As transportation agencies develop operations-based approaches to congestion management and carefully weigh system investments in operations as well as capital improvements, new types of performance information and communication are clearly needed. Citizens expect action on traffic congestion and demand performance information that relates to their concerns and is easy to understand. Traditional congestion measurements are based on modeled speed estimates generated from volume and capacity information. They are difficult to communicate, fail to capture subtle changes in real-world system performance, and are inadequate for many aspects of evaluating specific impacts of projects on congestion. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), like other transportation agencies, has been grappling with new approaches to using operational data to monitor and measure system performance. This study describes progress the agency has made to date and how this work ties into national efforts. Speed and travel time data derived from the loop detector network on Puget Sound urban freeways are used by WSDOT to measure and communicate realtime travel times on 12 major commute routes. Continued work toward analyzing different types of congestion distinguishes between recurrent congestion caused by inadequate capacity and nonrecurrent congestion caused by incidents, inclement weather, and other factors such as travel to and from major sporting events. The agency also has made progress in measuring what is of most concern to commuters and haulers: travel time reliability.

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Performance measurement is an evolving practice. All state departments of transportation (DOTs) have used some aspect of performance measurement for analyzing system uses and conditions as part of the engineering and planning disciplines. Yet the business management process and accountability aspects of the performance measurement field have emerged in the transportation industry just in the past decade. State DOTs operate under heightened political pressures, and accountability mandates drive change in performance measurement practices. This paper illuminates important trends that drive the evolution of the field and that need greater attention in research. The emerging purposes and needs for performance measurement and performance management have substantial implications for practitioners and managers. The paper first describes the research purpose and method and presents a generational model for conceptualizing the stages in performance measurement development in transportation agencies. Next, the major pressures that drive performance measurement development are noted, and the most pertinent responses uncovered by this research are summarized. The paper concludes with recommendations for advancing the field and opportunities for further research. This report does not critique specific practices or judge state capabilities. Its intention is to describe emerging trends and needs driving the changing practice of performance measurement at state DOTs by using illustrative examples to help practitioners understand the state of the field and prepare for potential challenges ahead.

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