2009 transportation metropolitan Atlanta performance report

2009 Transportation MAP Report
A Snapshot of Atlanta's Transportation System Performance

Transportation MAP Report Contact: Valentin Vulov, AICP, Principal Project Manager Georgia Regional Transportation Authority 245 Peachtree Center Avenue, NE, Suite 800 Atlanta, Georgia 30303-1223 Phone: 404-463-2434 E-mail: vvulov@grta.org
Cover photo by Rob Alexander

2009 Transportation Metropolitan Atlanta Performance Repo rt
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority 245 Peachtree Center Ave., NE Atlanta, GA 30303 404-463-3000 www.grta.org

CONTENTS
Executive Summary, 1
Overview, 3
Mobility, 4 Freeway Travel Time Index, 4 Freeway Planning Time Index, 10 Freeway Buffer Time Index, 15 Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled per Licensed Driver / Person, 19 Pavement Condition Rating, 20 Transit Passenger Miles Traveled, 21 Annual Transit Passenger Boardings, 22
Transit Accessibility, 23 Population and Employment within Walk Distance to Transit, 23 Transit Service Revenue Hours, 24 Passenger Trips per Transit Service Hour, 26 Number of Vanpools, 27
Air Quality, 28 Daily Vehicle Emissions, 28
Safety, 30 Traffic Crash Fatalities, 30 Pedestrian and Bicyclist Fatalities, 32 Roadway Clearance Time, 34
Transportation System Performance, 36 Atlanta Transportation Performance Index, 36
Summary of 2008 Transportation MAP Measures, 38
Appendix 1: Freeway Travel Time, Planning Time Index, and Buffer Time Index, 40
Appendix 2: Georgia Safety Report 2009, 102

GRTA's MISSION, PURPOSE AND VALUES
Mission: It is the mission of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to improve
Georgia's Mobility, Air Quality, and Land Use Practices.
Purpose: Focus the Atlanta region on congestion and mobility by ensuring that the region sets goals and targets, and measures progress. Advocate, plan, implement and measure public transportation services in the Atlanta region.
Values: Connect transportation with land use. Remove barriers, implement best practices, and maximize the investment in transportation. Operate as an open, accountable, efficient and effective public authority. Operate within a decision-making framework that values public participation. Base decisions upon fact-based analysis that provides the greatest public benefits for the resources invested. Work for the best interest of the region in cooperation with federal, state, regional and local partners. Advocate and implement a transportation system that is multi-modal, seamless and accessible to all.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA) acknowledges and thanks the following partner organizations which contributed to compiling the 2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report:
U.S. Department of Transportation The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) The Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources The Atlanta Regional Commission Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).
The Transportation MAP Report is updated and produced annually by GRTA. To access this report and its appendices online, visit http://www.grta.org under the "Mobility" section.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 2009 Transportation MAP Report updates the annual Transportation MAP Report, which sets performance measures for tracking the performance of the transportation system in Metropolitan Atlanta. Measures are set in five general categories--Mobility, Transit Accessibility, Air Quality, Safety, and Transportation System Performance.
The 2009 report reveals a broadly positive picture for the Metropolitan Atlanta transportation system, with some progress in all tracked areas. More specifically, the pavement condition rating of Atlanta improved slightly in 2008, although much more work is needed to compensate for the critical pavement deterioration in 2007. Freeway congestion during the morning and evening peak period, as measured by the travel time index, showed its biggest improvement since the baseline year of 2002, bringing the region to 2002 congestion conditions. Similar positive changes also manifested themselves in the two travel time reliability measures--the planning time index and the buffer time index. Daily vehicle miles traveled per person decreased again in 2008, continuing a trend that began in 1998.
MARTA revenue service hours increased in 2007, reversing the downward trend of previous years. The annual revenue service hours provided by the other transit providers-- C-TRAN, Cobb Community Transit (CCT), Douglas County Rideshare (DCR), GRTA, Gwinnett Transit, and VPSI-- continued to increase robustly. Both the transit passenger miles traveled and the transit passenger boardings increased in 2007, with the latter rising at a faster rate. The passenger trips per transit service hour--a measure of transit efficiency--has leveled off for both MARTA and the other transit providers. Finally, the overall number of vanpools in the region continued its record-setting upward trend, reaching 553 in 2008.
On the air quality front, the efforts to improve air quality will have to continue in light of the tougher 8-hour ozone and the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standards. The emissions measures--daily vehicle emissions of volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and primary fine particulate matter--show that vehicle emissions in 2008 were 62, 58 and 62 percent of their respective year 2000 level--a drop more than a third over eight years.
Roadway safety improved considerably in 2008, closely tracking a national trend, with the absolute number and rate of traffic crash fatalities dropping to about 2002 levels. Bicyclist fatalities and fatalities rates stayed flat, while pedestrian ones were up slightly.
Roadway clearance time, which contributes significantly to reducing congestion in metropolitan Atlanta, dropped to its lowest level since records began with roadway clearance time for tractor-trailers of 36 minutes and 23 minutes for vehicles in 2008.
The Atlanta transportation performance indices synthesize the state of the roadway services, roadway safety, roadway emissions, and transit services in the Atlanta region. This is the first year when the four basic indices show a simultaneous improvement. The roadway emissions index stands at 140.7 in 2007, an improvement of more than forty percent over the 2002 base year. The transit services also show a significant improvement with a 2007 index value of 115.1. The roadway services index and the roadway safety index help improve the overall transportation system's performance with values of 96.0 and 97.4 for 2007, respectively. Figure 1 on the next page depicts the four indices.

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Figure 1: Atlanta Transportation Performance Indices

Index, % (going up indicates improvement)

150 140 130 120 110 100
90 80
2002

Roadway Services Index Transit Services Index Roadway Emissions Index Roadway Safety Index

121.3

107.8 100.2
97.3 89.8

113.0 102.9 98.4 91.7

103.1
95.9 87.9

2003

2004

Year

2005

130.7
108.4
93.8 85.8 2006

140.7
115.1 97.4 96.0 2007

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OVERVIEW
Metropolitan Atlanta will make significant investments in its transportation system over the next 20 years. In order to assess the effectiveness of those investments, a group of agencies responsible for managing those investments has developed a set of measures for tracking the performance of those investments. This is the fifth annual Transportation Metropolitan Atlanta Performance (MAP) Report summarizing those measures and targets. The measures and targets focus on five areas: Mobility, Transit Accessibility, Air Quality, Safety, and Transportation System Performance. These measures are obtained for the 13county Atlanta area consisting of Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale Counties.
The agencies tracking these measures are the U.S. Department of Transportation, GDOT, the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Atlanta Regional Commission, GRTA, and MARTA.
Base years have been set for the measures, typically 2000 or 2001. Each year, after the data is collected and certified, the agencies present a report of the region's progress in meeting the targets that have been set. New measures are developed and added to this report as they become necessary.

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MOBILITY
The mobility measures listed below track highway and transit system mobility:
Freeway travel time index,
Planning time index,
Buffer time index,
Daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per person or driver,
Pavement condition rating,
Transit passenger miles traveled, and
Annual transit passenger boardings.
The first five measures address the ease and reliability with which an individual vehicle can travel over the roads, the distances the average person or driver drives each day, and the physical condition of the roadway. The final two measures track how far people in the region travel on public transit in a year, which is roughly analogous to annual vehicle miles traveled, and the number of trips that people make using public transit each year.
The freeways are at the heart of Atlanta's highway system. The roads that move traffic onto and off the freeway are called arterials. The amount of traffic a road is designed to handle is the road's capacity. The traffic actually on the road is its volume. The volume, capacity and travel time are used to calculate mobility measures.
FREEWAY TRAVEL TIME INDEX
Measuring congestion on the region's freeways is a difficult task that can be approached using a variety of tools. The travel time index (TTI) is one measure of congestion. It summarizes the degree of congestion, in terms of travel time, that a traveler experiences compared to free-flow conditions. A TTI of 1 is a free-flow condition typically a speed-limit ride. A TTI of more than 1 illustrates how much more time it takes to make a trip during the congested periods. For example, for I-75 northbound from I-285 to Wade Green Road, a distance of 14 miles, the TTI at the evening peak (5:15 p.m.) is 1.69. This means that at the speed limit the trip takes about 14 minutes, but that the congestion at 5:15 p.m. adds another 10 minutes to the trip (1.69 x 14 minutes = 23.7 minutes). A TTI number closer to 1 is better.
TTI is obtained as the ratio of the average travel time over the free-flow travel time to traverse a certain portion or segment of the freeway system. For this report, measurements were created using GDOT's NaviGAtor video detection cameras. The Metropolitan Atlanta freeway network covered by the Georgia NaviGAtor system is split into 20 bidirectional segments (segments 17 and 18 came online in 2007, followed by segments 19 and 20 in 2008). Coverage is determined by the functioning NaviGAtor infrastructure across the Metropolitan Atlanta freeway system as depicted on Figure 2 on page five.
These cameras are strategically placed to monitor speeds and volumes, with each camera taking a measurement every 20 seconds. As many as 1.5 billion measurements are taken by these cameras each year. The measurements are examined and aggregated into 15minute intervals for the morning peak period (6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.) and evening peak period (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) for the weekdays only. Subsequently, the freeway travel time index during the slowest region-wide one-hour morning (7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.) and evening peak

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(5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) period is obtained for each of the 20 segments. The regional travel time index is then obtained as the weighted average of the freeway segment TTIs with VMT used as weight. In cases when a segment TTI is less than one the respective segment TTI is assumed equal to one. The higher the TTI number the worse the congestion is. Figure 3 on page six depicts the Metropolitan Atlanta TTI for the slowest one-hour morning and afternoon peak period, respectively.
The freeway travel time index measure is the VMT-weighted average of the freeway segments' TTIs for the one-hour morning and evening peak period with the slowest regional freeway travel speed, averaged across all directional freeway segments.
Figure 2: NaviGAtor Video Detection Coverage

575

Legend

19 COBB
75
1

NaviGAtor Instrumented Freeway Segments

Future Coverage

Segment Boundary

1-20 Segment Numbers

285

20

FULTON 10

4 00

11
285

12
285

GWINNETT

14 1

7

85

4 00

2

8

85 75

285
13 78

CITTY OOF AATLANTAA

75/85

20

15 3

75/85

16 6

4

285

9 75

85

5

20
17

28 5
14 DEKALB 16
20
285 18

FULTON
85

285
75
CLAYTON

675
6

ROCK HENRY DALE

Mobility

FAYETTE

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For the 2002 base year, during the morning peak period, TTI was 1.22. This TTI reached a peak of 1.34 in 2006 and has improved sharply since then to 1.21 in 2008. Similarly, during the afternoon peak period the average TTI worsened from 1.26 in 2002 to 1.36 in 2006 and dropped to 1.23 in 2008.
The worst performing morning segment in 2008 was northbound I-75 between I-85 and I-20, with an average TTI of 1.76. The worst performing evening segment was southbound I-75/I-85 between I-85 and I-20, with TTI of 2.42. The actual travel times by freeway segment used in obtaining the regional TTI are summarized in Appendix 1.1
It is important to recognize that the regional TTI measure is a VMT-weighted average. With speeds on some segments of the freeway network in excess of 70 mph and others at less than 30 mph, at the same time of day, the average TTI may seem low to those who regularly travel the segments with slower speeds. The freeway travel time index, by creating a weighted average TTI for the slowest one-hour periods of the day, provides a constant by which the performance of the freeway network can be compared from year to year. Additionally, the measure provides a record of the performance of individual segments of the network, thus making it easier for the region to assess the impacts on congestion of improvements or degradations to individual segments of the freeway network.
In order to put the regional TTI measure in context, the travel time index, by individual segment, is summarized in Table 1 on page nine. Additionally, the 2008 TTIs, depicted by freeway segment, are presented in Figure 4 (morning peak hour) and Figure 5 (evening peak hour) on pages seven and eight, respectively.

Figure 3: Freeway Travel Time Index
1.40

Freeway Travel Time Index

1.35
1.30 1.26
1.25 1.22
1.20

1.36

1.34 1.33
1.33

1.30 1.29

1.31

1.30 1.26
1.27

AM (7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.)

PM (5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.)

1.23 1.21

1.15 2002

2003

2004

2005 Year

2006

2007

2008

1 The travel times graphs by freeway segment are located at http://www.grta.org/PDF_Files/Appendices_2009_Transportation_MAP_Report.pdf, starting on page 42.
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Figure 4: 2008 Travel Time Index Morning Peak (7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.)

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Figure 5: 2008 Travel Time Index Afternoon Peak (5 p.m. 6 p.m.)

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Table 1: 2008 Travel Time Index by Freeway Segment (Segment-Specific Peak Hour)

Freeway Segment Description 1: I-75 NB (from I-285 to Wade Green Road) 1: I-75 SB (from Wade Green Road to I-285) 2: I-75 NB (from I-85 to I-285) 2: I-75 SB (from I-285 to I-85) 3: I-75/I-85 NB (from I-20 to I-85) 3: I-75/I-85 SB (from I-85 to I-20) 4: I-75 NB (from I-85 to I-20) 4: I-75 SB (from I-20 to I-85) 5: I-75 NB (from I-285 to I-85) 5: I-75 SB (from I-85 to I-285) 6: I-75 NB (from Hudson Bridge Road to I-285) 6: I-75 SB (from I-285 to Hudson Bridge Road) 7: I-85 NB (from I-285 to Old Norcross Road) 7: I-85 SB (from Old Norcross Road to I-285) 8: I-85 NB (from I-75 to I-285) 8: I-85 SB (from I-285 to I-75) 9: I-85 NB (from Camp Creek Parkway to I-75) 9: I-85 SB (from I-75 to Camp Creek Parkway) 10: GA-400 NB (from I-285 to Old Milton Parkway) 10: GA-400 SB (from Old Milton Parkway to I-285) 11: I-285 EB (from I-75 to GA-400) 11: I-285 WB (from GA-400 to I-75) 12: I-285 EB (from GA-400 to I-85) 12: I-285 EB (from I-85 to GA-400) 13: I-285 NB (from US-78 to I-85) 13: I-285 SB (from I-85 to US-78) 14: I-285 NB (from I-20 to US-78) 14: I-285 SB (from US-78 to I-20) 15: I-20 EB (from I-285 to I-75/I-85) 15: I-20 WB (from I-75/I-85 to I-285) 16: I-20 EB (from I-75/I-85 to I-285) 16: I-20 WB (from I-285 to I-75/I-85) 17: I-285 NB (from Airport Tunnel to I-675) 17: I-285 SB (from I-675 to Airport Tunnel) 18: I-285 NB (from I-675 to I-20) 18: I-285 SB (from I-20 to I-567) 19: I-575 NB (from I-75 to Hwy 92) 19: I-575 SB (from Hwy 92 to I-75) 20: I-285 NB (from I-20 to I-75) 20: I-285 SB (from I-75 to I-20)

Segment Length (miles) 14.00 14.55 8.45 7.86 4.41 4.40 3.88 3.75 4.00 4.12 14.53 14.45 10.71 10.66 9.96 10.45 4.86 4.20 13.14 13.16 6.82 7.21 6.48 6.37 5.37 5.89 8.20 7.45 6.43 7.12 9.85 9.39 6.22 6.26 5.98 6.14 6.22 6.26 5.98 6.14

Morning Peak Hour 9:00 7:30 6:00 8:15 8:15 8:45 8:00 9:00 7:15 6:15 7:15 6:00 7:00 7:45 8:15 8:15 7:15 6:00 N/A N/A 8:15 9:00 8:00 8:15 8:00 9:00 7:30 9:00 8:00 9:00 6:00 8:00 9:00 7:15 7:30 7:30 9:00 7:30 8:00 7:15

Morning Peak
Hour TTI 1.00 1.55 1.00 1.08 1.33 1.09 1.76 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.13 1.00 1.02 1.60 1.00 1.04 1.00 1.00 N/A N/A 1.32 1.00 1.00 1.45 1.32 1.00 1.34 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.55 1.02 1.00

Evening Peak Hour 17:15 17:45 17:15 17:45 17:15 17:15 16:00 17:15 16:45 17:00 16:45 17:15 17:15 17:15 17:30 17:15 15:45 17:15 N/A N/A 17:45 17:15 17:15 17:15 15:00 17:15 16:00 17:15 17:45 17:15 17:30 15:15 17:15 17:45 17:30 17:30 17:30 17:45 18:00 17:30

Evening Peak Hour
TTI 1.69 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.20 2.42 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.05 1.35 1.85 1.01 1.00 1.07 1.00 1.00 N/A N/A 1.00 1.70 1.68 1.06 1.00 2.17 1.03 1.12 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.43 1.00 1.00 1.36

The TTIs presented in this table are the VMT-weighted average TTI for each of the segments during the one-hour segment-specific peak period with the slowest average speed.

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FREEWAY PLANNING TIME INDEX
Travel time reliability can be defined as how much trip travel times vary over the course of time. This variability in travel times from one day to the next is due to the fact that underlying conditions vary widely. Consequently, travelers must plan for these unreliable conditions on congested roadways by leaving earlier than normal just to avoid being late.
The planning time index (PTI) is a measure of trip reliability and is expressed similarly to the TTI with PTI of 1 being a speed-limit trip and a PTI of 2 being a trip that takes twice as long to make. PTI tells a traveler how much extra time she needs to plan for to make a trip so that she can be sure to arrive at her destination on time 19 times out of 20 (95 percent of the trips). For example, for I-75 northbound from I-285 to Wade Green Road, a distance of 14 miles, the PTI at the evening peak (5:00 p.m.) is 2.41. That means that if a traveler wants to be sure to get from the I-75 and I-285 intersection to Wade Green Road reliably (19 times out of 20) that she would have to plan for a trip of about 34 minutes (2.41 x 14 minutes = 33.7 minutes), versus the 14 minutes she would expect during free-flow conditions. PTI is computed as the ratio of the 95th percentile travel time, also known as planning time, over the free-flow travel time obtained for a certain portion or segment of the freeway system. A PTI number closer to 1 is better.
Measurements for the planning time index were created using GDOT's NaviGAtor video detection cameras as described in the freeway travel time index section of the report. The Metropolitan Atlanta freeway network covered by the Georgia NaviGAtor system is split into 20 bidirectional segments. Coverage is determined by the functioning NaviGAtor infrastructure across the Metropolitan Atlanta freeway system as depicted on Figure 1 on page five. The measurements are examined and aggregated into 15-minute intervals for the morning peak period (6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.) and evening peak period (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) for the weekdays only. Subsequently, the freeway planning time index during the slowest region-wide one-hour morning (7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.) and evening peak (5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) period is obtained for each of the 20 segments. The regional planning time index is then obtained as the weighted average of the freeway segment PTIs with VMT used as weight. In cases when a segment PTI is less than one the respective segment PTI is assumed equal to one. The higher the PTI number the less reliable the travel time is. Figure 6 on page 11 depicts the Metropolitan Atlanta PTI for the slowest one-hour morning and afternoon peak period, respectively.
The freeway planning time index measure is the VMT-weighted average of the freeway segments' PTIs for the one-hour morning and evening peak period with the slowest regional freeway travel speed, averaged across all directional freeway segments.
For the 2002 base year, during the morning peak period, PTI was 1.53. This PTI reached its highest regional value of 1.80 in 2006 and then decreased sharply to 1.57 in 2008. Similarly, during the afternoon peak period the average PTI worsened from 1.83 in 2002 to 2.02 in 2006 and then improved to 1.57 in 2008.
The worst performing morning segment in 2008 was northbound I-75 between I-85 and I-20, with an average PTI of 2.71. The worst performing evening segment was southbound I-285 between I-85 and US-78, with PTI of 4.17. The actual planning time index

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values by freeway segment used in obtaining the regional PTI are summarized in Appendix 1.2
The freeway planning time index, by creating a weighted average PTI for the slowest one-hour periods of the day, provides a benchmark by which the travel time reliability of the freeway network can be compared from year to year. Additionally, the measure provides a record of the reliability of individual segments of the network, thus making it easier for the region to assess the impacts on reliability of improvements or degradations to individual segments of the freeway network.
In order to put the regional PTI measure in context, the planning time index, by individual segment, is summarized in Table 2 on page 14. Additionally, the 2008 PTIs, depicted by freeway segment, are presented in Figure 7 (morning peak hour) and Figure 8 (evening peak hour) on pages 12 and 13, respectively.
Figure 6: Freeway Planning Time Index

Freeway Planning Time Index

2.10
2.00
1.90 1.83
1.80
1.70
1.60 1.53
1.50
1.40 2002

2.02 1.98

1.93 1.91

1.93

1.80

1.72

1.62

1.68

1.72

1.77 1.57

AM (7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.)

PM (5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.)

2003

2004

2005 Year

2006

2007

2008

2 The planning time index graphs by freeway segment are located at http://www.grta.org/PDF_Files/Appendices_2009_Transportation_MAP_Report.pdf, starting on page 62.
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Figure 7: 2008 Planning Time Index Morning Peak (7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.)

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Figure 8: 2008 Planning Time Index Afternoon Peak (5 p.m. 6 p.m.)

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Table 2: 2008 Planning Time Index by Freeway Segment (Segment-Specific Peak Hour)

Freeway Segment Description 1: I-75 NB (from I-285 to Wade Green Road) 1: I-75 SB (from Wade Green Road to I-285) 2: I-75 NB (from I-85 to I-285) 2: I-75 SB (from I-285 to I-85) 3: I-75/I-85 NB (from I-20 to I-85) 3: I-75/I-85 SB (from I-85 to I-20) 4: I-75 NB (from I-85 to I-20) 4: I-75 SB (from I-20 to I-85) 5: I-75 NB (from I-285 to I-85) 5: I-75 SB (from I-85 to I-285) 6: I-75 NB (from Hudson Bridge Road to I-285) 6: I-75 SB (from I-285 to Hudson Bridge Road) 7: I-85 NB (from I-285 to Old Norcross Road) 7: I-85 SB (from Old Norcross Road to I-285) 8: I-85 NB (from I-75 to I-285) 8: I-85 SB (from I-285 to I-75) 9: I-85 NB (from Camp Creek Parkway to I-75) 9: I-85 SB (from I-75 to Camp Creek Parkway) 10: GA-400 NB (from I-285 to Old Milton Parkway) 10: GA-400 SB (from Old Milton Parkway to I-285) 11: I-285 EB (from I-75 to GA-400) 11: I-285 WB (from GA-400 to I-75) 12: I-285 EB (from GA-400 to I-85) 12: I-285 EB (from I-85 to GA-400) 13: I-285 NB (from US-78 to I-85) 13: I-285 SB (from I-85 to US-78) 14: I-285 NB (from I-20 to US-78) 14: I-285 SB (from US-78 to I-20) 15: I-20 EB (from I-285 to I-75/I-85) 15: I-20 WB (from I-75/I-85 to I-285) 16: I-20 EB (from I-75/I-85 to I-285) 16: I-20 WB (from I-285 to I-75/I-85) 17: I-285 NB (from Airport Tunnel to I-675) 17: I-285 SB (from I-675 to Airport Tunnel) 18: I-285 NB (from I-675 to I-20) 18: I-285 SB (from I-20 to I-567) 19: I-575 NB (from I-75 to Hwy 92) 19: I-575 SB (from Hwy 92 to I-75) 20: I-285 NB (from I-20 to I-75) 20: I-285 SB (from I-75 to I-20)

Segment Length (miles) 14.00 14.55 8.45 7.86 4.41 4.40 3.88 3.75 4.00 4.12 14.53 14.45 10.71 10.66 9.96 10.45 4.86 4.20 13.14 13.16 6.82 7.21 6.48 6.37 5.37 5.89 8.20 7.45 6.43 7.12 9.85 9.39 6.22 6.26 5.98 6.14 6.22 6.26 5.98 6.14

Morning Peak Hour 6:00 7:15 6:00 8:00 7:45 8:15 7:45 6:00 7:00 6:00 7:00 6:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 8:00 7:30 6:00 N/A N/A 7:30 9:00 7:30 7:45 7:45 9:00 7:30 9:00 7:45 8:00 6:00 7:45 8:00 7:30 7:30 7:15 9:00 7:30 8:00 7:15

Morning Peak
Hour PTI 1.08 2.25 1.00 1.57 1.62 1.43 2.71 1.00 1.01 1.00 1.39 1.14 1.10 2.29 1.00 1.37 1.08 1.00 N/A N/A 1.59 1.00 1.00 1.76 2.09 1.00 2.63 1.00 1.19 1.00 1.00 1.46 1.00 1.00 1.09 1.00 1.00 2.70 1.61 1.00

Evening Peak Hour 17:00 17:45 17:00 17:15 17:15 16:45 16:00 17:15 17:15 16:45 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:15 17:00 17:00 15:30 16:45 N/A N/A 17:15 17:00 17:00 17:00 16:45 17:00 16:15 17:15 15:30 17:00 17:15 18:00 17:30 17:45 17:00 17:30 17:30 17:45 18:00 17:30

Evening Peak
Hour PTI 2.41 1.09 1.52 1.38 2.36 3.24 1.64 1.13 1.02 1.23 1.19 1.95 2.93 1.15 1.22 1.50 1.00 1.05 N/A N/A 1.28 2.79 3.02 1.94 1.08 4.17 1.19 1.56 1.00 1.11 1.35 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.11 1.00 1.88 1.02 1.00 2.22

The PTIs presented in this table are the VMT-weighted average PTI for each of the segments during the one-hour segment-specific peak period with the slowest average speed.

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FREEWAY BUFFER TIME INDEX
The buffer time index (BTI) is another measure of trip reliability. It represents the extra time (or buffer) that a traveler needs to add to a congested trip time to consistently arrive on time 19 out of 20 times. BTI is expressed as a percentage of the average congested trip time. So, for the same 5:00 o'clock evening trip on I-75 from I-285 to Wade Green Road, which takes on average about 24 minutes, a traveler needs to allow for a buffer of 43 percent if she wants to be on time 19 out of 20 times. In other words, this traveler needs to give her selves about 34 minutes 43 percent more time than 24 minutes, if she wants to be sure of arriving on time 19 out of 20 times. A lower BTI percentage (closer to 0) is better.
Measurements for the buffer time index were created using GDOT's NaviGAtor video detection cameras as described in the freeway travel time index section of the report. The freeway buffer time index measure is the VMT-weighted average of the freeway segments' BTIs for the one-hour morning and evening peak period with the slowest regional freeway travel speed, averaged across all directional freeway segments. The resulting BTI for Metropolitan Atlanta is depicted on Figure 9.
For the 2002 base year, during the morning peak period, BTI was 26.1%. This BTI worsened to 33.8% in 2006, and then declined to 28.9% in 2008. During the afternoon peak period the average BTI stayed roughly flat until 2006, declining since then to 38.3% in 2008.
The worst performing morning segment in 2008 was northbound I-285 between I-20 and US-78, with BTI of 96%. The worst performing evening segment was northbound I-75/I-85 NB between I-20 and I-85, with an average BTI of 96%. The actual BTI values by freeway segment used in obtaining the regional BTI are summarized in Appendix 1.3
The buffer time index, by individual segment, is summarized in Table 3 on page 18. Additionally, the 2008 BTIs, depicted by freeway segment, are presented in Figure 10 (morning peak hour) and Figure 11 (evening peak hour) on pages 16 and 17, respectively.
Figure 9: Freeway Buffer Time Index
50

Freeway Buffer Time Index, %

45 41.7
40

43.3

42.9

43.9

42.9

40.2

38.3

35
30 26.1
25
20 2002

28.1

31.5

32.0

33.8

30.7

28.9

AM (7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.)

PM (5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.)

2003

2004

2005 Year

2006

2007

2008

3 The buffer time index graphs by freeway segment are located at http://www.grta.org/PDF_Files/Appendices_2009_Transportation_MAP_Report.pdf, starting on page 82.

Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

16

Figure 10: 2008 Buffer Time Index Morning Peak (7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.)

Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

17

Figure 11: 2008 Buffer Time Index Afternoon Peak (5 p.m. 6 p.m.)

Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

18

Table 3: 2008 Buffer Time Index by Freeway Segment (Segment-Specific Peak Hour)

Freeway Segment Description 1: I-75 NB (from I-285 to Wade Green Road) 1: I-75 SB (from Wade Green Road to I-285) 2: I-75 NB (from I-85 to I-285) 2: I-75 SB (from I-285 to I-85) 3: I-75/I-85 NB (from I-20 to I-85) 3: I-75/I-85 SB (from I-85 to I-20) 4: I-75 NB (from I-85 to I-20) 4: I-75 SB (from I-20 to I-85) 5: I-75 NB (from I-285 to I-85) 5: I-75 SB (from I-85 to I-285) 6: I-75 NB (from Hudson Bridge Road to I-285) 6: I-75 SB (from I-285 to Hudson Bridge Road) 7: I-85 NB (from I-285 to Old Norcross Road) 7: I-85 SB (from Old Norcross Road to I-285) 8: I-85 NB (from I-75 to I-285) 8: I-85 SB (from I-285 to I-75) 9: I-85 NB (from Camp Creek Parkway to I-75) 9: I-85 SB (from I-75 to Camp Creek Parkway) 10: GA-400 NB (from I-285 to Old Milton Parkway) 10: GA-400 SB (from Old Milton Parkway to I-285) 11: I-285 EB (from I-75 to GA-400) 11: I-285 WB (from GA-400 to I-75) 12: I-285 EB (from GA-400 to I-85) 12: I-285 EB (from I-85 to GA-400) 13: I-285 NB (from US-78 to I-85) 13: I-285 SB (from I-85 to US-78) 14: I-285 NB (from I-20 to US-78) 14: I-285 SB (from US-78 to I-20) 15: I-20 EB (from I-285 to I-75/I-85) 15: I-20 WB (from I-75/I-85 to I-285) 16: I-20 EB (from I-75/I-85 to I-285) 16: I-20 WB (from I-285 to I-75/I-85) 17: I-285 NB (from Airport Tunnel to I-675) 17: I-285 SB (from I-675 to Airport Tunnel) 18: I-285 NB (from I-675 to I-20) 18: I-285 SB (from I-20 to I-567) 19: I-575 NB (from I-75 to Hwy 92) 19: I-575 SB (from Hwy 92 to I-75) 20: I-285 NB (from I-20 to I-75) 20: I-285 SB (from I-75 to I-20)

Segment Length (miles) 14.00 14.55 8.45 7.86 4.41 4.40 3.88 3.75 4.00 4.12 14.53 14.45 10.71 10.66 9.96 10.45 4.86 4.20 13.14 13.16 6.82 7.21 6.48 6.37 5.37 5.89 8.20 7.45 6.43 7.12 9.85 9.39 6.22 6.26 5.98 6.14 6.22 6.26 5.98 6.14

Morning Peak Hour 6:00 7:15 6:00 8:00 7:45 8:15 7:45 6:00 7:00 6:00 7:00 6:00 7:30 7:30 7:30 8:00 7:30 6:00 N/A N/A 7:30 9:00 7:30 7:45 7:45 9:00 7:30 9:00 7:45 8:00 6:00 7:45 8:00 7:30 7:30 7:15 9:00 7:30 8:00 7:15

Morning Peak
Hour BTI 11% 50% 8% 47% 26% 34% 59% 10% 13% 14% 23% 13% 8% 45% 7% 34% 23% 7% N/A N/A 33% 11% 8% 26% 60% 6% 96% 5% 28% 5% 5% 48% 7% 8% 24% 7% 5% 73% 59% 10%

Evening Peak Hour 17:00 17:45 17:00 17:15 17:15 16:45 16:00 17:15 17:15 16:45 17:00 17:00 17:00 17:15 17:00 17:00 15:30 16:45 N/A N/A 17:15 17:00 17:00 17:00 16:45 17:00 16:15 17:15 15:30 17:00 17:15 18:00 17:30 17:45 17:00 17:30 17:30 17:45 18:00 17:30

Evening Peak
Hour BTI 43% 8% 58% 39% 96% 34% 72% 20% 11% 35% 14% 44% 59% 15% 31% 39% 16% 14% N/A N/A 44% 69% 83% 84% 16% 94% 27% 38% 5% 19% 40% 6% 18% 8% 23% 10% 32% 7% 14% 63%

The BTIs presented in this table are the VMT-weighted average BTI for each of the segments during the one-hour segment-specific peak period with the slowest average speed.

Mobility

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DAILY VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED PER LICENSED DRIVER / PERSON
Daily vehicle miles traveled per licensed driver/person reports how many miles the average metropolitan Atlantan driver drives each day and how many miles the average metropolitan Atlantan rides in a non-transit vehicle each day.4 A lower number is better.
In the baseline year of 2000, the daily vehicle miles traveled per licensed driver were 55.1 miles. In 2008, that number had declined to 41.1 miles, a 25 percent drop. Similarly, daily vehicle miles traveled per person fell from 31.9 miles in 2000 to 28.7 miles in 2008, a 10 percent decline.
Reduction of VMT may be interpreted as a sign that people are choosing to live closer to their daily work, play, and other destinations, that they are more carefully choosing their routes or are trip chaining, or that they are engaging in other behaviors such as carpooling, vanpooling, riding transit, walking or biking that result in reducing the distances that they drive each day.
Reducing VMT reduces the amount of emissions generated by the vehicles. With the 13-county region's population expected to increase to approximately six million persons by 2030, reducing VMT will be a necessary component of controlling the vehicle emissions that contribute to poor air quality.
Figure 12: Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled Per Licensed Driver / Person

Daily Vehicle Miles Traveled per Licensed Driver / Person

70

2000 Baseline VMT per Driver

60 57.1 55.1 55.1
50 40

52.4
48.9 46.4 45.7 44.8 42.3 41.3 41.1

30

33.7

32.4

31.9

31.6

31.1

30.7

31.5

30.7

29.6

29.0

28.7

2000 Baseline VMT per Person
20 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year

4 Daily vehicle miles traveled per licensed driver is computed as the total daily VMT divided by the number of the licensed drivers in the 13-county Atlanta area. The VMT data and licensed drivers data are obtained from GDOT and the Department of Driver Services (DDS), respectively. Daily vehicle miles traveled per person is computed as the total daily VMT divided by the total population for the former 13-county Atlanta area. The population data are obtained from ARC.
Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

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PAVEMENT CONDITION RATING
It is important to keep pavement in good shape. When roadway surfaces are not maintained, the roadway must be rebuilt from the ground up. It is more economical to systematically maintain roadways than to rebuild them.
The PACES (Pavement Condition Evaluation System) rating is a system by which GDOT measures the quality of the roadway pavement. A pavement in perfect condition receives a maximum value of 100, meaning an excellent ride. A rating of zero would mean the road is pretty much impassable. GDOT reviews roads with a rating of 70 or below to determine if they are good candidates for a preservation action, typically resurfacing or rehabilitation. Although it may be expanded in the future, currently the PACES rating covers only state and national highway system routes, i.e. those roads for which GDOT has maintenance responsibility. A higher number is better.
Pavement condition rating is the percentage of pavement rated better than PACES of 70. In the baseline year of 2000, 88 percent of the GDOT roads had a PACES rating of 70 or better.5 The 2005 spike in pavement condition rating, due to GDOT implementing several resurfacing projects during that year, was followed by a sharp decline in this rating to 71 in 2007 and a stable but very low level of 72 in 2008. This suggests a need for more investments in maintaining the existing roadway system.
Figure 13: Percent of Pavement Rated Better than PACES 70

Percent of Pavement Rated Better than PACES 70

100

95

90

90

88 88

88 N/A 87

89

85

85 85

84

2000 Baseline 80

75 71 72
70 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year

5 A 2001 pavement condition rating estimate is not available because of a statewide data collection problem. Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

21

TRANSIT PASSENGER MILES TRAVELED
Transit passenger miles traveled is similar to vehicle miles traveled. Rather than reporting a daily average, however, it reports the annual total miles metropolitan Atlantans rode on buses and trains in a given year. A higher number is better.
Increasing transit passenger miles traveled may reduce the growth in VMT that can be expected from increased population. Lower VMT can result in lower emissions, which contributes to improved air quality.
In the base year of 2001, passengers using public transit traveled 874 million miles. That figure slid to a low of 780 million miles in 2003 and climbed since then to 911 million miles in 2007 surpassing the 2001 passenger miles travelled.
Figure 14: Transit Passenger Miles Traveled6

Passenger Miles Traveled (in millions)

950

2001 Baseline

911

900

874

889

856

850

808

803

800

806

811

780

750

700 1999

2000

2001

2002

2003 Year

2004

2005

2006

2007

6 The transit passenger miles information comes from the National Transit Database (NTD). Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

22

ANNUAL TRANSIT PASSENGER BOARDINGS
Annual transit passenger boardings reports how many times in a given year individuals boarded a bus or train. Every boarding is counted, including transfers. Thus the average metropolitan Atlanta making a trip to and from work boards twice if they make a trip with no transfers or four times if they make a trip with one transfer each way. For example, riding MARTA rail from Decatur to Five Points and transferring to the North Springs Line to travel to Medical Center and returning again counts as four separate boardings. A higher number is better.
In the base year of 2001, there were 167 million passenger boardings. That number declined to 148 million boardings in 2004, and rebounded to 162 million boardings in 2007. As with transit passenger miles traveled, increasing transit boardings may offset potential increases in VMT attributable to increased population, with the corresponding reduction in vehicle emissions.
Figure 15: Annual Transit Passenger Boardings7

Annual Transit Passenger Boardings (in millions)

180

175
170 166
165
160
155
150
145 1999

170 2001 Baseline 166
167
2000 2001 2002

151 148

2003 Year

2004

156 2005

154 2006

162 2007

7 The transit passenger boardings (unlinked passenger trips) information comes from the NTD. Mobility

2008 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

23

TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY
The transit accessibility measures assess the availability of transit to the public. There are four specific measures:
Population and employment within walk distance to transit, Transit revenue service hours, Passenger trips per transit service hour, and Number of vanpools.
The more accessible and available transit is, the more likely it is to be used, leading to increased transit passenger miles traveled and transit boardings and their associated benefits.
POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT WITHIN WALK DISTANCE TO TRANSIT This measure reports how many people in metropolitan Atlanta live within 4/10ths of
a mile of a transit stop. This is as far as the average person is expected to be willing to walk to or from a transit stop. 8 A higher number is better.
In 2001, the baseline year, 1,057,000 people lived and 1,085,000 people worked within walking distance of a transit station or stop. Population and employment within walk distance to transit have increased to 1,138,000 and 1,196,000 in 2007, correspondingly.
Figure 16: Population and Employment Within Walk Distance to Transit

Population and Employment Within Walk Distance to Transit (in thousands)

1400 1350 1300 1250 1200 1150 1100 1050 1000
950 900

1085

1000 996

1057

2000

2001

2001 Employment Baseline 1175

1089

1127

1061

2001 Population Baseline

1156 1104

2002

2003

2004

Year

1165 1113
2005

1186 1129
2006

1196 1138
2007

8 This measure is estimated for the 13-county Atlanta region by using ARC's travel demand model and combining ARC's socio-economic forecasts with highway and transit networks updated for each year.

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

24

TRANSIT REVENUE SERVICE HOURS
People can't use transit if it is not in service when they need it. The transit revenue service hours measure reflects an increase in the availability of transit to the public. This measure reports how many hours in a given year transit vehicles (buses and train cars) were available to carry passengers. One vehicle in operation for one hour equals one revenue service hour. Higher numbers are better in that more transit service is available for more hours.
In the baseline year of 2001 there were 3,339,000 revenue service hours provided by MARTA, CCT, DCR, transit providers reported through GRTA and Gwinnett County Transit. MARTA provided 3,182,000 revenue service hours.9 The other transit systems combined provided a total of 157,000 revenue service hours. (C-TRAN service began in October of 2001 and Gwinnett County Transit began service in November of 2001. Their first year revenue service hours are reported as part of the 2002 statistics.). MARTA has provided a combined total of 3,023,000 revenue service hours in 2007, reversing a downward trend that started in 2003.
Figure 17: Transit Revenue Service Hours MARTA10

Transit Revenue Service Hours - MARTA (in thousands)

4,000 3,500

2001 Baseline

3,000

2,500

2,285 2,319 2,321 2,298 2,255 2,263 2,004 2,034 2,190

2,000

1,500

1,000

838 817 861 896 863 837 875 803 833

500

0 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Year

Rail

Bus

9 The transit service providers reporting to the NTD through GRTA are C-TRAN, Quicklink and VPSI for 2002; C-TRAN, Quicklink, Emory Shuttle, VPSI, GBA/GRTA Vanpool for 2003; C-TRAN, Buckhead Shuttle, Emory Shuttle, Georgia Tech, and GRTA Vanpool for 2004; C-TRAN, Buckhead Shuttle, Emory Shuttle, Georgia Tech, Xpress, and GRTA Vanpool for 2005; C-TRAN, Buckhead Shuttle, Emory Shuttle, Xpress, and GRTA Vanpool for 2006, and Buckhead Shuttle, Emory Shuttle, Xpress, and GRTA Vanpool for 2007. 10 The transit revenue service hours are the sum of the rail and bus revenue service hours. The bus figure also includes the paratransit service. The revenue service hours information comes from the NTD.
Transit Accessibility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

25

Figure 18: Transit Revenue Service Hours: C-TRAN, Cobb Community Transit, Douglas County Rideshare, GRTA, Gwinnett County Transit, and VPSI

900

800

C-TRAN VPSI Gwinnett Transit GRTA DCR CCT

101 99

139 89

146

129

138

Transit Revenue Service Hours: C-TRAN, VPSI, Gwinnett Transit, GRTA, DCR, and CCT (in thousands)

700

600

500 2001 Baseline
400

120

244

290

274

223

300

196 19

190 18

179 15

171 12

156 8 173

153 7 81 24

200

150 7

144 6

143 5

100

0 1999

2000

2001

2002

2003 Year

2004

2005

2006

2007

C-TRAN, Cobb Community Transit, Douglas County Rideshare, GRTA, Gwinnett County Transit, and VPSI have provided a combined total of 805,000 revenue service hours in 2007, a jump of more than five times over the base year of 2001.

Transit Accessibility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

26

PASSENGER TRIPS PER TRANSIT SERVICE HOUR
It is important for a transit system to operate efficiently in order for the system to be sustainable over the long term. Passenger trips per transit service hour reflects transit system effectiveness. This measure reports the average number of people using a transit vehicle in a revenue service hour. One vehicle in operation for one hour equals one revenue service hour. A rail car is assumed to be able to carry twice as many passengers as a bus. In other words, a transit bus or rail car in service for one hour can expect to see this many boardings. A higher number is better.
In the baseline year of 2001 there were 52 passenger trips per transit service hour for MARTA. That number declined slightly to 49 in 2007. The other transit systems combined (C-TRAN, Cobb Community Transit, Douglas County Rideshare, GRTA, Gwinnett County Transit, and VPSI) had 19 passenger trips per transit service hour in 2001, which remains virtually the same at 18 in 2007.
Figure 19: Passenger Trips per Transit Service Hour

70

2001 MARTA Baseline

60

53 50

52

52

53

52

50

46

44

49

49

49

40 2001 Non-MARTA Baseline

30

22

19

20

20

16

24

21

22

21

17

18

19

10

0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Year

Transit Accessibility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

27

NUMBER OF VANPOOLS
This measure reports how many vanpools are in operation at the end of each year. It captures vanpools operating in formal programs in the metropolitan Atlanta region. A higher number is better.
Vanpools operate at the convenience of the vanpool group and are able to be in service at any hour of the day and to travel any route the group desires, from door-to-door service to pickup and drop-off at fixed locations. This flexibility is particularly useful for people working second and third shifts, and those working at locations not currently served by public transportation. A typical vanpool operating a 15-passenger van takes seven cars off the road, contributing to reductions in both emissions and congestion.
Prior to 1997, there were four vanpool programs operating in the region CCT's vanpool program, VPSI, Douglas County Rideshare and the Georgia Building Authority's (GBA) vanpool program. When CCT's vanpool program disbanded service in October of 1997, all 28 of its routes were taken over by VPSI. VPSI is a private operator in the region and also provides some service to the public operators.11 Another private operator, Enterprise, entered the market in 2005 and started offering vanpool services. In October of 2003 GRTA absorbed the GBA's vanpools into its operation. GRTA and Douglas County operate public vanpools. The base year for vanpools in the region is 2002, when 178 vanpools were operating. The total number of vanpools in metro Atlanta was 553 at the end of 2008. This represents more than tripling the number of vanpools in the region in that period of time.
Figure 20: Number of Vanpools
600
Enterprise GRTA GBA Douglas County VPSI Cobb County
500

58 50 74

31 48 62

30 50 50

Number of Vanpools

400 2002 Baseline = 178
300

25 55 2

371

28 50

200

205

193

120 23 35

122 21 35

100

166

138

281014 36

0 1997

2002

2003

2004

2005

Year

2006

2007

2008

11 VPSI van fleet provides service to and/or from 28 counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Transit Accessibility

2008 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

28

AIR QUALITY
DAILY VEHICLE EMISSIONS
This measure tracks certain pollutants that are released from cars and trucks each day. The pollutants measured are fine particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Fine particulate matter is a general term use for solid particles and liquid droplets that are in the air and have a diameter of less than 2.5 microns. (The average human hair is about 70 microns in diameter and talcum powder particles are about 10 microns in diameter). VOCs are organic compounds that can vaporize and enter the atmosphere under normal conditions. Nitrogen oxides are produced during internal combustion from nitrogen and oxygen. NOx and VOCs are precursors to ozone. Lower emissions numbers are better.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated the metropolitan Atlanta area as a nonattainment area under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for 8hour ozone and fine particulate matter. The 8-hour ozone standard is based on the measured concentration of ozone in the air, averaged over eight-hour periods. Emissions of VOC and NOX, as well as primary particulate matter, which is emitted directly by vehicle engines, are used as proxies for air quality since they are directly related to the performance of the transportation system.
Total daily vehicle emissions of VOC, NOX and primary PM2.5 are estimated for the 13-county Atlanta area by multiplying the total daily VMT for the area by the corresponding MOBILE6 emissions factors. In order to make the measures directly comparable, their absolute values are converted into percentages and then compared to the baseline (year 2000) levels.12 The figure on page 29 shows that total daily vehicle VOC, NOX and primary PM2.5 emissions in 2008 were 62, 58, and 62 percent of their respective year 2000 levels--more than a third decrease over eight years. Since the average total daily VMT has continued to increase most years, these decreases in emissions are due to declining emission factors resulting from advanced emission control technologies on newer vehicles and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's clean gasoline and vehicle emissions inspection programs. However, despite these reductions in emissions, Atlanta is still not meeting the current 8-hour ozone and fine particulate matter standards.

12 These measures are similar to the respective emissions measures found in the 2005 Air Quality Report.

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

29

Figure 21: VOC, NOX and PM2.5 Vehicle Emissions in the Atlanta Area Relative to Year 2000

VOC, NOx and Primary PM2.5 Vehicle Emissions Relative to 2000 Levels

110% 100%
90% 80% 70% 60%

100%100%100% 97% 97% 95%

VOC NOx PM2.5

92%94% 90%

85% 87% 84%

80%82% 82%

77% 74% 76%

73% 69%69%

68% 65% 63%

62% 58% 62%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0% 2000

2001

2002

2003

2004 Year

2005

2006

2007

2008

Air Quality

2008 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

30

SAFETY
The safety measures address personal transportation safety as well as the roadway clearance time. The latter measure also affects mobility in the region, as each minute an incident blocks a travel lane results in three to seven minutes of delay and increases the probability of secondary incidents as traffic backs up.
Metropolitan Atlanta's safety record is influenced by the efforts to improve safety across the state. Georgia is addressing the needed traffic safety work to decrease the number of fatalities by implementing the Governor's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).13 The SHSP addresses statewide highway fatalities by organizing a 22 agency collaborative leadership, including GRTA, SHSP operations manager, safety program data evaluation, and 14 task team action plans. The four safety E's of education, engineering, enforcement, and emergency medical services are incorporated to achieve the goal of continuously reducing highway fatalities by 41 each year. Georgia has reduced highway fatalities from 1,693 in 2006 to 1,493 in 2008. For more information on the statewide highway fatalities, established crash factor goals, actions and engineering solutions to reduce Georgia highway crashes see the Georgia's Safety Report 2009 (Appendix 2).14
TRAFFIC CRASH FATALITIES
This measure counts how many people die in traffic crashes in metropolitan Atlanta each year. To understand how the raw number of deaths compares across the state and country, the number of deaths per 100 million miles driven is calculated. Fewer are better.
In the base year of 2001, the 13-county Atlanta region experienced 494 traffic crash fatalities at a rate of 1.12 fatalities per 100 million miles driven.15 After the peak of 542 fatalities and 1.17 fatalities per 100 million miles in 2006, 2008 marked a significant decrease in both absolute traffic crash fatalities to 450 and the fatalities per 100 million miles to 0.95. Although the Atlanta region has much lower fatality rate compared to the state of Georgia and the nation as a whole more work needs to be done to improve traffic safety and decrease the number of fatalities.

13 Governor's Strategic Highway Safety Plan may be viewed online at www.gahighwaysafety.org/shsp/ 14 The Georgia's Safety Report 2009 is located at http://www.grta.org/PDF_Files/Appendices_2009_Transportation_MAP_Report.pdf, starting on page 103. 15 Data for the safety measures comes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System web-based encyclopedia located at http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov. The total number of traffic crash fatalities includes the vehicle occupants, motorcycle riders, and nonmotorists fatalities on all roads in the 13-county Atlanta area.

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

31

Figure 22: Traffic Crash Fatalities
600

Highway Fatalities

550

543 542

500

490 494

496

504

466 460

450

2001 Baseline 441

400

489 450

350 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year

Highway Fatality Rates per 100 Million VMT

Figure 23: Traffic Crash Fatality Rates per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled

1.7 1.63 1.58
1.5
1.3

Atlanta Fatality Rate

Georgia Fatality Rate

1.55

1.53

1.54

1.51

1.53

1.51

1.49

1.48 1.46
1.48

1.43

1.44

U.S. Fatality Rate 1.56
1.52

1.46

1.42

1.47

1.36

1.14

1.12

1.10

1.09

1.1

1.16

1.17

1.11 1.08 1.05

0.99 2001 Atlanta Baseline

0.9 1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003 Year

2004

2005

2006

2007

1.38 1.27
0.95 2008

Safety

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

32

PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLISTS FATALITIES
This measure counts how many pedestrians and bicyclists die in traffic-related incidents each year. The comparative measure is the number of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths per 100,000 in population. Fewer are better.
In the base year of 2001 there were 67 pedestrian and six bicyclist fatalities in the 13county Atlanta region. Pedestrian fatalities increased from 65 in 2007 to 68 in 2008, while the bicyclist fatalities remained flat at four during the same period.
Figure 24: Pedestrian and Bicyclist Fatalities

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Fatalities

100 82
80
60
40
20 7
0 1999

58
6 2000

Pedestrian Fatalities

Bicyclist Fatalities

79

80

77

74

67

69

2001 Pedestrian Baseline

2001 Bicyclist Baseline

6

4

8

9

3

6

2001

2002

2003

2004

Year

2005

2006

65
4 2007

68
4 2008

Safety

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

33

The pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 population increased from 1.47 in 2007 to 1.51 in 2008 while the respective bicyclist fatality rate remained flat at 0.09. The Atlanta pedestrian fatality rate of 1.98 in 2003 was higher than the respective rate for Seattle (1.36) and lower than the 2003 fatality rate for San Diego (2.33). The 2008 bicyclist fatality rate of 0.09 is significantly lower than the rate of 0.16 in 2001.
Figure 25: Pedestrian Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population
2.6

Atlanta Pedestrian Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population

2.30 2.2
1.81 1.8
1.4
1.0 1999

San Diego 2.33

2001 Baseline

1.89

1.98

1.97

1.75

1.79

1.69

1.65

1.72

1.68

1.64

1.60 1.65

1.57

1.59

Seattle 1.36

Atlanta Pedestrian Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population US Pedestrian Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Year

2005

2006

1.54 1.47
2007

1.51 1.44
2008

Figure 26: Bicyclist Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population

0.3
0.28
0.3
0.20
0.2 0.2

0.25 0.16

0.26 0.16

0.23

0.27

0.26

0.25

0.22

0.22

0.20 0.14

0.24 0.23

Atlanta Bicyclist Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population

0.1 0.1 0.0
Safety

1999

2001 Baseline

0.10

0.07

Atlanta Bicyclist Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population US Bicyclist Fatality Rate per 100,000 Population

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Year

2005

2006

0.09 0.09

2007

2008

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

34

ROADWAY CLEARANCE TIME
This measure calculates the amount of time between the first time a responsible agency such as the police, HERO, fire or other agency becomes aware of an incident and when all lanes of the affected road are available for service. In other words, it is the amount of time from when somebody who can do something about it knows about an incident until all the lanes are open for traffic again. A lower number is better.
Over fifty percent of all congestion nationally is non-recurring. It is caused by traffic incidents, work zones, and weather.16 For each minute an incident blocks a travel lane, roughly three to seven minutes of delay is created. Some studies have shown as much as seventy percent of daily delay is due to "non-recurring" congestion.17
Traffic incident management is a strategy that uses many different techniques to help emergency responders quickly and safely clear traffic incidents so the roadway can return to normal flow with a minimum of additional delay. The Traffic Incident Management Enhancement (TIME) Program, a partnership between transportation agencies, police, fire, towing and recovery operators, and other emergency responders, has been implementing techniques to improve traffic incident management in Metro Atlanta.
The TIME Program sponsors a Towing and Recovery Incentive Program (TRIP). TRIP is a recovery incentive program to pay heavy-duty recovery companies a monetary bonus for clearing commercial vehicle wrecks quickly. TRIP helps to reduce the impact of major traffic incidents in Metro Atlanta while meeting TIME's aggressive clearance goal of 90 minutes or less. The TRIP program, which begun in January 2008, has contributed to reducing the length of major lane-blocking incidents.
The key performance measure for traffic incident management in Atlanta is "roadway clearance time." Roadway clearance time is defined as the "time between first recordable awareness of incident by a responsible agency and first confirmation that all lanes are available for traffic flow."18 The response time is the time between the first recordable awareness of an incident and the first arrival by a responder on scene.
In 2002, the baseline year, response time for tractor-trailer incidents was 17 minutes and for automobiles 10 minutes. On-scene time for tractor-trailer incidents was 65 minutes, and 30 minutes for automobiles. The roadway clearance time for a typical tractor-trailer incident was more than twice (82 minutes) the 40 minute duration of an automobile incident.19 The difference in time is influenced by a number of factors, including degree of seriousness, HAZMAT concerns, number of lanes affected, and availability of equipment necessary to accommodate tractor-trailer size and weight.
The 2008 the roadway clearance time for incidents involving tractor-trailers at 36.0 minutes has dropped to less than half its 2002 value. The roadway clearance time for incidents involving automobiles was 22.9 minutes in 2008, almost a half of its respective 2002 value.20

16 http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/program_areas/reduce-non-cong.htm 17 http://depts.washington.edu/trac/bulkdisk/pdf/568.2.pdf 18 FHWA Focus States Initiative - Traffic Incident Management Performance Measures - Action Plan.
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/eto_tim_pse/preparedness/tim/pm.htm 19 Data source--monthly incident data found in the GDOT's HERO Monthly Statistics publication. 20 The 2007 data is available for the months April through December only.
Safety

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

35

Figure 27: Roadway Clearance Time Tractor-trailers

120 2002 Baseline
100
80

Response Time

Clearance Time

Roadway Clearance Time - Tractor-trailers (in minutes)

60 86.5
64.6

40

52.3

53.1

44.2

20

23.4 22.4

16.7

11.6

11.1

11.4

12.4

13.2 13.6

0

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Year

Figure 28: Roadway Clearance Time Passenger Vehicles

Roadway Clearance Time - Vehicles (in minutes)

45 2002 Baseline
40 Response Time Clearance Time
35

30

25

29.8

22.8

20

22.8

19.9

18.2

12.3 9.3

15

10

5

10.3

9.6

9.4

11.7

11.6

12.1 13.6

0 2002

2003

2004

2005 Year

2006

2007

2008

Safety

2008 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

36

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
ATLANTA TRANSPORTATION PERFORMANCE INDEX
The Atlanta Transportation Performance Index synthesizes a number of different factors reflecting roadway, transit, safety and air quality performance measures. This composite index is a single measure that tracks the state of the metropolitan Atlanta transportation system, similarly to the way the temperature is the main weather-related measure. The main advantage of the transportation performance index is that it minimizes the number of measures reported.
The Atlanta transportation performance index is obtained by employing the weighted sum model. A composite index is produced based on 12 input measures weighted by their relative importance.21 The composite transportation performance index consists of four basic indices--Roadway services index, Roadway safety index, Roadway emissions index, and Transit services index--tracking separately important performance aspects of roadway and transit services.22 Each of these indices is normalized to a 100 scale for the base 2002 year for ease of presentation. An index number of more than 100 indicates improvement over the base year.
The composite transportation performance index is not published in this year's report due to the ongoing reassessment of the weights of the four basic indices.
The four transportation performance indices help the region understand whether the different aspects of the region's transportation system are improving or worsening. This is the first year since index measurements are available when the four basic indices show a simultaneous improvement. The roadway emissions index stands at 140.7 in 2007, an improvement of more than forty percent over the 2002 base year. The key contributing factors are the decreasing emission rates per vehicle miles travel. The transit services also show a significant improvement with a 2007 index value of 115.1. The main reason for this service is the rapid growth of new and small transit providers in the region. The roadway services index and the roadway safety index help improve the overall transportation system's performance with values of 96.0 and 97.4 for 2007, respectively. Contributors to this positive change are the decline in the VMT and especially the decrease in the number of traffic, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in 2007.

21 The ATPI is composed of the following measures: Travel time index, Planning time index, Daily vehicle miles traveled, Transit revenue service hours - MARTA, Transit revenue service hours - other, Transit passenger miles traveled, Transit passenger boardings, Vehicle NOx emissions, Vehicle VOC emissions, Vehicle PM2.5 emissions, Traffic crash fatality rate per 100 million VMT, Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities per 100,000 population. 22 The roadway services index is composed of the following measures: travel time index, planning time index, and daily vehicle miles traveled. The roadway safety index consists of the traffic crash fatality rate per 100 million VMT and pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities per 100,000 population. The transit services index includes transit revenue service hours - MARTA, transit revenue service hours - other, transit passenger miles traveled, and transit passenger boardings. The roadway emissions index is based on the vehicle nitrogen oxides emissions, vehicle volatile organic compounds emissions, and vehicle primary fine particulate matter emissions.

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

37

Figure 29: Atlanta Transportation Performance Indices

Index, % (going up indicates improvement)

150 140 130 120 110 100
90 80
2002

Roadway Services Index Transit Services Index Roadway Emissions Index Roadway Safety Index

121.3

107.8 100.2
97.3 89.8

113.0 102.9 98.4 91.7

103.1
95.9 87.9

2003

2004

Year

2005

130.7
108.4
93.8 85.8 2006

140.7
115.1 97.4 96.0 2007

Transportation System Performance

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

38

SUMMARY OF 2009 TRANSPORTATION MAP MEASURES

Performance Measure
Freeway travel time index The slowest periods: 7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.
Freeway planning time index The slowest periods: 7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.
Freeway buffer time index The slowest periods: 7:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.
Daily vehicle miles traveled per licensed driver / per person
Pavement condition rating
Transit passenger miles traveled
Annual transit passenger boardings

Baseline

Description

Value Year

Freeway TTI, weighted by segment VMT, during the slowest regional onehour morning and evening peak period

1.22
1.26 (PM)

2002

Freeway PTI, weighted by segment VMT, during the slowest regional onehour morning and evening peak period

1.53
1.83 (PM)

2002

Freeway BTTI, weighted by segment VMT, during the slowest regional onehour morning and evening peak period

26.1%
41.7% (PM)

2002

Vehicle miles traveled per licensed driver / person per day

55.1 2000 31.9 2000

Percent of the state roadway system with a PACES rating greater than 70
Transit passenger miles traveled (in millions)
Cumulative sum of the number of passengers who board public transportation vehicles annually (in millions)

88% 2000
874 2001 167 2001

Update Value Year 1.21 2008 1.23 (PM)
1.57 2008 1.77 (PM) 28.9% 2008 38.3% (PM)
41.1 2008 28.7 2008 72% 2008
911 2007 162 2007

Mobility

2009 Transportation MAP (Metropolitan Atlanta Performance) Report

39

Transit Accessibility

SUMMARY OF 2009 TRANSPORTATION MAP MEASURES (CONTINUED)

Performance Measure
Population and employment within walk distance to transit

Description
Number of people that live or work within 4/10 of a mile of a transit stop year (in thousands)

Baseline Value Year 1,057 2001

Update Value Year 1,138 2007

1,085 2001 1,196 2007

Other MARTA Other MARTA Empl. Pop.

Transit revenue service hours (MARTA, C-TRAN/CCT/DCR/ GRTA/VPSI/ Gwinnett Transit)
Passenger trips per transit service hour (MARTA, C-TRAN/CCT/DCR/ GRTA/VPSI/ Gwinnett Transit)

Total number of hours trains and buses are running and available to carry passengers in a year (in thousands)
Average number of unlinked passenger trips per revenue hour trains and buses are running and available to carry passengers in a year

Number of vanpools
Daily vehicle emissions (relative to 2000 levels)

Total number of vanpools operating in a given year in the 28- county Atlanta area
VOC
NOx

Primary PM2.5

Traffic crash fatalities/ Total number of traffic crash

Traffic crash fatality fatalities

rate

Traffic crash fatality rate per

100 million VMT

Pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities / Pedestrian and bicyclist fatality rate per 100,000 pop.

Pedestrian fatalities Bicyclist fatalities Pedestrian fatality rate Bicyclist fatality rate

Roadway clearance time

Incidence Tractor-

response and trailers

clearance time (in min.)

Vehicles

Atlanta Transportation Roadway services index

Performance Indices*

* An index number of Transit services index

more than 100

Roadway emissions index

indicates improvement

over the base year. Roadway safety index

3,182 2001 157 2001 52 2001

19 2001 178 2002

100% 2000

100% 2000

100% 494

2000 2001

1.12 2001

67 2001

6

2001

1.75 2001

0.16 2001

81 2002

40 2002
100 2002 100 2002 100 2002 100 2002

3,023
804
49
18
553
62% 58% 62% 450 0.95 68
4 1.51 0.09 36 23 96.0 115.1 140.7 97.4

2007
2007
2007
2007
2008
2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2007 2007 2007 2007

Air Quality

Safety

Transp. System Performance