Refinement and Use of Service Standards at the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board

The San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) has established service standards to evaluate the performance of existing routes. The first formalized process for service evaluation was developed in 1993 and approved by the MTDB as Policy 43—Service Management Process. In 1999, MTDB revised and updated the policy to provide for a more objective set of procedures to evaluate existing services and to rank new ones. Proposed changes to MTDB’s current standards and the process of gaining board approval for the new Policy 43 are described. A review of evaluation procedures at similar transit agencies is included. Unresolved issues that MTDB will be addressing over the next year in continuing to refine its service guidelines are briefly described.