NTD Reporting Tools

Swiftly has a number of features to assist in putting together S-10 (service form) and MR-20 (ridership activity) NTD reports. This is not an end to end solution but rather a set of datasets to support the process. The S-10 numbers can be calculated using our Missing Trips dataset and the MR-20 numbers can be calculated using the Passenger Counts dataset. For more details on the required fields, and the ones Swiftly provides, please see list below.

The relevant fields Swiftly can support are:

• Total Actual Vehicle Revenue Miles
• Total Scheduled Vehicle Revenue Miles
• Total Actual Vehicle Revenue Hours
• Unlinked Passenger Trips
• Passenger Miles Traveled

Limitations:

• Swiftly does not calculate deadhead time (including pull-out/pull-in) so we also cannot calculate total schedule/observed miles/hours
• Swiftly estimates layovers so that we can calculate revenue hours (running + layover). These are very rough estimates that agencies should validate/ tweak as needed

Using Swiftly to report service supplied

The most common process we have heard from agencies for computing service supplied is to take the total service scheduled and subtract missed service. We have made it easier to follow this process by creating a Missing Trips dataset.

Steps for using the Missing Trips dataset for calculating missed revenue miles/hours by dayType.

• Download the Missing Trips dataset from the Download Center, using the option to include NTD metrics
• Validate missed service (from list of missing service) using supporting columns. Process could include:
  • Using trip_completion_status to identify whether trips have some observed stop data (partial trips) or are completely missing (missing)
  • Verify missing service using GPS Playback
  • Cross-referencing operational data to identify missed trips from missing service dataset
  • Referencing list of service adjustments to identify planned missed service
• Determine the total number of missed minutes/hours associated with all missing service
  • The most common methodology we have heard from customers for calculating missed running time per trip is subtracting the different between observed and scheduled running time: Swiftly denotes the scheduled running time, and that can be compared to the observed_running_time.
  • A few methodologies we have heard from customers for calculating missed layover time include:
    • Subtracting a flat layover/layover percentage. Note: Swiftly has included an estimated layover field that follows this approach.
    • Cross-referencing scheduling data which can provide more detailed layover values and substituting that in the scheduled/observed revenue hours calculation
• Determine the total number of missed miles associated with all missing service
  • Swiftly has added up all of the segments with observed data but an agency may want to add in known mileage for detours
• Group data by dayType - use a pivot table to find average missed service for “weekday”, “saturday”, “sunday”
• Compare missed service calculated in Swiftly to the total scheduled revenue service
  • Swiftly’s Service Metrics dataset can be a useful starting place for understanding total scheduled service by month as it shows the total scheduled running distance and time.

 

Using Swiftly to calculate passenger miles traveled and unlinked passenger trips for NTD reporting

It is now possible to calculate passenger miles traveled and unlinked passenger trips using Swiftly’s Passenger Counts dataset. Navigate to the Downloads Center in the Swiftly dashboard and download the Passenger Counts dataset.

Calculating passenger miles traveled

As long as an agency has 100% APC coverage, passenger miles traveled can be calculated by summing all trip segment lengths multiplied by the number of people on the bus (occupancy).

PMT = sum(tripSegmentLengthMiles * occupancy)

This can be done in a spreadsheet software such as Excel by:

• creating a new column called "stopPMT"
• set the value of that column to "occupancy * distance_to_next_stop"
• summing all values in the "stopPMT" column to get a total passengerMetersTraveled
• converting from meters to miles by dividing passengerMetersTraveled by 1609.37, to get total passengerMilesTraveled

Calculate unlinked passenger trips

As long as an agency has 100% APC coverage, unlinked passenger trips can be calculated by summing all of the boardings. This can be done in a spreadsheet software such as Excel by summing all values in the"boardings"  column.