RTA Customer Experience

The performance of the RTAs is important to the safety of passengers as well as the economic well-being of the Commonwealth. This section presents information on each of the RTAs as reported to MassDOT.

Percentage of Fixed Route Scheduled Trips Operated

The percent of scheduled trips operated refers to how reliably buses in each RTA complete their scheduled routes. For example, if out of 100 scheduled fixed-route bus trips, one did not run at all, the percent of scheduled trips operated measure would be 99 percent.

The percent of scheduled trips operated directly impacts the perceived and actual reliability of a system. In FY23, all Massachusetts RTAs operated above 86 percent of regularly scheduled bus trips. Of all 15 RTAs, five saw an increase in the percentage of scheduled trips operated, eight saw a decrease, and two remained the same.

On-Time Performance

On-time performance measures how reliable an RTA is in providing the service it promises to its passengers. Due to the measure development process, each RTA may have a slightly different definition of on-time performance.
Four RTAs saw an increase in Fixed Route Bus on-time performance from FY22, seven had a decrease, and one maintained the same as the prior year.

Relative to FY22, five RTAs saw increases in on-time performance, one RTA maintained the same performance, and eight RTAs had decreases in on-time performance.