Healthy public transportation services rely on sound data collection to secure the maximum funding from the federal government. Automatic Passenger Counter (APC) certification and Average Passenger Trip Length (APTL) survey are two distinct, yet related, processes that agencies employ to ensure they are accurately reporting the unlinked passenger trips (UPT) and passenger miles traveled (PMT) to the federal government.
This series endeavors to simplify the complexities between the two surveys, making these essential procedures more accessible and comprehensible. In doing so, we empower transit professionals and stakeholders to navigate either of these techniques with confidence. By exploring the nuances of these processes, we aim to provide clarity for transit agencies, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of how APCs and APTL surveys contribute to accurate data reporting, and most importantly, funding.
In this first post, we will cover APC certification, followed shortly by another post on APTL surveys.
Purpose
APC certification is a meticulous initial survey, along with recommended ongoing maintenance, designed to validate and ensure the accuracy of data collected by APCs installed on transit vehicles. This hardware plays a crucial role in counting the number of passengers boarding and alighting, as well as calculating the passenger miles traveled (vehicle load multiplied by distance traveled per stop).
It’s important to note that APC certification is only mandatory if the agency has APC equipment installed and wishes to use it for National Transit Database (NTD) reporting. If your agency has APCs and you wish to take full advantage of the technology, then APC certification should be on your to-do list.
There are several benefits to consider if you are interested in certifying your APCs. Of course, there are some upfront and ongoing resource requirements, but in most cases, agencies should opt for APC certification.
The key advantages
Accurate Passenger Counting
APC systems provide a reliable and automated method for counting passengers boarding and alighting transit vehicles. Certification ensures the accuracy of these counts, eliminating manual errors and providing a more precise representation of ridership.
Enhanced Funding
More UPTs and PMTs equal more federal funds per the funding formula. A direct result of accurate counting is improved reporting. Fareboxes and operators tend to undercount ridership, reducing the number of unlinked passenger trips and miles you submit to the NTD. Consequently, your agency could be leaving money on the table.
Time Savings
Once approved for reporting purposes, APC-generated data can be used to populate the APTL boarding and alighting data. Though we will cover the APTL data collection in a future post, it’s worth mentioning here that quality APC data can streamline the APTL survey, removing the need to manually survey hundreds of trips as often as every year.
Key Steps
Now, let’s move onto the startup costs. APC certification requires some work. However, if you have a trustworthy APC system and experts to assist, it can go smoothly. If you don’t have those two inputs right now, feel free to contact us to learn more about our offerings.
These are the key steps to certify your APCs:
1. Benchmarking Plan
Agencies applying to use APC data must submit the benchmarking plan to FTA for approval. Submission of an APC benchmarking plan, particularly during the initial year of implementation and on a pre-determined triennial schedule thereafter, including descriptions of APC system, sampling procedures, flagged/rejected trips, APC malfunction statistics, and other relevant details are required. Sampling procedures depend on the number of active vehicles, with specific requirements for different agency sizes. Contact us if you are struggling with the benchmarking plan, and we can share our template to get you started.
2. Data Collection
Manual counts can be done using data collection staff onboard the vehicle or remotely via onboard security cameras. FTA recommends using a data collector at each door on heavily loaded trips. Moreover, the transit agency should select a variety of trips to put the APCs to the test. APC data should be processed to correct anomalies. The goal is to show that your APCs are counting within a five percent margin of error compared to manually collected data.
3. Data Validation
The NTD requires validation of APC data against manual samples. The minimum trip sample size is calculated by dividing the number of active vehicles with APC equipment by two (i.e. an agency must sample 25 trips if they have 50 APC-equipped vehicles). Key metrics to track include the percent difference of manual vs. APC UPTs (or boardings) and PMTs; these two calculations will be used to prove the reliability of your APCs. If the percent difference between manual vs. APC UPT and PMT values is less than five percent across all sampled trips, then the agency can submit their results for APC reporting approval.
Tips
Finally, we will leave you with some tips to facilitate the APC certification process. These are in no order, but we firmly believe that agencies should keep them in mind as you move through each of these steps.
Communication
Stay in contact with your NTD analyst. No one likes surprises, including the Federal Transit Administration. Contact them before and after each step to keep them abreast of your progress. Upfront and consistent communication with your analyst will allow you to flow through these steps and reduce the likelihood that you’ll have to redo your work.
Organization
Be diligent about completing your benchmarking plan entirely, as well as preparing and recording surveys once they are completed. Keep all your surveys in one location (if physical, we recommend scanning them to a digital folder). Store them in a location that your team can easily reference them in case the NTD asks for documentation. Let your team know where they are located and create a brief succession plan so you are not the only person with the information.
Ownership
Assign somebody to lead the project or take responsibility for the APC certification yourself. To successfully certify your APC system, your agency will need one primary contact for internal and external stakeholders. There is a fair amount of math involved, so preferably this person is good with data and Excel formulas. If you’re tired of your formulas breaking in Excel, or just prefer a purpose-built tool, check out ETA Transit’s latest NTD survey management product, Tally, that aims to simplify and digitize APC certification.
Conclusion
As we conclude this first installment of Tale of Two Surveys it’s evident that APC certification is not just a procedural requirement but a strategic investment for transit agencies. By certifying APCs, agencies unlock many benefits, from improved data accuracy and funding to streamlined time savings in subsequent surveys.
The advantages of APC certification extend beyond mere compliance, influencing the financial health of transit agencies and facilitating more efficient operations. Accurate data not only improves reporting but also enhances the overall quality of service, leading to greater satisfaction among commuters. As we navigate the complexities of public transit data management, APC certification emerges as a crucial step toward a future where data-driven decisions drive success.
In the upcoming post, we will move into the second part of our series on APTL surveys. Stay tuned for insights into this related process, and let’s continue exploring the differences.
