TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Operations Quarterly Performance Report
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving the Quarterly Operations Performance Report for AC Transit Fixed Route Services during the Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 22-23.
Staff Contact:
Salvador Llamas, Chief Operating Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Safe and Secure Operations
Initiative - Service Quality
The Quarterly Operations Performance Report provides Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other District activities which support and are aligned with the following Strategic Plan Goals and Initiatives: Safe & Secure Operations, Convenient & Reliable Service, High Performing Workforce, Service Quality, Employee Recruitment, Training & Retention.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no budgetary or fiscal impacts related to this report.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Data Reporting
The data presented in this report was extracted on April 17, 2023 and may differ from the “live” District KPIs. The Quarterly Operations Performance Report provides information on programs within the District designed to improve the performance, reliability, cleanliness, and safety of the District’s bus service. The FY2023 Q3 Attachment provides graphical representations of the performance of the programs that include the benchmarking goal.
Employee Recognition
To continually recognize outstanding employees who are an essential part of achieving Division goals and objectives, the following employees were recognized as Employees of the Month during this quarter:
|
Transportation |
Jan-23 |
Feb-23 |
Mar-23 |
|
Road Supervision/OCC |
Alexandria Poole |
Melvin Barker |
Victor Rosemon |
|
Division 2: Emeryville |
Vanessa Lomax |
Sheryl Green |
Jatoria West-Blakely |
|
Division 3: Richmond |
Ronald Baskin |
Jose Surita-Morales |
Jasmine Bender |
|
Division 4: East Oakland |
Vladimir Strazhnikov |
Nifty Hasan |
Jung Pak |
|
Division 6: Hayward |
Daniel Adom |
Randy Garcia |
Sergio Berumen |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maintenance |
Jan-23 |
Feb-23 |
Mar-23 |
|
Central Maintenance |
Floyd Broach |
Ricardo Moreno |
Norman Martinsen |
|
Division 2: Emeryville |
Edison Gomez |
Carlos Paz |
Adan Melchor |
|
Division 3: Richmond |
Justin Cruz |
Daudi White |
Rafael Mendoza |
|
Division 4: East Oakland |
Derrick Lee |
Paul Williams |
Kenny Butler |
|
Division 6: Hayward |
Braden Mathews |
Angelica Dominguez |
Darnell Pierre |
On-Time Performance
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 1: On-Time Performance)
On-Time Performance (OTP) is a District Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to achieve 72% or higher. Systemwide OTP average in Q3 was 73.79% versus 73.95% in the prior quarter. The District met or exceeded the goal during each month: January (74.03%), February (73.47%) and March (73.86%). The average OTP for Transbay routes was 72.85% versus 73.57% in the prior quarter.
Operations Control Center (OCC) staff utilized line management methods to monitor and track on-time performance. Each controller is responsible for reviewing and monitoring the performance of a specified Division and collaborating with various departments to address in- service delays. This allows staff the ability to identify issues and mitigate them where possible. Line management teams focus on low-performing routes to improve the District’s on-time performance. Before developing a service sign-up, the Planning and Scheduling Department analyzes the lowest-performing lines to determine which lines may need schedule adjustments that will help improve on-time performance. This included various District departments and ATU Local 192 Driver’s Committee collaboration efforts that align and maximize efficient use of available resources to enhance the quality of service.
Ridership
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 2: Ridership)
System-wide weekday Ridership in Q3 averaged 117,548 versus 116,248 in the prior quarter. Weekday ridership throughout the quarter: January (111,583), February (124,253) and March (116,808). Weekday ridership on Transbay lines during Q3 averaged 6,104 versus 6,345 in the prior quarter. Transbay ridership accounted for 5.19% system-wide weekday ridership vs 5.46% in the prior quarter.
During Q3 the District observed an increase in ridership that could be a result to the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency. Many businesses are returning employees to in-office work, in-person activities and events continue to scale up in the region.
Service Operated Percentage
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 3: Service Operated)
System-wide percentage of Service Operated in Q3 was 95.87% versus 94.13% in the prior quarter. The Service Operated KPI goal is 99.5%. The District did not meet this goal during in any one month in the quarter: January (95.66%), February (94.8%) or March (97.16%).
This KPI was impacted by operator unavailability. During this quarter Operator absenteeism and vacancies continued to challenge daily service delivery. Even though we did not achieve the goal, we observed positive movement towards the goal.
Operator Log-On Rate
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 4: Operator Log-On Rate)
Operator Log-On Rate is a District KPI to achieve 95.0% or higher. The system-wide average rate in Q3 was 97.17% versus 97.09% in the prior quarter. The District met or exceeded this goal each month of the quarter: January (96.7%), February (97.0%) and March (97.82%).
Line Management groups in the Operations Control Center track and monitor log-on performance, address systematic issues, log-on operators if needed, and help operators with reminders to log on before they depart the yard. District Supervisors utilize mobile tablets in the field that tracks Operator log on activity. This combined effort resulted in sustained improvement and performance of the log-on percentage KPI. The District continues testing bilateral integration of data between our Clever Devices computer aided dispatching and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL) system and HASTUS scheduling software which will facilitate activation of single point log-on. Once implemented, this advancement in technology deployment will make a significant improvement with operator log-on rate performance.
Operator Unavailability
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 5 & 6: Scheduled/Unscheduled Unavailability)
Total Operator Unavailability is a District KPI to remain below a combined total of 22.50%: (1) Scheduled (8.50%) and (2) Unscheduled (14.00%).
The system-wide average for Total Operator Unavailability in Q3 was 30.53% versus 32.26% in the prior quarter. System-wide average Scheduled Operator Unavailability in Q3 was 8.61% versus 9.55% in the prior quarter. Scheduled Operator Unavailability was at or below the 8.50% threshold in February (8.49%) and March (6.49%) but was above it in January (10.85%).
System-wide average Unscheduled Operator Unavailability in Q3 was 21.92% versus 22.71% in the prior quarter. Unscheduled Operator Unavailability did not meet the goal of less than 14.00% during any month in the quarter: January (22.04%), February (22.67%) or March (21.04%).
AC Transit remains committed to the Leave Management Committee (LMC) and the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee which are collaborative initiatives focused on assisting employees with the return-to-work process. District and ATU Local 192 leadership have been collaborating on identifying opportunities to improve the “Operators’ Quality of Life” at work with a goal of reducing fatigue, improving morale, and positive outlook towards work assignments. This is a huge step forward and an ongoing process that is starting to yield results.
Accident Rates
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 7 & 8: Passenger Falls/Vehicle Accidents)
The system-wide average rate of Passenger Falls per 100,000 Miles in Q3 was 1.46 versus 1.54 in the prior quarter. The District was at or below the KPI target of less than 3.25 per 100,000 miles each month in the quarter: January (1.54), February (1.43) and March (1.41).
The system-wide average rate of Vehicle Collisions per 100,000 Miles in Q3 was 4.40 versus 4.11 in the prior quarter. The District was above the KPI target of less than 4.00 per 100,000 miles each month in the quarter: January (4.15), February (4.43) and March (4.62).
The Accident Reduction Taskforce meets monthly to analyze root causes of incidents and develop initiatives to minimize passenger falls and vehicle collisions. Accidents that occurred during the period were evaluated by this taskforce, which initiated new campaigns and updated others to focus on the highest accident types. One initiative is to engage with operators on all accident types, whether preventable or not, to get their feedback and raise awareness. Another initiative implemented was daily safety messages sent from the Operations Control Center (OCC) and broadcast to all buses. Safety messages are concise and diverse, each to emphasize pertinent personal and defensive driving safety reminders. Division Subcommittees have been created to analyze areas for improvements.
Miles Between Chargeable Road Calls
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 9: Miles Between Chargeable Road Calls)
Miles Between Chargeable Road Calls (MBCRC) is a KPI to meet or exceed 7,500 miles between chargeable road calls. System-wide MBCRC in Q3 was 8,882 versus 9,161 in the prior quarter. MBCRC exceeded the District’s goal each month of the quarter: January (8,033), February (9,963) and March (8,650).
The Road Call Reduction Taskforce (RCRT) meets monthly to analyze road calls to prevent repeat failures and develop initiatives to increase fleet reliability. OCC continues to utilize the Road Call Guideline Manual to address and resolve various vehicle performance issues on the bus fleet that could impact service. Ultimately, improved performance is directly related to Maintenance staff is doing a great job maintaining the fleet in order to achieve the KPI.
Bus Cleanliness Inspection - Overall Rating
(Reference Attachment 1, Chart 10: Bus Cleanliness Inspection - Overall Rating)
The system-wide average for Bus Cleanliness Inspection Overall Rating in Q3 was 7.96 versus 7.92 in the prior quarter. The District met or exceeded the KPI target of 8.00 in March (8.00) but was below this threshold in January (7.95) and February (7.93).
The Bus Cleanliness Taskforce meets monthly to analyze, investigate, and solve issues regarding bus cleanliness. Continual focus resides in those areas receiving the lowest rating in the monthly Quality Assurance department inspections. Service Employees continue to provide enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of the fleet in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staffing shortages have been minimized allowing the teams to focus more time on keeping the fleet clean.
Missed Trips
(Reference Attachment 2, Chart 1 & 2: Trips Not Operated by Service Type/Route)
Trips Not Operated for the quarter data is formatted in two views, one by service type (Chart 1) and the other by the route (Chart 2). Excluding “Supervisor Routes” a total of 461,424 Revenue Trips were Scheduled System-Wide during Q3: Local (424,520), Transbay (28,680), and School (8,224). The District did not operate 18,829 of these trips for a variety of cataloged reasons with the two largest contributors being No Workforce (47.6%) and Pending Relief Late (9.5%).
Accidents, Incidents, Road Calls, and various Detours were responsible for the other trips not operated during the quarter. The District tracks service cancellations, service reinstatement, and missed trips which will give the total revenue trips that were not operated. The District tracks missed trip data to ensure it correlates with the Service Operated KPI.
Bus Operator Recruitment
In Q3, the High-Volume Talent Acquisition Team (HVTAT) remained committed to hiring the best employees to fill the needs of the District. In the last three months, staff successfully hired 52 new Bus Operators. Talent Acquisition is currently preparing for our Spring Hiring event - “Spring into your new career”. This event will take place May 20, 2023 at our Training and Education Center in Hayward. This event will assist with our Bus Operator hiring as we will have onsite interviews and conditional offers will be given. We continue to attend job fairs in the community focusing on areas we service. Further, HVTAT has partnered with Marketing and Communications to deploy a new Recruitment Campaign to attract qualified candidates. The new campaign is currently running now, and it is called “We Got You”.
Journey Level Mechanic Staffing
The High-Volume Talent Acquisition Team (HVTAT) is currently recruiting for Journey Level Mechanics (JLM). We have administered the written exam and currently schedule hands-on testing and interviews for qualified candidates. Currently, there are 24 vacancies for the position of Journey Level Mechanic, with several candidates in various stages of the recruitment process. In the last three months, staff successfully hired 4 Journey Level Mechanic for the Divisions. HVTAT is preparing for the next class of Mechanic Helpers by reviewing applications of qualified applicants. The next group of Mechanic Helpers are scheduled to begin in Summer 2023. In addition to regularly scheduled job fairs and community events, Talent Acquisition partnered with Maintenance staff and are prepared to attended events focusing on car enthusiast with hopes of potential employees joining the workforce. HVTAT continues to deploy a recruitment campaign to fill the remaining vacancies promptly with qualified applicants.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
This report does not recommend a course of action with notable advantages or disadvantages.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
This report does not recommend an alternative analysis.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
There are no prior relevant Board action/polices.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Charts & Tables
Attachment 2: Trips Not Operated
Prepared by:
Scott Arjun, Senior Management Analyst
In Collaboration with:
Scott Arjun, Senior Management Analyst
Approved/Reviewed by:
Salvador Llamas, Chief Operating Officer
Cecil Blandon, Director of Maintenance
Dwain Crawley, Director of Transportation
William Tonis, Director of Business Sciences
Manjit K. Sooch, Director of Innovation and Technology
Janis Picket-Lacy, Director of Human Resources