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STATISTICAL SUMMARY

Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators

Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 2002-03 Through 2006-07 (PDF 5.4 MB)

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
March 2008


Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 2001-02 Through 2005-06 (PDF 4 MB)

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
March 2007


Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 2000-01 Through 2004-05

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
January 2006, revised


Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 1998-1999 Through 2002-03

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
December 2004



Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 1997-98 Through 2001-02

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
December 2003


Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 1996-97 Through 2000-01

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
December 2002


Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 1995-96 Through 1999-2000

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
October 2001


Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators Fiscal Years 1994-95 Through 1998-99

Prepared by MTC's
Programming and Allocations Section
September 2000

INTRODUCTION
The Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators is designed to provide summary-level financial and operating information for the 16 largest public transit operators in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. MTC's objective is to produce a document for general use that includes the transit information most often requested by MTC and other interested parties.

The document's target audience is composed primarily of transit operators, private consultants, academic and industry researchers, as well as elected officials and professionals at all levels of government. Data provided in the Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators are audited figures from past fiscal years taken directly from the MTC Regional Reporting System, from the Federal Transit Administration National Transit Database reports, or through correspondence with transit agencies.

For the definitions of terms used in this document, please refer to Definitions.

General Format:

  • Operator Profile
    These one-page profiles provide basic information about each of the operators, including starting year, organization type, board selection process, and service area particulars (as defined by the individual properties). The System Characteristics section offers information on fleet size and composition, employee and route counts, and hours of operation. Inter-operator connections and joint fare instruments (e.g., transfers) are listed in the Inter-Operator Coordination section.

The tables at the end of each profile describe the operator's current fare structure. Adjacent to the fare structure tables is a 'Patronage' pie chart illustrating ridership characteristics for the most recent fiscal year. In those cases where such patronage data were unavailable, the charts display modal splits.

  • Financial and Operating Data
    The tables following each transit profile contain operator-specific financial and operating data for the given fiscal year, for each transit mode operated (including paratransit). All data have been audited and reported by the individual operators. In past editions, the Statistical Summary of Bay Area Transit Operators also included estimated financial and operating figures for the current fiscal year and projections for the following year. However, these figures were estimates only, and often differed significantly from the audited data later released. For this reason, the focus has been narrowed to include only audited data.
  • Performance Measures
    Performance measures are often used by transit agencies as tools for monitoring progress toward policy goals and objectives. With historical data, performance measures can be used to identify trends over time, as well as for forecasting future performance. The following table lists the performance measures presented for each operator, the performance concept each is intended to capture, and the formula for calculating each measure (in terms of the variables used in this document). Cost effectiveness calculations are presented both in current dollars and in constant dollars, using a Bay Area-specific Consumer Price Index to account for inflation.

Performance Concept

Performance Measure

Formula

Cost Efficiency

Operating cost per revenue-vehicle hour

Cost/RVH

Cost Effectiveness

Operating cost per passenger

Cost/Pass

Service Effectiveness

Passengers per revenue-vehicle hour

Pass/RVH

Service Effectiveness

Passengers per revenue-vehicle mile

Pass/RVM

Labor Efficiency

Revenue-vehicle hours per employee

RVH/Emp

Farebox Recovery

Ratio of fares received to total operating cost

Rev/Cost

The data presented in this document are intended to provide useful information about Bay Area transit operations. Readers of this document should not draw definitive conclusions about individual transit operators or about the Bay Area's transit system in general based solely on information from this summary. In some cases, comparative analyses may be appropriate. However, significant differences in operating environments, local geography, and system capital, as well as variations in reporting techniques, will likely result in differences in transit performance, even among operators of similar size.