WHAT IS PERFORMANCE-BASED PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING?

Performance-based planning and programming (PBPP) applies data to inform decisions aimed at helping to achieve desired outcomes for the region’s multimodal transportation systems. The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) articulated its desired outcomes for the Boston region’s transportation system in its current long-range transportation plan (LRTP), Charting Progress to 2040. The overall vision established in Charting Progress to 2040 is to create 

a modern transportation system that is safe, uses new technologies, provides equitable access, excellent mobility, and varied transportation options—in support of a sustainable, healthy, livable, and economically vibrant region.

Charting Progress to 2040 also created a framework to guide the MPO in making investments through its planning and programming processes, namely, the LRTP—an investment plan covering more than 20 years—the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)—a five-year plan for funding capital infrastructure projects—and the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP)—which is produced annually to support conceptual plans and research. The LRTP, TIP, and UPWP processes become PBPP processes when the MPO takes the following actions:

• Sets goals and objectives for the transportation system
• Selects performance measures and sets targets for performance outcomes
• Gathers data and information to monitor and analyze trends
• Uses performance measures and data to make spending decisions 
• Monitors, analyzes, and reports decision outputs and performance outcomes  

In many ways, the MPO is already applying PBPP principles when making investment decisions as part of the LRTP, TIP, and UPWP development processes. However, over the next few years, the MPO will need to respond to new federal PBPP requirements. In addition to meeting federal requirements, by enhancing the performance-management elements in its planning and programming activities, the MPO can

• better understand how spending decisions affect the performance of the transportation system as a whole;
  
  
• make better decisions, including difficult tradeoffs, by focusing on data and specific performance outcomes;
  
  
• increase accountability and transparency in MPO planning processes;
  
  
• and better integrate MPO planning and programming activities.

This document describes 

• the PBPP process;
• upcoming federal requirements and activities related to PBPP;
• how the MPO uses PBPP practices today; and
• next steps for the MPO to build its PBPP practice, including key decisions the MPO will need to make. 

A glossary of PBPP terms and a list of key transportation performance-management rules and requirements are included at the end of this document. 

The diagram below illustrates the elements involved in PBPP, and how they relate to some of the MPO’s existing plans and activities. The PBPP process, which is cyclical, includes three phases: 

• Plan: Set the goals, objectives, performance measures, and targets that will guide MPO decision-making, and identify and acquire necessary data. This step involves multiple MPO documents and processes. The figure below outlines the MPO’s goals and objectives established during the Charting Progress to 2040 planning process.
  
  
• Program: Use the PBPP framework established in the aforesaid planning phase to create a strategy for investing MPO discretionary funds, specifically in the LRTP and TIP.
  
  
• Monitor and Evaluate: Review and report on the outcomes of MPO investment decisions with respect to performance measures and targets, and determine what framework or strategy adjustments are needed.   

FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) directed MPOs to develop LRTPs and TIPs “through a performance-driven, outcome-based approach to planning.”1 It required states, MPOs, and operators of public transportation to establish targets for performance measures in key performance areas, and to coordinate with one another when setting these targets. These requirements have been continued under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), the current transportation funding law. 

Highway Performance

MAP-21 set seven national goals for the nation’s highway systems. The table below lists these goals and shows how they align with the MPO’s goal areas, as outlined in Charting Progress to 2040.  

Through the federal rulemaking process, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has required states and MPOs to monitor the transportation system using specific performance measures to address the national goals and performance areas identified in MAP-21. The table below lists specific measures in various performance areas for roadways and highways. 

Transit Performance

Recipients of public transit funds—which can include states, local authorities, and public transportation operators—are required to establish performance targets for safety and state of good repair; to develop transit asset management and transit safety plans; and to report on their progress toward achieving targets. Public transportation operators are directed to share information with MPOs and states so that all plans and performance reports are coordinated. 

The table below identifies performance measures outlined in the National Public Safety Transportation Plan, released by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and in the final rule for transit asset management.

* Reportable as defined in the National Transit Database Safety and Security Reporting Manual. 

Other Requirements and Provisions

The transportation legislation and federal rules that identify performance measures also describe how states and MPOs will need to incorporate these measures into their planning processes. This information is current as of January 18, 2017. MPO staff is awaiting further federal guidance on implementation of these provisions, several of which are described below:

Target Setting 

• MPOs are required to establish performance targets no later than 180 days after the state or public transportation operator sets performance targets.2
  
  
• For each roadway performance measure, an MPO can decide to commit to support a statewide target, or to establish a quantifiable target specific to its planning area. 
  
  
• Both state and MPO targets for roadway performance measures will be set at two-year and four-year intervals.
  
  
• States, MPOs, and public transit operators must coordinate their respective targets for performance measures with each other to ensure consistency to the maximum extent practicable. 

Reporting 

• States and MPOs’ LRTPs must describe the performance measures and targets used to assess system performance, evaluate the performance of the transportation system with respect to the federally required performance targets, and report on progress made. 
  
  
• State Transportation Improvement Programs (STIPs) and MPOs’ TIPs must link investment priorities to the targets in their respective LRTPs and describe, to the maximum extent practicable, the anticipated effect of the program toward achieving established targets. 
  
  
• MPOs must report baseline roadway transportation system condition and performance data and progress toward the achievement of targets to their respective state Departments of Transportation (DOT). 

Federal Assessments

• FHWA will determine whether state DOTs have met or have made significant progress towards meeting targets for the highway system. Progress at the state level would be considered significant if an actual outcome is either equal to or better than the established target, or better than the baseline condition.
  
  
• FHWA and FTA will not directly assess MPO progress towards meeting targets for required performance measures. Instead, these agencies will review MPO performance as part of ongoing transportation planning process reviews, including Transportation Management Area certification reviews (required for the Boston Region MPO) and the Federal Planning Finding associated with approval of the STIP.3

 BUILDING THE BOSTON REGION MPO’S UNIQUE PERFORMANCE-BASED PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING PROCESS 

The MPO is already engaging in activities that support PBPP. The table below lists the steps of the MPO’s proposed PBPP process, indicates whether the LRTP and TIP processes are relevant to each step (noted in the table with green shading), identifies activities already underway (noted in the table with a check mark), and those that are planned (noted in green with no check mark).

Going Beyond Federal Requirements

The requirements in MAP-21 and the FAST Act establish the backbone of the MPO’s PBPP process. In response to the existing federal mandate, over the next several years, the MPO will continue to set targets for specific required performance measures and coordinate on PBPP activities with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the MBTA, other MPOs, and other stakeholders. However, the MPO can exceed these requirements to create a PBPP process that meets the MPO’s specific needs and interests. The following options are available:

• The MPO can decide to select any number of performance measures for its six goal areas in addition to those required by federal legislation. Specific performance targets could be set for these measures to track performance. The table on the opposite page includes examples of performance measures that could be incorporated into the MPO’s PBPP process. The MPO has already used some of these performance measures for the LRTP Needs Assessment, scenario planning, LRTP and TIP performance reports, and for air-quality related evaluations. 
  
  
• The MPO can use scenario planning exercises during the development of the LRTP to explore different performance measures for use in planning and programming.  
  
  
• The MPO could explore different approaches and tools to update the public on performance measurement and progress toward achieving goals. 

Over the coming months, MPO staff will collect information for use in performance measurement, monitor updates in federal and state PBPP processes, explore tools and data, and recommend methods, performance measures, and performance targets to the MPO board. This work is designed to help the MPO make key decisions that will create an effective, integrated, and informative PBPP process for the Boston Region MPO.  

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GLOSSARY 

The definitions below are adapted from FHWA’s glossary, Transportation Performance Management Terms.

Goal: A broad statement of a desired end condition or outcome (e.g. “transportation by all modes will be safe”).

Metric: An indicator of performance or condition (e.g. number of fatalities during a particular year).

Objective: A specific, measurable statement that supports achievement of a goal (e.g. increase the percentage of the Boston region’s population and places of employment with access to bicycle facilities, which enhances capacity management and mobility).

Outcome: Intended results or consequences of carrying out a particular program or activity, which are often of most interest to system users (e.g. number of serious injuries reduced). 

Output: Goods, services, or activities produced by a program or project that are delivered to the public (e.g. miles of pavement improved).  Outputs can be process oriented, and they help agencies track a program’s progress toward reaching desired outcomes. 

Performance Measure: A metric used to monitor and report on a [transportation] characteristic. These measures are used on an ongoing basis to track progress toward goals, objectives, and achievement of targets (e.g. number of fatalities, tracked over time to assess progress in improving transportation safety).

Performance-based Planning and Programming: A strategic process, or series of processes, that apply data to inform decisions aimed at helping to achieve desired outcomes for the region’s multimodal transportation systems.

Strategy: A plan of action for achieving a target, goal, or objective (e.g. programming more Complete Streets projects to support more non-motorized travel).

Target: A level of performance that an entity seeks to achieve within a specific time frame (e.g. a five percent reduction within two years of crashes that result in serious injuries to bicyclists and pedestrians).

KEY RULES AND REQUIREMENTS 

(as of January 18, 2017)

23 US Code §134 – Metropolitan transportation planning 

23 US Code §135 – Statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning 

23 US Code §150 – National goals and performance management measures

23 Code of Federal Regulations Part 450 –  Planning assistance and standards

23 Code of Federal Regulations Part 490 –  National performance management measures

49 US Code §5303 –  Metropolitan transportation planning

49 US Code §5326 –  Transit asset management 

49 Code of Federal Regulations Part 625 –  Transit asset management

49 US Code §5329 –  Public transportation safety program 

FTA, National Public Transportation Safety Plan (2017)

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