A Snapshot of Transportation Planning: Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
6.0 Agency Performance Measures
ODOT uses 27 key performance measures (KPM) to present results to external clients/interested groups, such as the legislature and citizens. These measures are selected from multiple areas, including transportation (e.g., travel delay, transit ridership, crashes and fatalities, pavement condition, bridge condition, etc.), environment and sustainability (e.g., fish passage, bike lanes and sidewalks, etc.), and economy (e.g., number of construction jobs created, number of projects on budget, etc.). The KPMs[9] are grouped under the following five goals.
The measures considered under this goal are as follows:
- Traffic Fatalities. Measured as traffic fatalities per 100 million VMT. Data sources include Crash Analysis and Reporting (ODOT), Fatality Analysis Reporting System (ODOT), and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (USDOT).
- Traffic Injuries. Measured as traffic injuries per 100 million VMT. Data from Crash Analysis and Reporting (ODOT) and Traffic Monitoring System is used to calculate this measure.
- Impaired Driving. Measured as percent of fatal traffic accidents that involved alcohol. Data sources are Crash Analysis and Reporting (ODOT), Fatality Analysis Reporting System (ODOT), and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (USDOT).
- Use of Safety Belts. Measured as percent of all vehicle occupants using safety belts. Data sources include Transportation Safety Division (ODOT) and Occupant Protection Observation Study (by Intercept Research Corporation).
- Large Truck at-Fault Crashes. Measured as the number of large truck at-fault crashes per one million VMT. Data sources are ODOT Motor Carrier Division and ODOT Transportation Development Division (Crash Analysis and Reporting Unit).
- Rail Crossing Incidents. Measured as the number of highway-railroad at-grade incidents. Data from the Rail Division is used to calculate this measure.
- Derailment Incidents. Measured as the number of train derailments caused by human error, track, or equipment. Rail Division is the data source for this measure.
- Travelers Feel Safe. Measured as percent of public satisfied with transportation safety. Data sources include Transportation Safety Division (ODOT) and Traffic Safety Attitude Survey (by Intercept Research Corporation).
The measures considered under this goal are as follows:
- Travel Delay. Measured as hours of travel delay per capita, per year in urban areas. Travel delay is measured using data available from ODOT's Transportation Development Section and the methodology described in the Urban Mobility Report (by Texas Transportation Institute).
- Incident Response. Measured as the percent of lane-blocking crashes cleared within 90 minutes.
- Special Transit Rides. Measured as the average number of special transit rides per each elderly and disabled Oregonian, per annum. Public Transit Division is the data source for this measure.
- Rail Ridership. Measured as the number of state-supported rail service passengers. Rail Division is the data source for this measure.
- Intercity Passenger Service. Measured as the percent of Oregon communities of 2,500 or more with intercity bus or rail passenger service. Public Transit Division is the data source for this measure.
- Commuting to Work. Measured as the percent of Oregonians who do not commute alone to work during peak hours. Sources include data from Research Unit and Transportation Development Division.
6.3 Preservation
The measures considered under this goal are as follows:
- Pavement Condition. Measured as the percent of pavement-lane miles rated "fair" or better out of the total lane miles in the state highway system. The Pavement Services Unit, Highway Division is the data source for this measure.
- Bridge Condition. Measured as the percent of highway bridges that are not distressed out of all highway bridges.
The measures considered under this goal are as follows:
- Fish Passage at State Culverts. Measured as the number of high-priority ODOT culverts remaining to be retrofitted or replaced to improve fish passage. Statewide Culvert Inventory for Priority Culverts data, and data from Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (Fish Passage Program), is used to calculate this measure.
- Bike Lanes and Sidewalks. Measured as the percent of urban state highway miles with bike lanes and pedestrian facilities in "fair" or better condition. Data from Bicycle/Pedestrian Program, Highway Division is used to calculate this measure.
The measures considered under this goal are as follows:
- Jobs from Construction Spending. Measured as the number of jobs sustained as a result of annual construction expenditures. Data sources are Transportation Program Office, Highway Division, Financial & Economics Analysis Section, and Central Services Division.
- Timeliness of Projects Going to Construction Phase. Measured as the percent of projects going to construction phase within 90 days of target date. For this measure, the project's target bid let date is obtained from the Project Control System (PCS), and the actual Notice to Proceed (NTP) date from the Letting and Awards System (LAS) module.
- Construction Project Completion Timeliness. Measured as the percent of projects with the construction phase completed within 90 days of original contract completion date. Highway Program Office provides data to calculate this measure.
- Construction Projects on Budget. Measured as the percent of original construction authorization spent. Highway Program Office provides data to calculate this measure.
- Certified Businesses. Measured as the percent of ODOT contract dollars awarded to disadvantaged, minority, women, and emerging small businesses. Office of Civil Rights, Executive Office provides data to calculate this measure.
- Customer Service. Measured as the percent of customers rating their satisfaction with the agency's customer service as "good" or "excellent" on overall customer service, timeliness, accuracy, helpfulness, expertise, and availability of information. Central Services Division (Audit Services Branch) provides data to calculate this measure.
- Office Wait Time. Measured as field office wait time (in minutes).
- Phone Wait Time. Measured as phone queue time (in seconds).
- Title Wait Time. Title transaction turnaround time (in days).
In addition to the KPMs, the department uses a number of other performance measures for internal management purposes. For example, ODOT provides motor carrier crash data required to meet a federal performance measure for Oregon's motor carrier safety performance by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which determines ODOT's qualification for motor carrier division safety grants. Transportation performance measures commonly used by ODOT to evaluate projects/alternative plans are per capita vehicle miles of travel, volume/capacity ratios, and auto occupancy. As expected, some of these measures address requirements defined by state and federal policies, including MAP-21, more completely than others. ODOT is currently in the process of developing new performance measures. The agency plans to start the integration of the new performance measures, including the performance measures developed in response to MAP-21, into the existing performance management system in 2014.
[9] More information on the KPMs, including 2013 ODOT Annual Performance Progress Report, is available here: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/CS/PERFORMANCE/Pages/index.aspx
