El Paso, TX--NM Urbanized Area Congestion Report
In the line graphs below, FHWA uses Data Collection Year instead of Data Reporting Year to represent snapshot condition/performance at the time the data was collected. More information
The El Paso, TX--NM Urbanized Area covers parts of New Mexico and Texas. Targets are agreed upon by several transportation agencies and apply to the entire area.
Annual Hours of Peak-Hour Excessive Delay (PHED) Per Capita
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Annual Hours of Peak-Hour Excessive Delay (PHED) Per Capita 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Condition/Performance 8.4 -- -- -- -- Targets -- -- 9.0 -- 10.0
Annual Hours of Peak-Hour Excessive Delay (PHED) Per Capita
- Basis for Targets
- 2-yr Progress
- Basis for 4-yr Target Adjustment
- 4-yr Planned Activities
- 4-yr Progress
(New Mexico) For the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Area, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) estimated the PHED measure utilizing the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) travel time data set for years 2017 through 2021. On average, in 2021, each resident of the urbanized area experienced 7.5 hours of delay in excess of the defined threshold for excessive delay while traveling on the region’s road network between 4-8 p.m. The actual reported PHED from 4-8 p.m. indicates that in 2019 (6.3 hours) and 2020 (4.6 hours) there was a big drop in PHED, likely due to pandemic-related reductions in all travel; however, the reported value rose significantly in 2021 (7.5 hours), to a higher value than in 2017 (7.4 hours), indicating an upward trend. Due to 2019 and 2020 not being consistent values, it is difficult to use this period of data to forecast and obtain a reliable target. For future performance reports, EPMPO is looking into using the Travel Demand Model to forecast and obtain a more reliable target. Given these challenges, and that EPMPO/TxDOT/NMDOT can adjust them at the mid-performance report (with the benefit of two more years of data), EPMPO/TxDOT/NMDOT set a target of no more than nine (9) hours of peak hour excessive delay for the 2-year target, and ten (10) hours for the 4-year target, for the 4-8 p.m. peak period.
(Texas) These targets are higher than the calculated baseline. However, from 2017-2021 observed PHED values show a significant drop in 2019 and 2020, likely due to pandemic-related reductions in travel. Given that this is the first time the EPMPO is required to set targets and that the data is not consistent to be able to forecast and obtain a reliable target, these were set to 9.0 and 10.0 respectably for the 2-year and 4-year. This is conservative considering the expected demographic growth. Targets were established first by looking at PHED trends for years 2017 through 2021, computed from the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) Analytics Dashboard which utilizes INRIX data. Once the trends were established and a probable value projected for years 2024 and 2026, the EPMPO in consultation with local partners and TTI, agreed on a value that, through particular projects and/or policies, could be reached locally and contribute nationally to improve PHED goals. Such projects and policies should become a main element of the long rage plan for our region. The EPMPO is looking into adding data from additional years in order to develop a more consistent trend (isolate pandemic effects); once this is achieved, the EPMPO might be able to revise the targets.
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Data Sources:
2022 Biennial Performance Report
2022 HPMS Data Submittal
Non-Single Occupancy Vehicle (Non-SOV) Travel
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Non-Single Occupancy Vehicle (Non-SOV) Travel 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Condition/Performance 20.2 -- -- -- -- Targets -- -- 20.0 -- 20.0
Non-Single Occupancy Vehicle (Non-SOV) Travel
- Basis for Targets
- 2-yr Progress
- Basis for 4-yr Target Adjustment
- 4-yr Planned Activities
- 4-yr Progress
(New Mexico) Federal rulemaking allows for a variety of data sources for this measure, but strongly encourages use of 5-Year American Community Survey (ACS) results for the sake of consistency with state and federal partners. While results of the ACS are generally not available in the year they were collected, federal guidance explicitly allows the reporting agency to use the latest available ACS results for target-setting.
For this performance period EPMPO used the ACS to establish targets. Looking at the estimates provided by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), approximately 18% of commuting trips qualified as Non-SOV travel in 2018, and 19% in 2019. The ACS data, as provided in the Performance Management Form, set the baseline Non-SOV travel at 20.2%.
These estimates were used as the baseline to develop a trendline and extrapolate to set the proposed targets for years 2024 and 2026. The desired trend is to increase the percent share of Non-SOV. However, if the best-fit line method is applied to only two years of data and extrapolated through the end of the performance period, the 2024 target would be 24.5%, and 26.7% for the 4-year target in 2026.
EPMPO/TxDOT/NMDOT believe these numbers are unrealistic, even if there is a great effort by entities to increase the mode shares. Therefore, EPMPO/TxDOT/NMDOT set both the 2-year and 4-year targets at 20%. Using these targets, the goal for this performance period will be to maintain current mode shares. These targets may be adjusted when additional data is available at the mid-performance period report in two years.
(Texas) Due to the lack of enough data for previous years, the 2-year and 4-year targets were both set to 20%. Using these targets, the goal for this performance period will be to maintain current mode shares. These targets can be adjusted when additional data is available at the mid-performance period report in two years. These targets are still optimistic based on the limited observed data, but lower than what the trend suggests, mainly because very few observations are available. Targets were established first by looking at Non-SOV trends for years 2018 through 2019, gathered from the ACS. Once the trends were established and a probable value projected for years 2024 and 2026, the EPMPO in consultation with local partners and TTI, agreed on a value that, through particular projects and/or policies, could be reached locally and contribute nationally to improve Non-SOV goals. Such projects and policies should become a main element of the long rage plan for our region. The EPMPO is looking into adding data from additional years in order to develop a more consistent trend (isolate pandemic effects); once this is achieved, the EPMPO might be able to revise the targets.
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Data Sources:
2022 Biennial Performance Report
2022 HPMS Data Submittal