Performance Measure Summary - Allentown PA-NJ There are several inventory and performance measures listed in the pages of this Urban Area Report for the years from 1982 to 2014. There is no single performance measure that experts agree says it all. A few key points should be recognized by users of the Urban Mobility Scorecard data. Use the trends The multi-year performance measures are better indicators, in most cases, than any single year. Examining a few measures over many years reduces the chance that data variations or the estimating procedures may have caused a "spike" in any single year. (5 years is 5 times better than 1 year.) Use several measures Each performance measure illustrates a different element of congestion. (The view is more interesting from atop several measures.) Compare to similar regions Congestion analyses that compare areas with similar characteristics (for example, population, growth rate, road and public transportation system design) are usually more insightful than comparisons of different regions. (Los Angeles is not Peoria.) Compare ranking changes and performance measure values In some performance measures a small change in the value may cause a significant change in rank from one year to the next. This is the case when there are several regions with nearly the same value. (15 hours is only 1 hour more than 14 hours.) Consider the scope of improvement options Any improvement project in a corridor within most of the regions will only have a modest effect on the regional congestion level. (To have an effect on areawide congestion, there must be significant change in the system or service.) Performance Measures and Definition of Terms Travel Time Index A measure of congestion that focuses on each trip and each mile of travel. It is calculated as the ratio of travel time in the peak period to travel time in free-flow. A value of 1.30 indicates that a 20-minute free-flow trip takes 26 minutes in the peak. Planning Time Index A travel time reliability measure that represents the total travel time that should be planned for a trip. Computed with the 95th percentile travel time it represents the amount of time that should be planned for a commute trip to be late for only 1 day a month. If it is computed with the 80th percentile travel time it represents the amount of time that should be planned for a trip to be late for only 1 day a week. A PTI of 2.00 means that for a 20-minute trip in light traffic, 40 minutes should be planned. Peak Commuters Number of travelers who begin a trip during the morning or evening peak travel periods (6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.). "Commuters" are private vehicle users unless specifically noted. per Commuter A yearly sum of all the per-trip delays for those persons who travel in the peak period (6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m.). This measure illustrates the effect of traffic slowdowns as well as the length of each trip. Total Delay The overall size of the congestion problem. Measured by the total travel time above that needed to complete a trip at free-flow speeds. The ranking of total delay usually follows the population ranking (larger regions usually have more delay). Free-Flow Speeds These values are derived from overnight speeds in the INRIX speed database. They are used as the national comparison thresholds. Other speed thresholds may be appropriate for urban project evaluations or sub-region studies. Excess Fuel Consumed Increased fuel consumption due to travel in congested conditions rather than freeflow conditions. Congestion Cost Value of travel delay for 2014 (estimated at $17.67 per hour of person travel and $94.04 per hour of truck time) and excess fuel consumption estimated using state average cost per gallon. Urban Area The developed area (population density more than 1,000 persons per square mile) within a metropolitan region. The urban area boundaries change frequently (every year for most growing areas), so increases include both new growth and development that was previously in areas designated as rural. Number of Rush Hours Time when the road system might have congestion.
Inventory Measures 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Population (1000s) 655 650 650 645 640 Rank 64 64 63 63 63 Commuters (1000s) 329 333 333 330 326 Freeway 5,427 5,310 5,080 5,096 5,080 Arterial Streets 5,231 5,284 5,400 5,399 5,382 Value of Time ($/hour) 17.67 17.39 17.14 16.79 16.30 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 94.04 89.60 89.56 86.81 88.12 Gasoline ($/gallon) 3.36 3.52 3.55 3.41 2.78 Diesel ($/gallon) 3.69 3.93 4.00 3.79 3.12 System Performance 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Congested Travel (% of peak VMT) 25 -- -- -- -- Congested System (% of lane-miles) 24 -- -- -- -- Congested Time (number of "Rush Hours") 1.90 -- -- -- -- Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 8,743 8,662 8,594 8,527 8,432 Rank 65 65 65 65 64 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 15 15 15 15 15 Rank 78 78 76 74 71 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 17,114 16,956 16,824 16,691 16,506 Rank 65 65 65 65 65 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 30 30 30 30 30 Rank 86 87 86 86 85 Travel Time Index 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 Rank 54 52 50 48 48 Commuter Stress Index 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 Rank 61 60 60 60 58 Freeway Planning Time Index (95th Pctile) 1.78 -- -- -- -- Rank 78 -- -- -- -- Total Cost ($ millions) 393 396 399 404 412 Rank 67 67 67 65 65 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 694 699 704 713 727 Rank 87 87 84 83 82
Inventory Measures 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Population (1000s) 635 625 625 620 620 Rank 64 63 63 64 62 Commuters (1000s) 322 316 314 310 308 Freeway 4,850 4,780 4,935 4,950 5,085 Arterial Streets 5,400 5,475 5,630 5,445 5,425 Value of Time ($/hour) 16.01 16.10 15.47 15.06 14.58 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 89.75 81.52 82.56 80.43 78.05 Gasoline ($/gallon) 2.33 3.42 2.87 2.68 2.28 Diesel ($/gallon) 2.73 4.41 3.56 2.93 2.58 System Performance 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 8,112 8,303 8,631 8,594 8,588 Rank 64 65 61 61 59 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 14 15 15 15 15 Rank 77 74 72 67 65 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 15,880 16,254 16,896 16,823 16,811 Rank 66 67 63 63 62 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 29 30 31 31 32 Rank 86 85 84 84 81 Travel Time Index 1.16 1.16 1.17 1.17 1.17 Rank 56 68 58 55 51 Commuter Stress Index 1.18 1.18 1.19 1.19 1.19 Rank 62 72 63 59 58 Total Cost ($ millions) 403 411 444 454 468 Rank 66 67 65 63 61 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 711 725 783 801 827 Rank 82 85 79 77 76
Inventory Measures 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Population (1000s) 620 615 610 605 600 Rank 61 62 62 62 62 Commuters (1000s) 306 302 296 290 284 Freeway 4,870 4,600 4,200 4,050 3,920 Arterial Streets 5,350 5,300 5,280 5,250 5,210 Value of Time ($/hour) 14.10 13.73 13.43 13.22 12.85 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 74.17 72.23 70.86 71.38 70.47 Gasoline ($/gallon) 1.94 1.51 1.36 1.54 1.51 Diesel ($/gallon) 2.03 1.59 1.43 1.59 1.57 System Performance 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 8,484 8,404 8,672 8,639 8,667 Rank 56 55 54 54 53 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 15 15 15 15 15 Rank 59 52 49 40 33 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 16,607 16,450 16,976 16,910 16,967 Rank 61 59 55 54 53 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 31 31 33 33 34 Rank 81 77 61 59 50 Travel Time Index 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.18 Rank 48 46 43 39 37 Commuter Stress Index 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.19 1.20 Rank 55 53 54 51 46 Total Cost ($ millions) 478 487 514 520 536 Rank 59 59 55 54 54 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 844 859 906 917 946 Rank 73 71 60 52 42
Inventory Measures 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 Population (1000s) 590 580 575 560 550 Rank 62 62 61 62 62 Commuters (1000s) 276 268 262 252 244 Freeway 3,800 3,720 3,585 3,505 3,255 Arterial Streets 5,040 4,860 4,710 4,505 4,335 Value of Time ($/hour) 12.43 12.17 11.98 11.71 11.37 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 66.76 65.76 66.83 66.20 64.27 Gasoline ($/gallon) 1.11 1.06 1.19 1.26 1.19 Diesel ($/gallon) 1.19 1.20 1.30 1.39 1.32 System Performance 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 8,243 8,017 7,873 7,263 6,290 Rank 53 53 50 51 52 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 15 14 14 13 11 Rank 26 27 18 17 35 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 16,136 15,694 15,411 14,217 12,314 Rank 53 53 52 51 55 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 33 33 33 31 28 Rank 53 47 45 45 53 Travel Time Index 1.17 1.16 1.16 1.17 1.15 Rank 37 37 37 30 36 Commuter Stress Index 1.19 1.18 1.18 1.19 1.17 Rank 48 50 48 41 46 Total Cost ($ millions) 527 524 523 493 440 Rank 55 54 52 53 53 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 930 925 922 870 776 Rank 42 36 31 33 43
Inventory Measures 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 Population (1000s) 540 530 525 520 505 Rank 62 62 62 61 62 Commuters (1000s) 237 230 225 220 210 Freeway 3,100 2,940 2,670 2,480 2,430 Arterial Streets 4,210 4,020 3,800 3,560 3,450 Value of Time ($/hour) 11.06 10.78 10.47 10.17 9.75 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 62.23 60.84 59.01 57.31 55.03 Gasoline ($/gallon) 1.04 1.09 1.14 1.16 1.30 Diesel ($/gallon) 1.15 1.21 1.28 1.29 1.08 System Performance 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 5,462 4,670 4,091 3,516 3,311 Rank 54 56 59 61 59 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 10 8 7 6 6 Rank 37 50 53 58 51 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 10,693 9,141 8,009 6,882 6,481 Rank 56 58 59 64 63 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 25 22 20 17 17 Rank 62 68 68 78 71 Travel Time Index 1.13 1.12 1.11 1.09 1.07 Rank 42 44 49 62 76 Commuter Stress Index 1.15 1.14 1.13 1.10 1.09 Rank 51 50 51 74 75 Total Cost ($ millions) 393 344 311 275 270 Rank 56 57 62 64 63 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 693 608 548 485 476 Rank 50 59 62 68 66
Inventory Measures 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 Population (1000s) 500 490 485 475 465 Rank 62 62 63 64 62 Commuters (1000s) 207 201 197 192 187 Freeway 2,310 2,225 2,100 1,980 1,865 Arterial Streets 3,375 3,315 3,260 3,205 3,100 Value of Time ($/hour) 9.25 8.83 8.48 8.18 8.03 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 52.81 50.04 48.53 46.57 47.83 Gasoline ($/gallon) 1.06 0.98 0.98 0.96 1.25 Diesel ($/gallon) 1.03 0.95 0.95 0.93 1.22 System Performance 1989 1988 1987 1986 1985 Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 2,824 2,701 2,658 2,371 2,189 Rank 61 58 57 58 57 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 5 5 5 4 4 Rank 57 47 39 48 40 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 5,528 5,288 5,203 4,641 4,286 Rank 63 61 60 61 60 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 14 14 14 13 12 Rank 80 75 64 65 63 Travel Time Index 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.07 Rank 66 60 55 49 48 Commuter Stress Index 1.08 1.09 1.08 1.09 1.09 Rank 79 66 67 56 53 Total Cost ($ millions) 243 243 249 230 217 Rank 65 64 62 63 64 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 428 429 440 407 383 Rank 69 68 64 63 62
Inventory Measures 1984 1983 1982 Population (1000s) 455 450 440 Rank 61 61 63 Commuters (1000s) 181 178 172 Freeway 1,870 1,885 1,735 Arterial Streets 3,030 2,980 2,965 Value of Time ($/hour) 7.75 7.43 7.20 Commercial Cost ($/hour) 46.47 44.23 43.08 Gasoline ($/gallon) 1.27 1.30 1.35 Diesel ($/gallon) 1.23 1.26 1.32 System Performance 1984 1983 1982 Congested Travel (% of peak VMT) -- -- -- Congested System (% of lane-miles) -- -- -- Congested Time (number of "Rush Hours") -- -- -- Total Fuel (1000 gallons) 2,071 2,000 1,858 Rank 56 54 56 Fuel per Peak Auto Commuter (gallons) 4 4 3 Rank 34 29 36 Total Delay (1000s of person-hours) 4,054 3,915 3,636 Rank 58 56 55 Delay per Peak Auto Commuter (pers-hrs) 12 12 11 Rank 56 52 54 Travel Time Index 1.07 1.07 1.07 Rank 42 39 35 Commuter Stress Index 1.09 1.09 1.09 Rank 49 47 43 Freeway Planning Time Index (95th Pctile) -- -- -- Rank -- -- -- Total Cost ($ millions) 212 214 205 Rank 58 56 56 Cost per Peak Auto Commuter ($) 375 378 362 Rank 58 48 48