Operational Standards
The primary use for performance indicators for road network operators is to
provide a feedback loop to enable them both to monitor their performance and
also to improve the services they provide in a way that is beneficial to their
“customers” the road users and society. Therefore their use of the indicators will
differ according to the local context and may require additional factors to enable
the operator to make proper use of the indicators. Some of the major reasons for
adopting performance indicators include: accountability: performance
measurement provides a means of determining whether resources are being
allocated to the priority needs efficiency: performance measurement focuses
actions and resources on organizational outputs and the process of delivery
effectiveness: performance measurement provides a link between ultimate
outcomes of policy decisions and the more immediate actions of transportation
agencies. It provides a means to evaluate how well we are achieving our goals
communications: performance measurement provides better information to
customers and stakeholders on progress being made toward desired goals and
objectives progress: performance measurement allows periodic refinement of
programs and service delivery.
Management Practices
Make it affordable, convenient and enjoyable to visit a resort community
without using a private automobile.
Coordinate stakeholders (tourist agencies, transportation providers,
hotels, resorts) to provide and promote car-free travel packages.
Provide detailed information on the travel choices that are available and
how to use them.
Take into account visitors’ transport needs and preferences, including
baggage requirements and the need to accommodate changing schedules.
Provide benefits to visitors who arrive without a car, such as priority
access for buses.
Include Commute Trip Reduction programs to reduce employee trips.
Create functional and attractive pedestrian and cycling facilities.
Group Assessment of the land transport provider’s management practices
and operational standards
A transportation management system (TMS) is a logistics platform that
uses technology to help businesses plan, execute, and optimize the
physical movement of goods, both incoming and outgoing, and making
sure the shipment is compliant, proper documentation is available. This
kind of system is often part of a larger supply chain management (SCM)
system.
Transportation management system/practices play a central role in supply
chains, affecting every part of the process—from planning and
procurement to logistics and lifecycle management. The broad and deep
visibility afforded by a powerful system leads to more efficient
transportation planning and execution, which results in higher customer
satisfaction. That, in turn, leads to more sales, helping businesses grow.
With such a dynamic global trade environment that we live and transact
in, it is important to have a system that will allow you to successfully
navigate complicated processes around trade policies and compliance.
Management Suggestions/Solutions
Current transportation systems and land use patterns tend to be relatively
“automobile dependent,” meaning that they provide a relatively high level
of service to motorists, but inferior access by other modes. Since
physically, economically, and socially disadvantaged people tend to have
limited ability to drive, automobile dependency tends to make them even
worse off. Planning reforms that create more balanced, multi-modal
transportation systems and more accessible land use patterns tend to
support social equity objectives, such as helping the poor access education
and employment opportunities, and helping disabled people access
medical services and social activities. Many of these reforms are
incremental and their equity impact may appear small, but the cumulative
effects of a well planned package of reforms that improve travel options
and reduce automobile dependency can substantially increase social
equity.
Market Distortions
One important way of improving transportation for disadvantaged people
is to correct existing market distortions that favour automobile travel over
other modes, and that contribute to urban sprawl. Many common
planning practices that contribute to automobile dependency reflect
market distortions that violate basic economic principles. Planning reforms
that correct these distortions can help achieve multiple economic, social,
and environmental objectives.
The under-pricing of automobile transportation in planning models is
fundamental to the skewed preference for automobile dependent
systems. Although vehicles are expensive to own, they are relatively cheap
to drive—just a few cents per mile in direct expenses—because most
costs, such as depreciation, insurance, registration, and residential
parking, are fixed. Other costs, such as free parking and local road
maintenance, plus the costs associated with congestion, accident risks,
and environmental impacts, are external, funded by general tax revenues.
In fact, less than half the costs of driving are efficiently priced. This
increases per capita automobile travel and reduces demand for alternative
modes, which leads to a self-reinforcing cycle of automobile-dependency.
Other distortions that favour motorized travel include:
• Travel surveys undercount non-motorized travel (walking and
cycling trips) and overlook short or non-commute trips, and travel by
children. A multi-modal trip involving walking, a bus ride, and bicycling
may be counted solely as a transit trip.
• Economic evaluations of transportation investments often ignore
the true impacts of increased vehicular traffic—incremental parking, traffic
accidents, and consumer costs—and the real benefits of alternative modes
of transport.
• Most travel models do not account for the negative impacts of
additional vehicular traffic that results from roadway capacity expansion,
and overestimate the economic benefits of urban highway projects.
• Transportation planning indicators, such as average traffic speeds,
congestion delays, and roadway level of service, measure mobility rather
than accessibility.
Current funding practices tend to increase automobile dependency by
favouring parking and roadway facilities over alternative modes of
transport, even if the latter are more cost-effective. Most parking costs are
bundled into building costs, often due to zoning code requirements, or
funded through special accounts. Many jurisdictions have dedicated
highway funds that either cannot be used for other transportation
projects, or which provide lower matching rates for alternatives. In
addition, land use planning practices tend to encourage lower-density,
single-use, urban fringe development, which is unsuited for access by
alternative modes.
Although individual market distortions may seem modest and justified,
their effects are cumulative, significantly increasing transportation
inequities and problems. For example, many businesses provide free
parking, a subsidy that typically increases automobile travel by 15 to 25
percent. Offering a comparable benefit for users of other modes of
transport is more equitable and an effective way to reduce congestion and
pollution problems.
Win-Win Transportation Solutions
Integrated transportation planning gives as much weight to managing
demand as to increasing capacity. It considers all significant costs and
benefits, including non-market impacts. And it involves the public in
developing and evaluating alternatives.
For example, instead of segregated highway and public transit programs,
funding available for roadway and parking facility expansion projects could
be used for transit improvements, rideshare programs, or mobility
management programs if they are proven to be more cost effective
overall.
Improvement in the public transit system—such as additional routes,
expanded coverage, increased service frequency, and longer hours of
operation; comfort improvements; pricing innovations; improved rider
information; and transit oriented development (neighbourhoods designed
around transit stations)— would bring benefits for all.
Win-Win Solutions, such as mileage-based pricing for insurance and car
registration, road congestion pricing, managing parking access, and other
modest reforms, are “no regret” measures whose combined benefits can
be substantial while increasing consumer benefits and economic
development.
Parking access changes, such as reduced or flexible minimum parking
requirements, cash subsidies for employees, and unbundling parking from
building space, can encourage more transit use.
Pay-as-you-drive pricing, which bases insurance premiums on a vehicle’s
mileage during the policy term, makes insurance more equitable and
affordable, and benefits lower-income motorists who tend to drive their
vehicles less than average.
High occupancy vehicles-only lanes give buses, vanpools, and carpools
priority over general traffic. High occupancy vehicles-only lanes are a more
efficient and equitable allocation of road space and use of road capacity
(they impose less congestion on other road users), and can serve as an
incentive to shift transportation modes.
Commute trip reduction programs give commuters resources and
incentives to reduce their automobile trips. They typically include
improved transportation options, such as ridesharing, transit, telework
and flexitime, and incentives such a parking cash out or parking pricing.
Walking and bicycling improvements directly substitute for automobile
trips and support public transit and ridesharing. Residents of communities
with good walking and bicycling conditions drive less and use transit more.
“Smart Growth” land use improves accessibility for non-drivers and
encourage the development of more compact, pedestrian-friendly, transit-
oriented communities, where residents need to drive less.
Car sharing provides affordable, short-term (hourly and daily rate) motor
vehicle rentals in residential areas, giving consumers a convenient and
affordable alternative to vehicle ownership.
Traffic management designs reduce traffic speeds and volumes, and
discourage short-cuts through residential neighbourhoods. This increases
road safety and community liveability, and creates a more pedestrian- and
bicycle-friendly environment.
Road/congestion pricing, where motorists pay a fee to drive on a
particular roadway causes drivers to shift travel times, routes,
destinations, and modes of transport, and increases overall transportation
efficiency.
Many transportation problems are impossible to resolve without some of
the reforms suggested. Unfortunately, although transportation planners
recognize their potential benefits, they often treat them as last resort
measures, to be used to address specific congestion and air pollution
problems where conventional solutions prove to be ineffective. If fully
implemented to the degree that they are economically justified, Win-Win
Solutions could reduce motor vehicle impacts by 20 to 40 percent, and
help meet Kyoto emission reduction targets.
References
https://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm46.htm
https://www.oracle.com/ph/scm/what-is-transportation-management-
system/
https://rno-its.piarc.org/
https://www.softwareadvice.com/scm/transportation-management-
software-comparison/
