Performance metrics

[Busjack]

It is current management theory to post metrics, and may be a good thing, but I wonder about two of the measures listed by the CTA in the current report:

• Bus bunching as defined as buses within 60 seconds of each other. Besides showing that frequency isn't what it once was, what happened to the previous measure of on time performance (such as 5 minutes behind or one minute before)? What would be a good measure? Should a separate measure be used for a line like 79, with high frequency and more likelihood that bunching not be as injurious than in the case of a line with 10-20 minute headways?
  
• 13% of the buses not being available. That would be about 280 out of service at any time. Shouldn't that come down markedly when the NF deliveries are done?
  

I'm not claiming to be an expert on this, and would like the input of anyone with more expertise.

[trainman8119]

It is current management theory to post metrics, and may be a good thing, but I wonder about two of the measures listed by the CTA in the current report:

• Bus bunching as defined as buses within 60 seconds of each other. Besides showing that frequency isn't what it once was, what happened to the previous measure of on time performance (such as 5 minutes behind or one minute before)? What would be a good measure? Should a separate measure be used for a line like 79, with high frequency and more likelihood that bunching not be as injurious than in the case of a line with 10-20 minute headways?
  
• 13% of the buses not being available. That would be about 280 out of service at any time. Shouldn't that come down markedly when the NF deliveries are done?
  

I'm not claiming to be an expert on this, and would like the input of anyone with more expertise.

I am not beinig an expert on this either, but my guess is that it is anything that could be easily manipulated by management to meet their goals and look good in the process of doing so. In the concept of the 5 minutes behind, that is industry standard of being considered acceptable. Your example of a route like 79th or even Milwaukee, where there are gobs and gobs of buses running out there..heck you can legitimately have buses a minute apart. Is that considered bunching. Uh, no. But when you have 3, 4 even 5 buses within 3 blocks of each other...then you have a problem. I don't think the transit managers at CTA truely understand that...otherwise they would not be posting this stuff for public consumption. It is all self serving and done for no other real reason other than to toot their own horn. How else can Huberman justify his existence to dah mare ????

[Busjack]

It is all self serving and done for no other real reason other than to toot their own horn. How else can Huberman justify his existence to dah mare ????

Of course, then they would have developed measures that didn't result in so many red boxes (unless there actually is an effort underway to do something to eliminate them, as the Tribune reported that the current report card was mediocre).