Memorandum
Date March 19, 2015
TO Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization
FROM Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director
RE Work Program for: MBTA Service Delivery Policy Customer Input
Review and approval
That the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, upon the recommendation of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, vote to approve the work program for MBTA Service Delivery Policy Customer Input presented in this memorandum
Technical Support/Operations Analysis Projects
11398
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
Project Supervisors: Ted Basta
Principal: Elizabeth Moore
Manager: Annette Demchur
Future MBTA Contract
The MPO staff has sufficient resources to complete this work in a capable and timely manner. By undertaking this work, the MPO staff will neither delay the completion of nor reduce the quality of any work in the UPWP.
Under a previous contract with MassDOT, CTPS is assisting the MBTA in the process of reviewing and updating its Service Delivery Policy and the service standards contained therein. For this process, CTPS is working with MBTA staff and a technical advisory committee and will consult with a group of peer agencies and a policy advisory committee. In addition, in keeping with the MBTA’s interest in understanding a customer-oriented perspective on service performance, CTPS will work with the MBTA to obtain customer input on potential service-standard metrics and thresholds. This work program outlines a plan for ensuring that customer input and customer-oriented standards are incorporated into the Service Delivery Policy update process.
The objective of this project is to obtain customer input on the service-standard metrics and thresholds used by the MBTA for evaluating its services.
The work required to accomplish the project’s objective will be carried out in the five tasks described below.
CTPS staff recently created an inventory of transit surveys conducted by or for the MBTA, and is developing a searchable database of the questions included in these surveys and the locations of the data sets and summary reports of data analyses. CTPS staff will use this database to identify surveys that included questions that had been designed to solicit feedback on customer preferences and priorities; acquire the data collected from the responses to those questions; and summarize the results.
Tabular summary of customer feedback from existing survey data
CTPS staff will assist the MBTA staff in developing a Web-based passenger survey to solicit customer input on service preferences and priorities that could be considered when developing service standards. The questions will be designed to solicit information on the everyday customer decision-making related to transit use that could help to inform the process of updating the existing service standards, and the analysis of any new aspects of service performance identified in Task 1 and in the literature review and peer review tasks of the Service Standards and Service Delivery Policy Update project. CTPS will have the survey translated into the top five limited-English-proficiency languages in the MBTA service area: Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian/French Creole, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), and Vietnamese.
In addition, CTPS staff will work with the MBTA Marketing Communications Department and Operations Department to develop and implement a survey marketing and distribution strategy. This strategy will include a method for obtaining a representative sample of MBTA riders.
Finally, CTPS will analyze and summarize the results of the new survey and share this information with the Technical Advisory Committee and Policy Advisory Committee.
CTPS staff will work with MBTA staff to solicit feedback from members of advocacy groups who have an understanding of the technical details and tradeoffs involved in selecting metrics and setting thresholds for MBTA service standards. CTPS and MBTA staff will conduct up to 10 focus-group meetings with advocacy groups to measure the level of support for specific proposals for service-standard metrics and thresholds identified by the Technical Advisory Committee. The focus groups will be chosen to ensure that riders with different backgrounds, transit experiences, and modal usage are represented. The focus groups may include members of the following groups:
CTPS will document, synthesize, and summarize the discussions that occur in these meetings and will share this information with the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy Advisory Committee.
Summary of the findings from the focus-group meetings
CTPS and MBTA staff will work with the members of the Policy Advisory Committee who represent constituency groups in order to solicit feedback from their membership on potential service-standard metrics and thresholds. To do this, CTPS staff will assist MBTA staff in developing instruments for soliciting this information. Additionally, CTPS staff will assist MBTA staff in training the Policy Advisory Committee members in techniques for engaging their membership in the process and for soliciting input throughout the process. CTPS will synthesize the results and feedback obtained from the Policy Advisory Committee members in this process, and will share this information with the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy Advisory Committee.
Summary of the input received from Policy Advisory Group constituents
CTPS will compile, analyze, and synthesize the data obtained in Tasks 2, 3, and 4 of the project in tabular format and present a summary of the findings to the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy Advisory Committee.
Summary of results in tabular format and presentation of findings to the Technical Advisory Committee and the Policy Advisory Committee
It is estimated that this project will be completed 11 weeks after work commences. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.
The total cost of this project is estimated to be $46,336. This includes the cost of 15.2 person-weeks of staff time, overhead at the rate of 91.82 percent, and other direct costs. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.
KQ/AD/ad
Task |
Week | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | |
|
1.
Review and Summarize Existing Survey Data |
From week 1 to 3.
| ||||||||||
|
2.
Assist the MBTA in Conducting a Customer Survey |
From week 1 to 8.
| ||||||||||
|
3.
Assist the MBTA in Conducting Focus Groups with Advocacy Organizations |
From week 7 to 11.
| ||||||||||
|
4.
Assist the MBTA in Obtaining Input from Policy Advisory Committee Constituents |
From week 8 to 12.
| ||||||||||
|
5.
Produce a Table of Results and Present a Summary of Findings to Committees |
From week 7 to 12.
| ||||||||||
Task |
Person-Weeks | Direct Salary |
Overhead (91.82%) |
Total Cost |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-1 | P-3 | Total | ||||
|
1.
Review and Summarize Existing Survey Data
|
0.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 | $1,651 | $1,516 | $3,167 |
|
2.
Assist the MBTA in Conducting a Customer Survey
|
2.9 | 3.1 | 6.0 | $8,508 | $7,812 | $16,319 |
|
3.
Assist the MBTA in Conducting Focus Groups with Advocacy Organizations
|
2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | $6,817 | $6,260 | $13,077 |
|
4.
Assist the MBTA in Obtaining Input from Policy Advisory Committee Constituents
|
0.8 | 1.2 | 2.0 | $2,727 | $2,504 | $5,231 |
|
5.
Produce a Table of Results and Present a Summary of Findings to Committees
|
0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | $1,012 | $930 | $1,942 |
|
Total
|
6.2 | 9.0 | 15.2 | $20,715 | $19,021 | $39,736 |