011 buses. The DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) system, which increases
combustion efficiency, would trigger the check engine light and reduce the buses’ power output. This in turn requires that
the buses to be brought back to the garage.
Inspections
TCAT’s vehicles are thoroughly inspected by NYSDOT on a regular basis. The TCAT maintenance team has spent considerable
effort over the past seven years to bring the 18-month average inspection pass rate above 90%, which they have maintained
since March 2010. The 18-month pass rate as of December 2013 was 95.0%.
Figure 28: 18 - Month Vehicle Inspection Pass Rate
18-Month Inspection Pass Rate, 2006-2013
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
October '13
December '13
July '13
April '13
January '13
October '12
July '12
April '12
January '12
October '11
July '11
April '11
January '11
October '10
July '10
April '10
January '10
October '09
July '09
April '09
January '09
October '08
July '08
April '08
January '08
October '07
July '07
April '07
January '07
October '06
July '06
April '06
0%
24
Preventive Maintenance Services (PMs)
Until September of 2013, TCAT preventively serviced its vehicles every 3,000 miles or 90 days, whichever was sooner. This
servicing plan was more aggressive than the typical 6,000 mile public transit schedule; however it did mean that buses had to
be removed from service at a greater frequency so that the maintenance department could work on the buses. In September
2013, preventative maintenance services began to be performed ever 6,000 miles. This shift temporarily helped the
maintenance department catch up with its PM services and attain a 90% on-time rate by December 2013. However, taken as
a whole, 2013 was a less than stellar year for on-time PM performance, with a 62% on-time rate. It is worth noting if a 300
mile buffer is added to the scheduled service mileage, the on-time performance jumps to 83%. This indicates that in most
cases maintenance staff was able to get to overdue buses within a day or two to complete the overdue PM services. Because
TCAT was not able to add buses to the fleet in 2012 and 2013, our bus spare ratio is lower than allowed by the FTA. This
affects the maintenance department, making it is harder to hold a bus out of service during peak service hours. In addition,
those buses that were out of service for warranty repair were often unusable for extended periods waiting on the
manufacturer’s mechanics to come to Ithaca. In any case, preventative maintenance is an area that TCAT will take steps to
improve in 2014.
Figure 29: Preventative Maintenance Services Completed vs. Percent Services Overdue
Services Completed v. Percent Services Overdue
Services
60%
70
50%
60
40%
50
40
30%
% Overdue
Preventive Maintenance Services Completed
80
% Overdue
30
20%
20
10%
10
0
0%
Accidents & Incidents
TCAT had a total of 47 accidents and incidents in 2013, a decrease of 9.6% from 52 in 2012 and decrease of close to 40% from
2010. The absolute number of accidents and incidents was the lowest since data began to be collected using these categories
in 2006. The number of accidents per 100,000 revenue miles was the second lowest in the past seven years. This is a very
positive trend for TCAT. It is important to note that the vast majority of the accidents that occurred in 2013 were very minor
such as bus mirrors hitting the mirrors of other vehicles on Ithaca’s narrow streets or slight bumps or scrapes on buses being
moved around in the TCAT garage.
Table 11 shows how many of the 44 accidents in 2013 were determined to be preventable after an internal review by TCAT’s
safety staff. Only 2 accidents were considered to be “major collisions” by TCAT staff in which significant damage was done to
a bus or other vehicle. The Public Transportation Safety Board’s (PTSB) requires every transit system to give the PTSB notice
25
of the following occurrences: (a) all accidents that result in a fatality; (b) all accidents that result in five or more injuries that
require medical attention; and (c) all accidents caused by mechanical failure, including, but not limited to, all fires that occur
in revenue service. If a PTSB report is filed, it indicates a serious accident occurred. Fortunately, there were zero PTSB reports
filed in 2013 (Table 12). The final two columns in the table below indicate whether an insurance claim was filed against TCAT
for damage resulting from an accident or whether TCAT filed claims against another party’s insurance. It is clear from the
data in this table, that the number of serious accidents is very low. TCAT takes all accidents seriously and activley promotes a
culture of safety among our drivers.
Figure 30: Accident and Incidents per Year 2007 - 2013
Accidents & Incidents, 2007 - 2013
5.0
4.6
4.5
80
Total Annual Accidents and Incidents
3.8
3.9
3.7
70
4.0
3.3
3.5
60
3.0
2.8
3.0
50
2.5
40
2.0
30
1.5
20
1.0
10
0.5
0
Accidents and Incidents per 100,000 Revenue Miles
90
0.0
2007
Preventable
2008
2009
Unpreventable
2010
Undetermined
2011
2012
2013
Other Incidents
Per 100k Miles
It is difficult to pin down the underlying causes of changes in the number of accidents and incidents. Many of these events
occur seemingly randomly as several spontaneous and unforeseen factors align. There is a weak correlation between the
number of accidents and the number of revenue miles and revenue hours. Other variables that may affect the number of
accidents: the length of experience of TCAT bus drivers, the comprehensiveness of driver safety training, the severity of the
winter and the total traffic volumes on the roads. In order to reduce the “preventable” accidents, those that the driver may
have been able to avoid, TCAT offers in-depth, comprehensive training for new drivers which exceeds industry requirements.
Table 11: 2013 Accident Metrics
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Total
Total Accidents
2
5
2
2
10
1
1
2
4
4
2
9
44
Preventable
Accidents
1
2
2
1
7
0
0
1
1
2
1
7
25
# Major
Collisions
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
# PTSB report
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Ins. Claim
Against TCAT
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
2
6
Ins. Claim
Against Other
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
5
26
OTHER METRICS, PROJECTS, & CHALLENGES
Fuel Costs
Annual Total & Average Diesel Costs, 2007 - 2013
Annual Cost
Avg. Cost/Gallon
$1.8M
$3.49
$3.44
$1.6M
$4.00
$3.60
$3.42
$1.4M
$3.00
$2.68
$2.49
$1.2M
$3.50
$2.15
$2.50
$1.0M
$2.00
$0.8M
$1.50
Avg. Cost/ Gallon
In 2013, diesel prices were
lower than 2012, the first
decrease in prices since 2009.
TCAT paid an average of $3.42
per gallon in 2013, a decrease
of 5% from 2012, yet still
59.3% higher than 2009.
Figure 31: Annual Diesel Costs 2007 - 2013
Annual Diesel Cost
In 2013, TCAT used close to
420,000 gallons of fuel - 97%
of which was diesel - at a cost
of $1,386,148. TCAT bought
approximately 1.6% less diesel
in 2013 than it did in 2012.
$1,386,148
$1,480,759
$1,478,617
$1,166,180
$888,817
$1,271,236
$935,359
Fuel costs are a significant
$0.6M
portion of TCAT’s operating
$1.00
$0.4M
costs and innovations that
could help reduce the amount
$0.50
$0.2M
of fuel required are duly
$0.0M
$0.00
considered by TCAT. In late
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 or early 2015, TCAT is
expected to take delivery of a hydrogen fuel-cell bus. The bus will be provided free of charge for a 2-year period and will give
TCAT a chance to evaluate the performance of this new technology in our unique transit system.
Operating Budget and Budget Challenges
With rising personnel costs and health
insurance premiums, and shrinking
federal, state, and local funding, TCAT
continues to face an extremely
challenging budget environment. TCAT’s
year-end 2013 preliminary budget
indicates that both the revenue and
expenditures were over $300,000 more
than the 2013 operating budget. Luckily,
the actual revenue is greater than the
actual expenditures leading to a
projected surplus of $87,561. It is likely
that this surplus will increase by
$247,000 if the case currently being
brought against an ex- employee of
TCAT for grand larceny is successful in
recouping the embezzled funds. The
TCAT board and management team are
firmly committed to ensuring that such
incidents do not occur in the future.
Figure 32: Actual 2013 Year-end Revenues
Actual 2013 Revenues
3%
6%
6%
6%
36%
10%
13%
20%
State Operating Assistance
Passenger Revenue
City Partner Share
County Partner Share
CU Bulk Fares
Federal Operating Assistance
Cornell Partner Share
Other Revenue
There are a few reasons that explain the
projected surplus: (1) there was an increase in passenger revenue due to increased ridership over budgeted ridership
27
revenue figures; (2) NY Statewide Mass Transportation Operating Assistance (STOA) was greater than the budgeted amount
due to increased ridership; (3) fuel and parts costs came in under budget for 2013; (4) TCAT employees did not receive raises
in 2013.
Figure 32 shows that STOA provides the largest source of revenue; STOA is administered by NY Department of Transportation
and the amount received by each transit provider is based on the number of rides and revenue miles per year. The Cornell
bulk fare program provided close to $2.6 million in 2013; 3.1 million rides were taken in 2013 using Cornell credentials. NonCornell passenger fare revenue came in third place at close to $1.7 million. Partner shares came in at $829,432 in 2013 –
representing a total of 18.9% of total revenue.
Figure 33: Actual Year-end 2013 Expenditures by Department and Expense Category
Actual 2013 Expenditures by Department
1%
5%
4%
1%
Actual 2013 Expenditures by Category
1%
4%
1%
6%
7%
6%
8%
64%
18%
42%
12%
20%
Operations
GM, HR & Finance
General Undistributed
Marketing
Vehicle & Facility Maintenance
Operations Admin & Safety
Maintenance Administration
Service Development
Employee Wages
Fuel
Parts Expense
Utilities
Employee Benefits
Service Contracts
Insurance Bus & Facility
Other Expenses
The 2013 operating expenditures are broken down in Figure 33 by TCAT department and expense category. The operations
and maintenance departments make up 82% of departmental expenses, indicating that the vast majority of TCAT’s budget is
allocated to providing convenient and safe transit service. The second graph in figure 32 shows a majority of operating
expenditures goes to TCAT’s employees in the form of wages and benefits. The third largest cost category is fuel – underlining
the potential impact that alternative fuel vehicles could make to TCAT’s bottom line.
Despite the challenging budget environment in 2014 and beyond, TCAT is dedicated to pursuing projects that will continue to
improve our service. Currently, TCAT is taking steps to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a contractor that would design
and install an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) that will provide real-time information to passengers in improve
efficiency within TCAT. Other budget priorities are the replacement of buses in the fleet that have surpassed their 12-year
useful life and improvement/expansion of TCAT’s facility. The increasing ridership levels have placed strains on the current
facility. These projects are part of TCAT’s capital budget which is funded primarily through Federal grant money.
Marketing & Communications Initiatives
Promoting service, informing passengers and reaching out to the community remained top priorities for TCAT’s
communications and marketing two-full time and two part-time staff members in 2013.
In addition to greeting visitors to the TCAT facility, handling mail and conference room scheduling, TCAT’s customer service
representatives answer up to 90 phone calls per day, many of which entail trip planning, Route 41 demand-and-response
scheduling, bus pass reloading and lost-and- found inquiries. The customer service representatives are responsible for filling
large Tcard bus pass orders as well as reconciling bus passes sold at 20 local outlets.
28
Outreach and educational efforts in 2013 included on-site visits to Dewitt Middle School, BOCES, Cornell University new
student orientation and Streets Alive! During these events, TCAT staff interacted with passengers and potential passengers,
demonstrated the fare box and bike racks, and answered general questions regarding the transit system.
In 2013, TCAT’s graphics artist designed and developed five print advertisements for local publications in addition to creating
a 70+ page TCAT Schedules & Service Guide for each of TCAT’s three service periods. The graphics artist designed and
developed posters to communicate upcoming changes, winter holiday service, bus stop relocations, detours, significant
changes to schedule affecting a specific stop and handouts notifying passengers of specific changes. The graphics artists’
other creations included a ride guide specifically for new Ithaca College Students, a service summary flier for guests staying at
the Holiday Inn going to Cornell Commencement as well as 68 summary schedules over the course of the year to be posted at
specific bus stops. The department also designed and developed a recruitment poster for TCAT’s human resources
department.
To alert the community about detours, service adjustments and other TCAT news, the department issued a total of 80 alerts
and/ or press releases. The department also provided content and photographs for New York Public Transit Association’s
report “Ensuring the Future of Transit Service to Upstate Communities,” which stresses the need for more predictable and
adequate funding for upstate New York transit agencies.
The department coordinates and facilitates the TCAT Citizens Advisory Committee, a group of TCAT riders who meet monthly
with staff to provide feedback on TCAT services. In 2013, membership grew substantially to 14 members who represent a
broad range of ridership.
The department is also responsible for TCAT’s ADA paratransit and half- fare application process as well as facilitating the
TCAT Transportation Accessibility Committee, which meets monthly. In 2013, the department processed 136 ADA paratransit
applications and 87 half- fare applications. In addition, the department researched and created a more comprehensive
half-fare policy.
The department planned the annual employee recognition banquet in February as well as a fall festival luncheon for
employees on-site at the transit facility in November.
Figure 34: Marketing & Communications Outreach at Streets Alive!
29
Website and Trip Planner Usage
Thousands of Views per Month
Figure 35: 2013 Page Views for TCAT Trip Planner and Schedule Information
TCAT’s website continues to be a critical
source of information for our riders.
2013 Page Views for Trip Planner and Route/Stop Schedules
Route and schedule information is listed
in several formats so that every user can
120K
find the information they are looking for
in an easy-to-understand layout. TCAT’s
100K
trip planner (Next Insight) records
aggregate data about trip searches and
80K
schedule page views. Overall, there were
2.94 million pages views in 2013, 1.01
60K
million sessions and 210,600 users. The
route schedule pages were viewed
40K
954,000 times. Stop pages were viewed
394,000 times, with the most viewed
20K
stops being Sage Hall, Seneca @
Commons, Schwartz Performing Arts
0K
Center, Statler Hall, College@ Dryden,
Green @ Commons, Shops at Ithaca Mall
Highland @ Wyckoff, Triphammer @
Route Views
Stop Views
Hanshaw and Baker Flagpole with
approximately 50% of all stop-level views. TCAT’s homepage (tcatbus.com) is managed separately than the route schedule
and trip planner pages – data indicate that there were 50,000 sessions on the homepage in 2013 (a different metric from
page views). Figure 32 shows how page views for the Next Insight pages fluctuated by month in 2013. It is evident that the
pattern closely follows the 2013 monthly ridership pattern. It is interesting to note, however, that the biggest peak in page
views is in September when new students are learning to navigate TCAT’s system.
In May 2014, a rider survey carried out on TCAT’s buses asked respondents where they got information about TCAT’s routes,
schedules and policies. The responses confirm the importance of the website as the primary information source for riders
when it comes to accesses TCAT’s service.
Figure 36: Percent of Survey Respondents getting TCAT Service Information from different Sources
Rider Survey: Where do you get your information about TCAT bus service?
(Service Info/Schedules/Policies) (n = 1,327)
TCAT Website
78.3%
Brochures/signs on buses
22.6%
Brochures/signs at bus stops
22.5%
TCAT bus operator
16.0%
Other websites
5.8%
Telephone to TCAT front desk
5.8%
Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)
4.6%
Newspaper
1.5%
Radio
1.2%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Percent of Respondents
30
Human Resources
TCAT’s Human Resources Department in 2013 heavily emphasized staff development, which is essential to ensuring
company-wide stability as well as meeting the demands of a growing system. The department provided training to all TCAT
departments covering a broad range of topics that employees encounter on a day-to-day basis. For the administrative staff,
those subjects were aimed at improving interviewing skills, attendance policies, payroll processes and workers’ compensation
reporting.
HR also presented the four-part series, “Race: The Power of an Illusion,” a highly acclaimed film that underscores the power
and importance of diversity and inclusion. The film was well received and was followed by compelling discussion among staff
members. The department also offered a four-part workshop called “Retirewise,”which covered financial planning and goal
setting for retirement.
For TCAT’s bus operators, HR held four sessions of training on myriad topics covering the Americans with Disabilities Act and
assisting passengers with mobility devices; bikes and buses - sharing the road with bikes; and how best to serve a diverse
community. For the maintenance crew, TCAT’s Safety Department provided communication training on changes to labeling
requirements for hazardous materials.
Figure 37: TCAT HR Outreach Poster
In addition to staff development, HR also worked on staffing levels via numerous recruitment efforts that included more
aggressive advertising and other outreach efforts. The department completed 73 interviews and coordinated ten recruitment
classes in 2013. TCAT ended the year with 113 full-time and five part-time employees.
Other completed projects and activities in 2013 included the implementation of a flexible work schedule for the
administrative staff, the offering of AFLAC voluntary benefits to all employees, the HR careers tab on the TCAT website, as
well as meeting the demands of the Wage Theft Prevention Act and EEO-1 reporting. The department also coordinated
employee benefit renewals; open enrollment, including domestic partnership re-verification; and shoe and tool allowance
elections.
For 2014, the department’s goal is to continue to recruit for bus operator and grow, develop and diversify its entire
workforce – all key elements in ensuring TCAT’s success going forward.
31
Conclusion
This yearbook shows that 2013 was another good year for TCAT. Ridership took a substantial step upward, adding 260,000
new rides in 2013. TCAT’s ridership growth of 6.31% rate easily surpassed the US average for cities fewer than 100,000
inhabitants (3.83%). It is clear from the transit utilization rate in our service area that residents of Ithaca and Tompkins
County use transit at a higher rate than other NY cities outside of the New York City Metro area. Ridership increases underlie
an improvement in TCAT’s service productivity measures. 2013 showed that once again TCAT is providing an efficient and
well-utilized service to the local community.
Operations and bus maintenance metrics showed that TCAT has done an excellent job in keeping our fleet in good condition
and our passengers safe. Our 95% average inspection pass rate was at an all-time high for TCAT as of December 2013. Given
the demands on the fleet due to bus overcrowding, a low spare ratio and maintenance issues with certain bus models, the
preventative maintenance service on-time performance was reduced somewhat in 2013. However, this did not seem to
affect the number of road calls which remained essentially unchanged from 2012. The number of accidents and incidents was
down close to 10% in 2013 from 2012 – the lowest level on record.
TCAT came in on-budget in 2013, with a small surplus due primarily to increased revenue from ridership gains. However,
TCAT’s will need to find additional sources of funding moving forward. Although the economy is slowly coming back from the
2008 recession, the local jurisdictions have kept their funding levels essentially flat for several years running. TCAT needs
additional capital funding for new buses, additional capacity at our facility, and technological up-dates. It also needs
additional operational funding to help address overcrowding issues on some routes and to permit additional service where
growth in Tompkins County makes transit a viable transportation option.
Undoubtedly 2014 and beyond will bring new challenges, but TCAT employees are dedicated to building on the hard work of
previous years. See you on the bus!
Figure 38: Panoramic Photo of a bus pulling out of the TCAT garage to go into revenue service
32
33