Performance Measures, Data Acquisition and Performance Evaluation Under the National Transportation System

The National Transportation System (NTS), an outgrowth of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), is proposed in this research as an analytical tool to guide national transportation policy-making. The NTS must be based upon measures of transportation performance that are intermodal, user-oriented,. and suitable for tracking the environmental, social, and economic outcomes of transportation system use. A set of such performance measures is proposed, and implications of the measures for various modes are discussed. This proposal and discussion of performance measures is the critical component of this report. A major concern in the implementation of these performance measures is the data that supports them. A great deal of data is required to track the performance of the basic components ofNTS analysis: major transportation facilities and regional transportation systems. Appropriate data sources for the NTS performance measures are identified, a sample of demonstration data is applied to the performance measures, and problems with data acquisition and application are discussed. A general framework for using the performance measures to achieve the NTS policy objectives is proposed, and the implications of geographic information systems (GIS) and other technologies are discussed. Conclusions and recommendations from this research are presented. 17. DISCLAIMER The contacts of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 requires changes in the way that transportation planning and policy-making are conducted. Essentially, ISTEA calls for transportation planning that is more performance-based and intermodal. Vehicle-oriented and mode-by-mode planning policies must give way to planning that is focused more on the user and providing accessibility through intermodal efficiency. ISTEA also decentralizes transportation planning, giving more responsibility to agencies closer to the end user. State departments of transportation (~OTs) and, to an even greater degree, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have more authority under ISTEA. To aid them in establishing effective planning, ISTEA requires that state DOTs and MPOs establish transportation management systems (TMSs) to track performance of the transportation system and assist in decision-making. The National Transportation System (NTS) was mandate by Secretary of Transportation Federico Peiia. The NTS began as an intermodal and multimodal outgrowth of the National Highway System (NHS). The NTS concept has generated a great deal of debate. This report seeks to propose a basic …