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Demand-Responsive Transport meets mobility challenges in territories where regular lines struggle to ensure a viable service. This mode of transport requires Mobility Organizing Authorities and operators to rethink their management methods. Unlike conventional transport, DRT presents demand variability and operational flexibility that require specific indicators. This article presents four fundamental metrics to effectively manage a DRT service.
How to define your DRT management indicators?
The challenge of adapted measurement
Demand-Responsive Transport cannot be managed with regular transport indicators alone. The flexible nature of these services - variability of routes, adaptation to demands, service to sparsely populated areas - requires the construction of metrics that reflect this operational specificity.
At the same time, the Mobility Orientation Law requires AOMs to justify the efficiency of their public transport services. This regulatory obligation is reflected in the need to build accurate dashboards that optimize the allocation of public resources and demonstrate the relevance of investment choices.
The four dimensions of steering
The analysis of DRT services highlights four complementary dimensions: operational efficiency measured by the occupancy rate, the quality of service evaluated by punctuality, the user experience captured by satisfaction and economic viability synthesized by the cost per trip.
1. Filling rate: measuring the adequacy of supply and demand
Definition and calculation
The occupancy rate measures the percentage of seats occupied in relation to the total capacity available over a given period of time.
Formula: (Number of seats occupied/Total number of places available) × 100 OR Average number of users per vehicle, per hour of service driven.
Operational analysis
In the context of DRT, this rate reveals the adequacy between the proposed offer and the real demand. A low rate may indicate inadequate schedules or service areas, while a very high rate may indicate saturation requiring a strengthening of the offer, or even the establishment of a fixed line.
2. Punctuality: guaranteeing the reliability of the service
Definition and measurement
Punctuality assesses compliance with the announced schedules, by measuring the difference between the planned time and the actual time of arrival or departure.
Formula: Percentage of trips that respect the planned time slot (generally ±3 minutes)
Specificities of DRT
Unlike regular transport where the timetables are fixed, DRT works by reservation with time slots communicated to users: “your vehicle will pick you up from one time, and drop you off at the latest at another time.” Punctuality is therefore measured in relation to these personalized slots, which complicates the calculation but reinforces the importance of this indicator for user confidence.
Operational impact
Punctuality determines the acceptability of the service, particularly for trips linked to professional or medical constraints. A deterioration in punctuality quickly leads to a drop in attendance and a deterioration in the image of the service.
3. User satisfaction: measuring the customer experience
Collection methods
Satisfaction is measured through regular surveys, feedback on booking platforms or direct interactions with drivers and agents.
Additional indicators
Beyond the overall score, the analysis must focus on the components of satisfaction: ease of reservation, punctuality, vehicle comfort, driver friendliness, adequacy of the driver, adequacy of mobility needs.
4. Cost per trip: managing economic viability
Definition and calculation
The cost per trip represents the total operating cost in relation to the number of trips made over a given period of time.
Formula: Total operating cost/Total number of trips made
Cost components
The operating cost includes personnel, fuel, vehicle maintenance, insurance, depreciation of equipment, and the operation of the reservation platform.
Economic optimization
This indicator makes it possible to identify optimization levers: sharing resources between services, adjusting service areas, reviewing operating schedules or changing pricing.
Construction of the ToD dashboard
Control architecture
An effective management system combines three time levels: daily operational monitoring (alerts and immediate adjustments), monthly tactical analysis (identification of trends) and quarterly or semi-annual decision-making report (strategic adjustments).
Thresholds and alerts
Each indicator must be associated with alert thresholds that trigger corrective actions. For example: occupancy rate less than 30% for two consecutive weeks, punctuality less than 85% over one week, satisfaction less than 70% over a quarter.
Conclusion
Managing an efficient DRT service requires mastering four complementary dimensions: operational efficiency, service reliability, user experience and economic viability. This multi-dimensional approach avoids partial optimizations that can degrade the overall performance of the service.
The specificity of DRT requires the construction of adapted indicators that reflect the flexibility and variability of these services. Territories that invest in these measurement systems, which we are in a position to provide, have the necessary tools to continuously adapt their offer to real mobility needs.
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