Tracker 2025
In addition to communicating our work to external audiences, Tracker is an important exercise and tool for MassDOT employees. Identifying performance measures and selecting appropriate targets can help each operating division isolate key activities and data for advancing broader outcomes. The report helps the executive leadership team make strategic decisions, management-level staff to best allocate personnel resources on a daily basis, and front-line employees view the impact their work has on our transportation system and the experience of the public. Where appropriate, the content presented in Tracker aligns with federal performance reporting requirements.
Tracker 2025 summarizes the agency’s performance for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 2024 through June 2025) and is organized by the six focus areas of Beyond Mobility. Data are available by focus area or by administrative division. The Office of Performance Management & Innovation worked closely with each division to update this report with current data.
On the Data Explorer and within Closer Looks, Tracker metrics are displayed on cards. The front of the card shows the most important information, while the back of the card can expand to show additional details and references. Not all cards will have all of the components on the diagram.
Click to enlarge the legend
The “Filter by Priority Areas” and “Filter by Divisions” options can be used to only show cards for performance measures associated with a specific priority area or MassDOT Division. Both of these filters allow for one or more choices to be selected at a time.
By default, the “Filter by metric type” option has the “Exclude Developing Metrics” check box selected, which hides cards for performance measures that are Metrics Under Development. To show cards for Metrics Under Development, un-select that check box. Selecting the “Legislative Scorecard” check box will only show cards for the subset of performance measures that are part of the Tracker scorecard submitted annually to the legislature.
The “Search metrics” box can be used to filter metrics by keyword. Use the “Clear All” button to remove all filters and display all available cards.
Tracker is produced by the Office of Performance Management and Innovation (OPMI). For any feedback or questions about Tracker, please send us an email at opmi@mbta.com.
Transit fatalities are reported to the National Transit Database (NTD) and are defined as a death due to a collision, derailment, fire, hazardous material spill, act of God, personal security event, or other NTD-reportable safety event. Fatalities that occur due to an illness, drug overdose, or other natural causes are not reportable. In accordance with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidance, trespassing and suicide-related fatalities are also excluded from the fatality measure.
Although the Commuter Rail system falls under 49 CFR 270 and the Railroad System Safety Program Plan, for the purposes of Tracker reporting, Commuter Rail fatalities are reported according to NTD criteria.
The NTD defines an injury as any harm to a person resulting from an event that requires immediate medical attention away from the scene. This definition excludes harm caused by drug overdose, exposure to environmental conditions, illness, natural causes, or occupational safety events occurring in administrative facilities.
For heavy rail, light rail, bus, and the RIDE services, the MBTA reports an injury to the NTD whenever a person is transported from the scene for medical attention, regardless of whether an injury is visibly apparent. For additional information, please refer to the 2025 NTD Safety and Security Reporting Policy Manual. Injuries resulting from assaults or other crimes are excluded from this performance measure.
The Commuter Rail system falls under 49 CFR 270 and the Railroad System Safety Program Plan, and has different definitions for injuries. For the purposes of Tracker reporting, Commuter Rail injuries are reported according to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) criteria, making them incomparable with injury statistics for MBTA modes that use NTD criteria.
The Commuter Rail system is regulated under 49 CFR 270 and reports to the FRA any accidents/incidents that meet the general reporting criteria in 49 CFR 225. Under these criteria, an injury, death, or occupational illness is reportable when it is a new case that results from an event or exposure associated with railroad operations, and when that event or exposure is a discernible cause of the condition or a discernible cause of a significant aggravation of a pre-existing injury or illness.
Reportable injuries may include (but are not limited to) injuries that result in: (1) medical treatment; (2) a significant injury diagnosed by a physician or other licensed health care professional (even if it does not result in death, medical treatment, or loss of consciousness); or (3) loss of consciousness.
Certain events are not required to be reported, including casualties or injuries at highway-rail crossing sites that do not involve the presence or operation of on-track rail equipment or railroad employees engaged in railroad operations; casualties in or about living quarters that do not arise from railroad operations; and suicides or attempted suicides. For additional details on what is reportable under FRA criteria, please refer to 49 CFR 225.
MassDOT measures bridge condition in two ways to provide a comprehensive understanding of bridge infrastructure across the Commonwealth. These measures help inform capital planning and investment decisions, recognizing that the level of investment needed to improve a bridge depends on its size and structural complexity.
The first, and more traditional, measure is the number of bridges rated in poor condition across the state. Bridge condition ratings are based on the National Bridge Inventory (NBI), which includes structures that meet the federal definition of a bridge—those with a span length greater than 20 feet.
The second measure focuses on National Highway System (NHS) bridges and evaluates condition based on the deck area of bridges in good or poor condition. This approach accounts for the variation in bridge size across the inventory by weighting condition according to deck surface area. Bridges are first categorized as good or poor, and then the total deck area within each category is compared to the total NHS bridge deck area statewide. For example, under the traditional count measure, the Longfellow Bridge is treated the same as any other bridge, even though it is roughly 15 times larger than the average NHS bridge in Massachusetts. The deck area measure helps correct for this imbalance, providing a more accurate picture of the condition of the system as a whole.
Each bridge component is rated on a 0-to-9 scale, following federal NBI standards. Bridges rated 7 or higher are considered Good, those rated 5 or 6 are Fair, and those rated 4 or lower are Poor. A bridge is classified as Poor (previously referred to as structurally deficient) when one or more major components—the deck (driving surface), superstructure (supports beneath the deck), or substructure (foundation and piers)—receives a rating of 4 or less. A bridge rated as Poor does not necessarily mean it is unsafe. Rather, it indicates that one or more major elements have deteriorated to the point where significant repairs or rehabilitation are needed to maintain unrestricted service and prevent further deterioration.
Together, these two measures provide a more complete picture of bridge condition statewide and help MassDOT monitor infrastructure needs, plan maintenance and replacement activities, and guide investments that support a safe and reliable transportation network.
Several of Tracker’s performance metrics currently under development include comparisons between Regional Environmental Justice Plus (REJ+) communities and non-REJ communities, as well as between urban and rural areas.
REJ+, also referred to as REJ, is a data layer developed by MassDOT’s Office of Transportation Planning (OTP) in alignment with the Commonwealth’s long-range transportation plan, Beyond Mobility. REJ+ expands upon traditional Environmental Justice indicators by identifying communities with higher concentrations of residents who are non-white, low-income, have limited English proficiency, live in zero-vehicle households, have disabilities, or are older adults (age 65 and above). This expanded framework enables more nuanced social equity analyses at the regional level.
The REJ+ dataset is based on American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates and 2020 Census tract boundaries. Data are refreshed annually at the tract level. Each tract is classified as either an REJ or non-REJ community based on whether it meets at least one REJ indicator threshold relative to the Metropolitan Planning Organization average.
For metrics involving urban–rural comparisons, Tracker uses MassDOT’s Urban Boundaries 2020 layer. In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau defined urban boundaries using Census Block Group data and TIGER road segments. OTP, in collaboration with regional planning agencies, refined these boundaries to align with MassDOT’s Road Inventory street segments, municipal boundaries, railroads, and water bodies.
Beginning with Tracker 2025, these data layers are being integrated into Tracker’s metrics to conduct equity checks that help identify potential disproportionate impacts on specific community groups. As additional geospatial datasets become available, Tracker will continue to expand the number of metrics incorporating these equity analyses.
