We are proud to release the 2019 version of Tracker.
Tracker is our performance management report, which is our response to Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009. In other words, and according to the Tracker website, “Tracker is the report card for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to our stakeholders, including state and local elected officials, DOT administrators, and all who use and rely on our network.” The data in Tracker come directly from each department, which our Office of Performance Management & Innovation (OPMI) uses to create a yearly report that acts as the central location for all MassDOT performance data. Though the responsibility of Tracker remains the same, OPMI strives to improve the versatility and interactivity of Tracker each year.
The implementation of performance management helps improve project and program delivery and informs investment decisions, as shown in the figure above. Performance management is iterative and must be an on-going process to be effective. This process also links to the Capital Improvement Program, which determines how resources are allocated across Divisions, and which projects are prioritized for funding.
Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack said, “The Baker-Polito Administration is investing historic levels of funding into transportation systems throughout Massachusetts, with the goal of better enabling people to reach families, friends, jobs, businesses, and other opportunities. We are pleased to provide this resource which illustrates recent progress in improving our roads, bridges, airports, railways, bikeways, and the performance of bus, subway, rail, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles.”
Since 2010, Tracker has gone above and beyond the mandated legislative requirements, making the information easily accessible and digestible. Each of the four divisions within MassDOT (Highway, Aeronautics, Rail and Transit, and the RMV) and the MBTA has a scorecard with metrics tracked year over year. Interactive maps allow users to visualize areas of jurisdiction and the charts show change over time to easily indicate performance improvement or decline. For each division and the MBTA, you will find metrics arranged in the following categories: Customer Experience, Safety, System Condition, Budget & Capital Performance, and Healthy & Sustainable Transportation. The website has all of the data, while the pdf contains summarized information, available in scorecards. The Tracker site allows users to take a deeper dive into the data and shows trends up to six years, whereas the scorecard only has change in performance from previous year. An “Other Resources” tab contains links to plans and reports referenced throughout the Tracker site.
For MassDOT’s tenth anniversary, Tracker highlights advancements, while acknowledging where performance did not improve for 2019. This is the second year in which Tracker is available in a web-based and interactive platform. New for 2019 are MBTA performance measures for fatalities, injuries, and derailments, additional context on bicycle and pedestrian crashes within Highway safety, and conditional baselines for all MassDOT’s rail assets within the Rail and Transit Division.
For scorecards and a high-level overview of the data, view the PDF.