HomeMy WebLinkAbout05 Transit in Iowa City_20200901 - sentIOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-1
5 TRANSIT IN IOWA CITY METRO
AREA
This analysis compares and tracks the operations and performance of CAMBUS, Coralville
Transit, and Iowa City Transit (also called the ‘study agencies’) from 2012 through 2017. The
trends in this chapter represent performance relative to both previous years and each other study
agency, providing context for future service improvements.
Data used in this analysis are from the National Transit Database (NTD ), a federal database of
transit data to which CAMBUS, Coralville Transit, and Iowa City Transit report annually. The
analysis is conducted only through 2017 because that is the most recent year for which NTD data
have been released. The key performance and operations indicators analyzed are:
▪ Annual passenger trips
▪ Annual revenue hours
▪ Passengers per revenue hour
▪ Annual revenue miles
▪ Passengers per revenue mile
▪ Total annual operating expenses
▪ Operating expense per passenger
▪ Operating expense per revenue hour
▪ Annual farebox revenue
▪ Average passenger fare
▪ Farebox recovery ratio
KEY FINDINGS
▪ Total ridership for all agencies has declined by 13% from 2012 to 2017
▪ The amount of service provided by all agencies did not change significantly from 2012 to
2017
▪ Efficiency in service provision and operating expenses declined significantly for all
agencies from 2012 to 2017
▪ CAMBUS’ operating expenses are significantly lower than both Coralville Transit and
Iowa City Transit’s, both absolutely and on a per-passenger and per-hour basis, due
primarily to CAMBUS’ use of student operators
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-2
Operating Figures
Passenger Trips
Figure 5-1 shows unlinked passenger trips1 for each agency. From 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS
consistently recorded the highest number of annual boardings, with Coralville Transit reporting
the fewest. From 2012 to 2014, ridership increased on CAMBUS before declining, with the largest
dip occurring between 2016 and 2017 (-11%). The largest decrease in ridership for Coralville
Transit occurred from 2016 to 2017 (-13%) and for Iowa City Transit from 2015 to 2016 (-11%)
Overall, from 2012 to 2017, ridership decreased by 9% on CAMBUS, decreased by 23% on
Coralville Transit, and decreased by 20% on Iowa City Transit. Ridership for all agencies
combined has declined a total of 13% over the same period.
Figure 5-1 Annual Unlinked Passenger Trips by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
1 An ‘unlinked passenger trip’ represents a single boarding of a transit vehicle. Passengers that board an Iowa City
Transit bus and then transfer to a CAMBUS vehicle, for example, are counted as two unlinked passenger trips.
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
3,500,000
4,000,000
4,500,000
5,000,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-3
Revenue Hours
Annual revenue hours is a common measure of the amount of service provided by a transit
agency. For the study agencies, annual revenue hours (Figure 5-2) fluctuated slightly from 2012 to
2017 but did not change significantly. From 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS has consistently provided the
most service and Coralville Transit the least.
From 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS and Iowa City Transit decreased their annual revenue hours by 3%,
while Coralville Transit increased its revenue hours by 5%.
Figure 5-2 Annual Revenue Hours by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-4
Passenger Trips per Revenue Hour
Passenger trips per revenue hour is a commonly-used measure of service efficiency; providing
more trips per hour can mean a transit service is using its resources more efficiently. Among
study agencies from 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS has consistently provided the most trips per revenue
hour of the three study agencies, while Iowa City Transit has typically provided the fewest (Figure
5-3). In 2017, Coralville Transit’s trips per revenue hour dipped below Iowa City Transit’s.
From 2012 to 2017, all study agencies experienced a decline in trips per revenue hour, with
Coralville Transit’s being the most extreme (-27%) and CAMBUS’ the least extreme (-6%).
Overall, Iowa City area transit agencies in 2017 carried 11% fewer passengers per revenue hour
than they did in 2012. Because these agencies have not significantly increased the number of
revenue hours operated, this decline in efficiency is likely due to falling ridership.
Figure 5-3 Passenger Trips per Revenue Hour by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-5
Revenue Miles
Revenue miles operated is a similar measure to revenue hours operated, proxying for the total
amount of service a transit agency offers. From 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS and Iowa City Transit
operated nearly identical annual revenue miles, while Coralville Transit operated significantly
fewer (Error! Not a valid bookmark self-reference.). ??
From 2012 to 2017, revenue miles operated by each agency have changed only slightly; CAMBUS
operates 9% fewer revenue miles, Coralville Transit operates 8% more revenue miles, and Iowa
City Transit has not changed its annual revenue miles operated. Overall, the study transit
agencies operated 3% fewer revenue miles in 2017 than they did in 2012.
Figure 5-4 Annual Revenue Miles by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-6
Passenger Trips per Revenue Mile
Like passenger trips per revenue hour, passenger trips per revenue mile is a helpful metric for
assessing a transit agency’s efficiency. From 2012-2017, CAMBUS consistently carried the most
trips per revenue mile (approximately six trips per revenue mile), and Iowa City Transit carried
the fewest (between two and three; Figure 5-5Error! Not a valid bookmark self-
reference.).??
From 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS’ trips per revenue mile rose and then fell, peaking in 2015.
Coralville Transit’s passengers per revenue mile declined by 29% and Iowa City Transit’s declined
by 20%. Overall, the combined agencies’ trips per revenue mile declined by 10% from 2012 to
2017. Because these agencies have not drastically increased the number of revenue miles
operated, this decline is likely primarily due to declining ridership.
Figure 5-5 Passenger Trips per Revenue Mile, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-7
Expense Figures
Operating Expenses
Figure 5-6 shows the total annual operating expenses for the three study agencies. From 2012 to
2017, Iowa City Transit operating expenses have been more than $5 million per year—by far the
most of the three study agencies. CAMBUS, despite operating significantly more revenue hours,
has lower total annual operating expenses, at approximately $3 million. This lower total cost is
primarily due to CAMBUS’ use of student operators, although it also benefits from sharing facility
maintenance expenses with the University of Iowa. From 2012 to 2017, operating expenses have
not significantly changed for any agency, although Iowa City Transit’s total annual operating
expenses did decline slightly, by 6%.
Figure 5-6 Annual Operating Expense by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$5,000,000
$6,000,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-8
Operating Expense per Passenger Trip
Operating expense per passenger trip is a common measure of a transit agency’s cost of providing
service. From 2012 to 2017, operating expense per passenger trip increased significantly for all
three study agencies (Figure 5-7). During the five-year study period, Iowa City Transit has
typically had the highest cost per passenger trip, followed closely by Coralville Transit.
From 2012 to 2017, CAMBUS’ cost per passenger trip has increased by 13%, Coralville Transit’s
cost per passenger trip has increased by 34%, and Iowa City Transit’s cost per passenger trip has
increased by 18%. Across all three agencies, the operating cost per passenger trip increased by
13% from 2012 to 2017. Because the amount of service offered by each agency has not
significantly increased, this is likely primarily driven by ridership losses.
Figure 5-7 Operating Expense per Passenger Trip by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
$3.50
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-9
Operating Expense per Revenue Hour
Operating expenses per revenue hour are another common measure of the cost of service
provision. From 2012 to 2017, both Coralville and Iowa City Transit typically spent over $80 per
revenue hour on service, while CAMBUS spent approximately $40 per revenue hour (Figure 5-8).
In this time period, Coralville and Iowa City Transit’s operating cost per revenue hour peaked in
2014 and declined thereafter, for a total change of -2% from 2012 to 2017. CAMBUS’ cost per
revenue hour increased by 5% in this time period but remained significantly lower than Coralville
and Iowa City Transit’s.
Figure 5-8 Operating Expense per Revenue Hour by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
$100
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
CAMBUS Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-10
Farebox Revenue
Farebox revenue is determined by ridership, fare evasion rates, and the costs and usage rates of
various fare products. From 2012 to 2017, both Coralville Transit and Iowa City Transit’s farebox
revenues peaked in 2015 and declined in the following two years (Figure 5-9). CAMBUS does not
charge riders a fare. The decrease in farebox revenue for Coralville and Iowa City Transit is likely
primarily caused by falling ridership.
Figure 5-9 Annual Farebox Revenue by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
$0
$200,000
$400,000
$600,000
$800,000
$1,000,000
$1,200,000
$1,400,000
$1,600,000
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-11
Average Fare
The average fares paid to a transit agency normalizes farebox revenue by ridership, allowing for a
closer examination of trends in fare payment. From 2012 to 2017, the average fare paid by riders
peaked for Coralville Transit in 2015 and declined afterwards (Figure 5-10). The average fare paid
by riders on Iowa City Transit increased steadily from 2012 to 2017.
Figure 5-10 Average Fare by Agency, 2012-2017
Source; National Transit Database
$0.00
$0.10
$0.20
$0.30
$0.40
$0.50
$0.60
$0.70
$0.80
$0.90
$1.00
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit
IOWA CITY AREA TRANSIT STUDY | FINAL REPORT
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc. | 5-12
Farebox Recovery Ratio
Farebox recovery is a ratio of farebox revenues to operating expenses and is used to help estimate
what percent of a transit agency’s operations are funded by rider fares. From 2012 to 2017,
farebox recovery rates peaked in 2015 for both Coralville Transit and Iowa City Transit, declining
in the years following. CAMBUS does not collect rider fares. Because operating costs are not
significantly declining for these agencies, the decline in farebox recovery ratio is likely primarily
due to falling ridership.
Figure 5-11 Farebox Recovery Ratio by Agency, 2012-2017
Source: National Transit Database
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Coralville Transit Iowa City Transit