Advisory Committee Meeting #4
February 10, 2012
Worcester Union Station
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
Project Timeline
AC
Meeting
AC
Meeting
Oct 2011
Nov 2011
AC
Meeting
AC
Meeting
Dec 2011
Jan 2012
Develop
Statewide Transit
Vision, Goals, and
Evaluation
Criteria
Feb 2012
AC
Meeting
March 2012
AC
Meeting
AC
Meeting
April 2012
May 2012
AC
Meeting
June 2012
Issues Definition and
Evaluation
Identified several and narrowed to 10
initiatives
Existing Conditions and Transit Trends
RTA Profiles
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Scenario
Development,
Analysis,
Recommendations
12/19/2011
Final
Recommendations
PROPOSED INITIATIVES
Interviews, discussions and data analysis led to a long list
of potential opportunities
List was winnowed into ten initiatives
Consistently identified as concerns
Offer potential to improve overall network
Reflect input from MassDOT staff and leadership
Grouped initiatives for review by Advisory Committee
Service Improvement
Funding
Other
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
PROPOSED INITIATAIVES
Service Improvement
Develop Service Standards/Guidelines
Improve Service Planning
Develop Consistent Data and Reporting
Enhance Public Information
Funding
Improve Contracting
Improve Capital Funding
Identify Additional Funding
Develop More Effective Funding Process
Other
Foster “Cross-Border” Collaboration
Better MassDOT/RTA Collaboration
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
Develop Service Standards/Guidelines
Issues
Changes in demographics, and shifts in population and employment
centers continue to occur; route structure remains relatively constant
No clear/systematic approach to review service and respond to change
Potential Solutions
Development of minimum statewide standards for each RTA type
Development of local service standards by each RTA
Best Practices
MA: MBTA, MART, WRTA (examples of internal RTA guidelines)
Nationally: CA, MN, PA and VA among 75% with statewide standards
Outcome: Aid in identifying opportunities to provide more efficient
and effective service, tool in advocating for increased funding, meet
Chp 25 requirements
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12/19/2011
Improve Service Planning
Issues
Many RTAs do relatively little comprehensive service planning
Too much focus on status quo - not enough innovation
Potential Solutions
Develop a formalized systemwide service planning process
Implement a formalized, ongoing service evaluation process
Best Practices
MA: CCRTA, GATRA, WRTA, LRTA
Nationally: FL, VA, WA
Outcome: Create more effective transit services that best match need
and demand
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
Improve Capital Planning
Issues
Needs determined locally, so highest-need projects from statewide
perspective are not always funded
Insufficient in-house technical capabilities for major projects
Potential Solutions
Develop a statewide capital planning process
Introduce an asset management system for RTAs
Best Practices
MA: MBTA CIP
Nationally: VA, NY, PA (statewide capital plans and asset mgt)
Outcome: A system to better match capital investment with need,
resulting in the more consistent development and replacement of
capital assets throughout MA
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
Break-Out Group Discussion
Divide into 3 groups
Facilitator is assigned to each group
Spend 15-20 minutes per topic
Focus on constructive guidance
Respect everyone’s opinions and view points
Ensure everyone has opportunity to speak
Report back after each topic is discussed
Facilitator will do reporting
Technical advisors (Geoff and Anne) available to
answer questions as needed
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
Break-Out Group Discussion
What do you like/don’t like about initiative?
How could this be applied to Massachusetts?
What are the challenges associated with getting
this done?
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011
Next Steps
Review Meeting Format
What did you like/dislike about meeting format?
Ideas for improvement?
Schedule Next Meeting Date
Friday, March 23rd?
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| Leading the Nation in Transportation Excellence | www.mass.gov/massdot
12/19/2011