COMMUNITY‐BASED
TRANSIT
PERFORMANCE
MEASURES:
 SALEM‐KEIZER
TRANSIT
















by

CODY
MEYER













 
 ii
 Terminal
Project

Presented
to
the
Department
of
Planning,
Public
Policy
and
Management
and
the
Graduate
School
of
the
University
of
Oregon
in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirements
for
the
degree
of
Master
of
Community
and
Regional
Planning

September
2012


Student:
Cody
Meyer

Title:
Community‐Based
Transit
Performance
Measures:
Salem‐Keizer
Area
Transit


This
project
has
been
accepted
and
approved
in
partial
fulfillment
of
the
requirements
for
the
Master
of
Community
and
Regional
Planning
degree
in
the
Department
of
Planning,
Public
Policy
and
Management
by:








Rich
Margerum
 






Chairperson
Marc
Schlossberg
 Member
Robert
Choquette
 Member

and

Kimberly
Andrews
Espy
 Vice
President
for
Research
&
Innovation/Dean
of
the
Graduate
School


Original
approval
signatures
are
on
file
with
the
University
of
Oregon
Graduate
School.

Degree
awarded
September
2012















 
 iii
 ABSTRACT

Cody
Meyer

Master
of
Community
and
Regional
Planning

Department
of
Planning,
Public
Policy
and
Management

September
2012
 
Title:
Community‐Based
Transit
Performance
Measures:
Salem‐Keizer
Area
Transit

Public
transportation
plays
a
key
role
to
shaping
the
livability
of
communities
by
providing
access
to
jobs,
community
services,
friends,
and
family
for
those
without
access
to
an
automobile,
and
offering
travel
options
to
the
entire
community.

The
purpose
of
this
report
is
to
help
Salem‐Keizer
Transit
District
(Cherriots)
develop
a
set
of
community‐based
transit
performance
measures
to
serve
as
a
background
to
enable
the
transit
agency,
city,
and
regional
governments
to
reach
their
planning
goals.

Performance
measures
are
compiled
from
regional,
city,
transit
agency
plans,
and
through
a
literature
review
of
transit
planning
research.

Accessibility
is
measured
in
terms
of
level
of
service
and
geographic
distribution
across
the
transit
district’s
boundary,
to
the
total
population,
transportation
disadvantaged
populations,
residential
dwellings,
employment,
and
community
services
locations.

Results
show
a
clear
link
between
local,
regional,
and
transit
agency
planning
goals,
although
performance
towards
these
goals
is
often
evaluated
independently
of
each
other.
Recommendations
from
the
findings
include
suggestions
for
improving
transit
performance
relative
to
community
goals
and
creating
a
uniform
platform
to
collect
data
and
monitor
performance
towards
transit
planning
goals.
 
 iv
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


 I
wish
to
thank
Professors
Marc
Schlossberg
and
Jennifer
Dill
for
the
inspiration
behind
this
research.

In
additions,
special
thanks
are
due
to
the
staff
at
Cherriots,
SKATS,
the
City
of
Salem,
MWVCOG,
and
the
Oregon
Employment
Department
for
their
valuable
input.

I
also
thank
the
members
of
my
advisory
committee,
Rich
Margerum
and
Bob
Choquette,
for
their
valuable
insight.

Most
of
all,
I
would
like
to
thank
my
wife
Blair
for
her
support
and
selflessness,
which
lies
hidden
behind
every
page
of
this
report.
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 1
 Table
of
Contents

 Executive
Summary .....................................................................................................2
 Introduction.................................................................................................................3
Salem‐Keizer
Transit
System................................................................................................................................3
 Multi­destinational
Timed
Transfer
Networks .............................................................................................4
 Performance
Measures ............................................................................................................................................6
 External
Interest
in
Transit
Performance .......................................................................................................7
Categories
of
Transit
Performance
Measures ...............................................................................................7
 Productivity
Measures..............................................................................................................................................7
 Quality
Measures ........................................................................................................................................................8
 Methods ......................................................................................................................9
Identifying
Community
Measures
of
Transit
Performance .....................................................................9
Local
Transit
Performance
Goals..................................................................................................................... 11
 Findings .....................................................................................................................15
Percent
of
Total
Population
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit ............................................................................ 17
Average
Population
Density
within
¼
mile
of
Transit ........................................................................... 17
Percent
of
Total
Employment
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit
–
SKATS...................................................... 18
Percent
of
Community
Services
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit
–SKATS................................................... 21
Percent
of
Total
New
Dwelling
Units
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit .......................................................... 22
Transportation
Disadvantaged......................................................................................................................... 24
 Poverty .........................................................................................................................................................................24
 Non­White
Persons .................................................................................................................................................24
 Linguistically
Isolated
Households ..................................................................................................................24
 The
Elderly .................................................................................................................................................................25
 No
Vehicle
Available
Households......................................................................................................................25
Highest
Percentages
of
Transportation
Disadvantaged
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit ..................... 26
 Multiple
Disadvantaged
Populations .............................................................................................................28
Total
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours................................................................................................................. 29
 Conclusions................................................................................................................30
 Recommendations...................................................................................................................................................30
 Appendix ...................................................................................................................34
Data
Sources.............................................................................................................................................................. 34
Community
Services .............................................................................................................................................. 36
Transit
Performance
Monitoring
Mock
Up.................................................................................................. 37
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 2
 Executive
Summary

Public
transportation
plays
a
key
role
in
shaping
the
livability
of
communities.

It
provides
access
to
jobs,
school,
community
services,
friends,
and
family
for
those
without
access
to
an
automobile
and
provides
travel
options
for
the
entire
community.

Local
governments
base
many
of
their
land
use
and
transportation
planning
goals
upon
an
accessible
public
transit
system.

As
such
a
measure
of
transit
performance
from
the
perspective
of
the
transit
agency
as
well
as
local
governments
will
offer
a
more
comprehensive
assessment
of
their
overlapping
goals
of
creating
an
accessible
public
transit
system.

Measuring
transit
performance
from
the
viewpoint
of
the
local
governments
agencies
requires
that
transit
accessibility
be
measured
from
a
community’s
perspective
with
a
diverse
set
of
indicators
informed
from
local
planning
goals.



The
purpose
of
this
report
is
to
help
Salem‐Keizer
Transit
District
compile
a
set
of
community‐based
transit
performance
measures
to
enable
the
transit
agency,
city,
and
regional
government
evaluate
their
overlapping
transit
goals.

The
measures
are
compiled
from
regional,
city,
and
transit
agency
planning
documents
and
informed
from
a
literature
review
of
transit
planning
research.

Performance
is
measured
with
a
set
of
accessibility
indicators
at
the
stop
level.

The
findings
show
that
accessibility
to
the
transit
system
is
very
high
within
the
SKATS
area
and
the
City
of
Salem,
with
results
above
90%
for
overall
accessibility
to
transit.
However,
when
measuring
accessibility
to
transit
stops
with
higher
service
frequencies,
accessibility
goes
down
by
an
average
of
30‐40%.

The
even
proportion
by
which
each
indicator
is
served
by
higher
service
frequencies
suggests
that
on
a
whole,
transit
service
levels
are
equitably
distributed
across
the
region,
and
that
Cherriots
is
efficiently
distributing
services
to
the
community
while
providing
a
high
level
of
geographic
coverage.

Given
the
financial
constraint
of
transit
agencies
to
provide
frequent
service,
Cherriots
appears
to
be
doing
well
in
operating
high
frequency
service
in
areas
that
capture
an
even
proportion
of
the
indicators
evaluated
here.

Total
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours
has
steadily
increased
over
the
last
ten
years
suggesting
that
Cherriots
is
meeting
or
exceeding
community
goals
in
allocating
the
increased
transit
services
over
the
last
ten
years.



A
review
of
the
City
of
Salem
and
SKATS
planning
documents
show
a
clear
link
between
local,
regional,
and
transit
agency
goals,
suggesting
that
transit
goals
be
monitored
with
a
unified
report
to
present
a
more
comprehensive
view
of
transit
service,
and
to
monitor
performance
over
time
and
to
evaluate
how
local
government
policies
are
affecting
the
performance
of
the
transit
system.

An
example
of
how
such
a
report
might
look
is
presented
on
page
37
of
the
appendix.
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 3
 Introduction

Public
transportation
plays
a
key
role
in
creating
livable
communities.

It
provides
access
to
jobs,
school,
community
services,
friends,
and
family
for
those
without
access
to
an
automobile,
and
offers
travel
options
for
the
entire
community.

Accessibility
to
public
transit
supports
the
federal
livability
principle
of
offering
more
transportation
choices
by
“providing
a
safe,
reliable,
and
economical
transportation
choice
to
decrease
household
transportation
costs,
reduce
our
nation’s
dependence
on
foreign
oil,
improve
air
quality,
reduce
greenhouse
gas
emissions,
and
promote
public
health
(EPA
2011).”

Performance
measures
are
widely
used
in
determining
the
efficiency
of
agency
operations
and
the
effectiveness
of
services
delivered
(FHA
2008).

Transit
agencies
must
use
their
resources
more
efficiently
and
rationalize
operating
costs
in
the
face
of
decreasing
government
financial
assistance,
and
in
order
to
be
competitive
with
the
private
automobile,
it
is
imperative
that
transit
agencies
also
improve
the
quality
of
services
that
they
offer
(Sheth,
Triantis
et
al.
2007).

Federal
funding
requirements
for
transit
investments
are
increasingly
being
tied
to
the
use
of
performance
standards
to
demonstrate
how
potential
investments
affect
community
livability.

Meeting
community
goals
requires
that
transit
performance
be
measured
with
a
diverse
set
of
indicators.
 Salem‐Keizer
Transit
System
 Salem‐Keizer
Transit
(Cherriots)
provides
public
transit
service
to
the
Salem‐Keizer
area.

As
shown
in
Table
1
below,
Cherriots
is
a
medium
sized
agency
compared
to
other
northwest
transit
agencies.

Salem
is
the
third
largest
city
in
Oregon,
behind
Eugene
and
Portland.

Fixed
route
service
is
run
through
25
routes
serving
a
total
of
249,317
people
within
the
region,
with
154,637
people
living
within
the
City
of
Salem.

These
routes
are
classified
as
having
of
either
15‐minutes
or
30‐minutes,
based
upon
their
peak
service
headways.


In
2010,
the
mode
split
for
people
who
used
public
transportation
as
their
primary
means
to
work
was
two
percent
in
the
SKATS
region,
and
three
percent
in
the
City
of
Salem.


 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 4
 
 Transit
 Agency
 City
 Population
 Land
 Area
Sq
 Mi
 Population
 Density
 Persons
per
 Square
Mi
 Annual
 Passenger
 Miles
 Annual
Vehicle
 Revenue
 Hours
 TriMet
 Portland,
OR
 593,820
 134
 4,288
 453,286,367
 2,873,427
 LTD
 Eugene,
OR
 156,185
 43
 3,574
 45,882,499
 381,271
 Cherriots
 Salem,
OR
 154,637
 47
 3,228
 11,880,841
 395,951
 Whatcom
 Bellingham,
WA
 80,885
 27
 2,987
 18,501,948
 201,888
 Intercity
 Olympia,
WA
 46,478
 18
 2,608
 41,538,314
 338,606
 Table
1.

Peer
Agencies

Cherriots
is
in
the
process
of
adopting
a
new
route
structure
identified
in
their
strategic
plan
as
the
3­Cs
system,
(Centers,
Corridors,
and
Circulators).

This
type
of
route
structure
is
commonly
referred
to
as
a
multi­destinational
timed
transfer
 system
in
the
literature,
utilizing
a
combination
of
multiple
transit
centers,
neighborhood
circulators,
and
grid
routes
to
provide
a
greater
degree
of
geographic
accessibility
over
a
traditional
radial
route
structure
(Bakker,
Calkin
et
al.
1988;
Guihaire
and
Hao
2008).


Figure
2
demonstrates
the
difference
between
a
multi‐destinational
network
(B)
over
a
traditional
radial
network
(A).
 Multi‐destinational
Timed
Transfer
Networks
 
“In
the
past
40
years,
most
metropolitan
areas
have
seen
significant
growth
and
dramatic
redistribution
of
population,
employment,
retail
centers
and
other
trip
generators.
During
the
same
period,
total
urban
person
trips
have
increased
significantly,
whereas
transit
trips
have
experienced
a
large
decline”
(Ceder
and
Wilson
1986).

Transit
networks
in
America
were
historically
designed
as
a
radial
pattern
serving
a
central
business
districts
(CBD)
from
surrounding
residential
areas.

The
historic
decline
of
the
CBD
and
urban
decentralization
have
been
linked
to
lower
transit
ridership
in
traditional
radial
networks.

A
resent
report
by
the
Brookings
Institute
found
that,
“although
half
of
work
commutes
still
originate
from,
or
terminate
in,
central
cities,
39%
of
work
trips
are
entirely
suburban
(Brookings
Institution
2011).”

As
a
response
to
decentralized
residential
and
employment
centers,
many
transit
agencies
have
made
a
switch
to
a
grid
or
multi‐destinational
network.

A
multi‐destinational
network
and
a
timed
transfer
network
represent
route
design
and
scheduling
components
of
transit
service.

A
multi‐destinational
network
is
the
geographical
distribution
of
routes
and
hubs,
while
a
timed
transfer
network
refers
to
the
coordination
of
schedules
between
routes.

A
timed
transfer
point
is
a
point
where
busses
from
intersecting
routes
arrive
simultaneously,
allowing
passengers
to
transfer
between
routes
with
a
minimal
dwell
time
(Vuchic
2005).

A
timed
transfer
network
is
possible
with
any
type
of
transit
network
and
is
commonly
understood
in
a
radial
pulse
network
design,
where
routes
meet
at
the
same
time
at
a
centrally
located
transit
center
for
connections
to
be
made.



 Figure
1.
Cherriots
System
Map
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 5
 A
multi‐destinational
network
depends
on
closely
timed
transfers
between
routes,
at
a
transit
center
or
at
intersecting
route
lines
within
the
network,
to
provide
passengers
with
greater
flexibility
in
reaching
destinations
outside
the
CBD.



 

 


Figure
2.
Example
of
Radial
(A)
and
Multi‐Destinational/Grid
(B)
Transit
Networks




Timed
transfer
networks
have
been
shown
to
be
more
effective
in
attracting
passengers
and
more
efficient
in
use
of
resources
over
radial
pulse
networks.

In
a
study
analyzing
the
effects
of
network
design
in
26
transit
agencies,
multi‐destinational
networks
were
16%
more
cost
effective,
measured
in
operating
expense
per
passenger
mile,
than
traditional
grid
networks
(Thompson).

However,
there
is
evidence
that
this
type
of
system
appeals
more
to
captive
riders
whose
demand
for
service
is
more
elastic
in
regards
to
the
added
time
for
transfers.



As
this
type
of
route
structure
is
intended
to
provide
a
greater
degree
of
geographic
coverage,
transit
accessibility
is
measured
here
in
terms
of
community
stated
mobility,
accessibility,
and
land
use
goals.

Accessibility
to
transit
is
measured
using
a
walkable
distance
around
each
stop,
as
it
is
assumed
that
transit
riders
are
accessing
transit
as
pedestrians.

A
background
and
context
for
transit
performance
measures
will
be
used
to
inform
a
search
for
existing
regional,
city,
and
agency
goals
to
develop
and
apply
a
set
of
performance
metrics,
and
then
present
a
brief
review
of
the
results.



 A
 B
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 6
 Background
 Performance
Measures
Transit
agencies,
Metropolitan
Planning
Organizations
(MPO),
and
local
governments
use
performance
measures
to
evaluate
transit
system
performance
towards
stated
agency
goals.

Performance
measures
rely
upon
indicators
in
order
to
measure
progress,
so
the
types
of
performance
measures
used
by
an
agency
depends
upon
agency
goals
and
the
types
of
data
routinely
collected.

Because
performance
measures
determine
the
actions
that
must
be
taken
to
accomplish
a
goal,
the
measures
should
be
carefully
selected
(Seggerman,
Hendricks
et
al.
2008).

The
components
of
a
successful
transit
performance
monitoring
system
identified
in
a
guidebook
sponsored
by
the
Federal
Transit
Administration
(FTA)
are
listed
below.

Medium
sized
transit
agencies
such
as
Cherriots
may
not
have
the
resources
available
to
other
larger
transit
agencies,
so
a
list
of
measures
to
include
in
a
monitoring
program
should
be
constructed
from
data
that
is
already
being
captured
within
the
region,
easily
calculated,
and
be
clearly
aimed
at
meeting
stated
goals.

 • Linkage
to
agency
and
community
goals
 • Clarity

 • Reliability
and
credibility

 • Variety
of
measures

 • Level
of
detail

 • Realism
of
goals
and
targets
 • Timeliness
 • Integration
into
agency
decision‐making

Source:

(Transportation
Research
Board.
Transit
Cooperative
Research
2003)


Transit
performance
measures
are
primarily
used
for
regulatory
and
internal
agency
uses,
such
as
meeting
reporting
requirements
for
the
National
Transit
Database
(NTD),
compliance
with
the
American
Disability
Act
(ADA)
and
Title
VI,
grant
applications,
external
reporting,
budgeting,
reporting,
and
insurance
purposes.

Because
of
the
types
of
data
required
to
be
collected
for
the
NTD,
many
of
the
transit
performance
measures
currently
in
use
are
focused
on
ridership
and
financial
performance,
leaving
measurement
of
the
other
aspects
of
transit
such
as
quality
of
service
and
accessibility
underrepresented
(Kittelson
2003;
Levinson
2004).
1

Outside
of
the
transit
agency,
transit
performance
measures
can
be
used
to
guide
and
aid
decision
making
in
land
use
and
transportation
planning
from
a
variety
of
government
agencies
who
might
use
the
measures
in
the
following
activities
(EPA
2011):
























































 1 Pulled from Schlossberg, Dill, Meyer, and Ma. (Forthcoming). MEASURING THE PERFORMANCE OF TRANSIT RELATIVE TO LIVABILITY. Oregon Department of Transportation. Salem. Final Report. Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 7
 
 • Land
use
visioning
 • Long‐range
transportation
plans
 • Corridor
studies
 • Programming
 • Environmental
review
 • Performance
monitoring

 External
Interest
in
Transit
Performance
The
perspective
by
which
a
measurement
is
interpreted
influences
the
resulting
performance.

For
example
productivity
may
mean
different
things
from
a
provider
or
consumer
perspective.

Productivity
measured
from
the
transit
agency’s
perspective
measures
provided
service
against
the
funding
required
for
service
provided.

From
the
rider’s
perspective,
productivity
determines
the
levels
of
overall
access
to
and
quality
of
service
provided.

“According
to
the
provider’s
viewpoint,
efficient
service
along
a
route
is
where
the
transit
agency
will
provide
adequate
service
at
the
least
cost,
whereas
for
the
customer,
efficient
service
along
a
route
is
where
one
that
has
the
most
quality
attributes
such
as
the
shortest
travel
time”
(Sheth,
Triantis
et
al.
2007).


An
increasing
trend
is
to
measure
transit
performance
from
the
passenger’s
point
of
view,
moving
measures
from
a
vehicle
orientation
to
a
people
orientation
(Benn
1995;
Levinson
2004).

Measuring
performance
from
the
passenger’s
perspective
means
evaluating
performance
as
outcomes
based,
rather
than
focusing
on
the
inputs
required
to
run
transit
service.

To
this
end,
this
report
identifies
a
set
of
community
and
regional
goals
representing
transit
accessibility
and
level
of
service
to
create
a
set
of
community‐based
transit
performance
metrics.

 Categories
of
Transit
Performance
Measures
The
performance
measures
identified
for
evaluation
were
assembled
through
research
of
academic,
professional,
and
local
planning
documents.

A
brief
background
and
rational
for
the
types
of
performance
measures
is
presented
below,
followed
by
a
review
of
transit
goals
found
in
local
government
plans.
 Productivity
Measures
Productivity
is
determined
by
the
quantity
of
transit
services
supplied
per
the
amount
of
money.

Productivity
measures
of
efficiency
and
effectiveness
are
widely
measured
by
transit
agencies
such
as
Cherriots.



The
FTA
requires
that
all
transit
agencies
receiving
federal
subsidies
record
and
report
basic
performance
data,
consisting
mostly
of
measures
of
both
efficiency
and
effectiveness.

Efficiency
measures,
such
as
Operating
Expense
per
Vehicle
Revenue
Mile
and
Operating
Expense
per
Vehicle
Revenue
Hour,
are
meant
to
maximize
benefits
and
reduce
costs.

Effectiveness
measures,
such
as
Operating
Expense
per
Passenger
Mile,
Operating
Expense
per
Unlinked
Passenger
Trip,
Passenger
Trips
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 8
 per
Vehicle
Revenue
Mile,
and
Unlinked
Passenger
Trips
per
Vehicle
Revenue
Hour,
on
the
other
hand,
measure
the
degree
to
which
stated
goals
are
reached.



These
measures
provide
a
measurement
from
the
agencies
viewpoint
of
transit
service
delivered
per
dollar
spent.

While
these
are
important
considerations,
they
do
not
reflect
the
type
or
quality
of
services
delivered
from
the
viewpoint
of
the
community
or
passenger.

This
suggests
that
additional
measures
reflecting
transit
services
measured
from
a
community
perspective
should
be
included
in
a
comprehensive
performance
measurement
program.



 Quality
Measures

Where
efficiency
and
effectiveness
measures
capture
transit
performance
from
a
transit
agency
perspective,
quality
measures
are
meant
to
measure
transit
service
from
a
community
perspective.

Transit
service
provides
access
to
employment
and
community
services
such
as,
health
care,
shopping,
and
other
necessary
services
those
without
any
other
means
of
transportation.

Basing
transit
planning
upon
efficiency
goals
can
cause
externalities
that
adversely
affect
poor
and
minority
populations,
therefore
it
is
recommended
that
performance
monitoring
take
into
account
social
and
environmental
justice
goals
(Hanson
and
Giuliano
2004).



Transit
supplies
a
community
with
transportation
choices
for
workers
and
acts
as
a
necessary
link
to
jobs
and
services
for
those
without
access
to
an
automobile.

Improving
transit
accessibility
to
jobs
enhances
the
efficiency
of
labor
markets
for
both
workers
and
employers,
can
use
energy
more
efficiently,
reduce
greenhouse
gas
emissions,
improve
air
quality,
and
make
transportation
more
affordable
(Brookings
Institution
2011
;
EPA
2011).

A
measure
of
transit
accessibility
reflects
the
relative
convenience
of
transit,
and
is
measured
in
terms
of
distance
and
travel
time
to
transit.

Transit
accessibility
measures
identified
in
the
literature
consist
of
accessibility
to
jobs,
community
services,
and
disadvantaged
populations,
in
addition
to
land
use
measures.

Accessibility
to
transit
is
captured
in
a
spatial
element
to
examine
the
geographic
extent
of
where
is
service
available,
and
temporal
element
to
examine
what
types
of
service
are
available.
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 9
 Methods

The
methodological
framework
of
this
report
consists
of
two
components:
identifying
transit
performance
measures
from
local
planning
documents
and
utilizing
a
Geographic
Information
System
(GIS)
to
assess
transit
accessibility
within
the
context
of
community
goals.

Spatial
indicators
were
developed
to
reflect
each
agency
goal
identified
in
the
document
review.

The
results
of
the
measurements
are
then
used
to
determine
how
well
transit
service
is
meeting
regional,
local,
and
agency
goals.


 Identifying
Community
Measures
of
Transit
Performance
The
methodology
for
developing
performance
measures
and
criteria
consist
of
identifying
appropriate
transit
performance
indicators
from
the
perspective
of
the
transit
agency,
the
region,
and
the
city.

Measures
consist
of
both
level
of
service
and
spatial
indicators
to
identify
accessibility
to
transit
stops
and
the
frequency
of
service.



Planning
documents
from
Cherriots,
SKATS,
and
the
City
of
Salem
were
reviewed
to
identify
transit‐based
performance
goals.

Goals
and
objectives
were
developed
from
reviewing
the
following
planning
documents;
a
complete
list
of
the
measures
pulled
from
these
documents
is
shown
in
Table
2
below.

 • Cherriots
‐
Strategic
Business
Plan
 • City
of
Salem
‐
Comprehensive
Plan
 • City
of
Salem
‐
Transportation
Systems
Plan
 • SKATS
‐
Transportation
Disadvantaged

 Strategic
Business
Plan
‐
Cherriots
The
Cherriots
Strategic
Business
Plan
is
based
upon
the
vision
of
developing
transit
as
a
resource
for
the
community
by
contributing
to
the
livability
of
the
region
by
providing
mobility
to
those
without
access
to
an
automobile,
increasing
the
share
of
trips
by
alternative
modes
in
the
Salem/Keizer
area,
and
increasing
the
interconnections
between
land
use
and
the
transportation
system
(Salem‐Keizer‐Transit
2004).

The
strategic
targets
of
system
operation
examined
here
are
service
levels,
coverage,
and
land
use.
 Transportation
Systems
Plan
‐
City
of
Salem
“A
Transportation
Systems
Plan
is
a
blueprint
to
guide
a
region’s
transportation
development
for
the
coming
25
years;
it
is
updated
based
on
projections
of
growth
in
the
region’s
population,
economic
activity,
patterns
of
housing
development,
and
the
resulting
projections
of
travel
volumes”
(Hanson
and
Giuliano
2004).

The
City
of
Salem’s
Transportation
Systems
Plan
contains
goals
to
increase
the
share
of
trips
made
by
alternative
modes
of
transportation
by
encouraging
the
locating
of
residential
development
near
existing
transit
stops.


 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 10
 
The
Salem
Transportation
Systems
Plan
conforms
with
the
regional
transportation
Systems
Plan
produced
by
SKATS.

The
plan
identifies
two
transit
measures
used
to
evaluate
plan
effectiveness;
percent
of
population
living
within
¼
mile
of
a
transit
route
and
total
daily
transit
revenue
hours
(Salem
2007,
P
17).

A
higher
ratio
of
population
living
within
a
walkable
distance
to
a
transit
stop
indicates
a
more
accessible
transit
system
and
the
successful
linkage
between
land
use
and
transportation
planning
and
policies.

An
increase
in
transit
revenue
hour
provides
more
accessibility
to
transit
service.

The
Transit
Element
of
the
City
of
Salem’s
Transportation
Systems
Plan’s
goal
is
to
create
“a
public
mass
transit
system
that
provides
convenient
and
accessible
transit
services
to
the
citizens
of
the
Salem
Urban
Area
(Salem
2007,
P
9‐3).”

The
primary
objective
of
the
plan
is
to
increases
transit
ridership
to
the
point
that
25
percent
of
all
work
trips
are
completed
using
transit,
by
focusing
on
routing
of
transit
services,
transit‐supportive
land
uses,
intermodal
connectivity,
and
enhancing
opportunities
for
the
Transportation
Disadvantaged
(Salem
2007).


 Transportation
Disadvantaged
‐
SKATS
An
environmental
justice
analysis
evaluates
proposed
transportation
investments
in
light
of
the
geographic
location
of
minority
and
disadvantaged
populations.



SKATS
produces
a
“Transportation
Disadvantaged”
report
that
identifies
populations
that
“potentially
experience
some
level
of
limitation
to
convenient,
accessible
transportation”,
that
“affects
their
ability
to
travel,
to
access
goods,
services,
and
recreation”(SKATS
2000).

The
socio‐demographic
profile
is
used
to
understand
the
relationships
between
disadvantaged
populations
and
the
transportation
system,
and
to
assess
how
transportation
investments
may
affect
them.

Transportation
Disadvantaged
populations
area
defined
as
census
tracts
that
include
one
or
more
of
the
following
(SKATS
2000,
P1):

 • Non‐white
and
Hispanic
persons
 • Linguistically
isolated
persons
 • Elderly
persons
(aged
65
and
older)
 • Persons
in
households
with
income
below
poverty
level
 • Households
with
no
access
to
vehicles
 Comprehensive
Plan
‐
City
of
Salem
A
Comprehensive
Plan
is
a
long‐range
planning
document
used
to
guide
urban
growth
through
controlling
the
timing
and
location
of
development.

The
Salem
Comprehensive
Plan’s
goal
is
to
accommodate
development
in
an
efficient
arrangement
of
land
uses,
facilities,
and
services
to
meet
the
present
and
future
needs
of
the
residents
of
the
Salem
urban
area.

The
plan
identifies
two
transit
performance
measures
to
evaluate
plan
effectiveness;
the
number
of
dwelling
units
with
¼
mile
of
transit
stops
with
headways
of
15
and
30
minutes.

The
plan
sets
a
goal
of
23%
of
all
new
dwelling
units
to
be
located
within
¼
mile
of
transit
stops
by
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 11
 2010,
increasing
to
27%
by
2015
for
30
minute
headway
service,
and
3.5%
of
all
new
dwelling
units
to
be
located
within
¼
mile
of
transit
stops
by
2010,
increasing
to
4.5%
by
2015
for
15
minute
headway
service
(SCP,
p
53).


 Local
Transit
Performance
Goals
Planning
documents
from
Cherriots,
SKATS,
and
the
City
of
Salem
reviewed
revealed
several
overlapping
transit
related
presented
in
Table
2
below.

Each
goal
was
assigned
a
corresponding
spatial
indicator
and
calculation
to
evaluate
transit
performance
through
the
stated
agency
goal.

Each
indicator
was
then
assessed
using
accessibility
to
stops
with
15‐minute
and
30‐minute
frequencies,
as
well
as
to
the
system
as
a
whole.

 Source Goal Indicator Calculation Salem Comprehensive Plan Accessibility Percent of New Dwelling Units within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Sum of new dwelling units within ¼ mile of transit stops divided by total new dwelling units Average Population Density within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Average population density within ¼ mile of a transit stop compared to the average population density of the MPO and City Percent of Jobs within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Sum of jobs within ¼ mile of transit divided by the number of jobs in the MPO and City Cherriots Strategic Business Plan Focus service improvements in areas that support transit friendly development. Promote importance of land use/ transit connection. Percent of Community Services within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Sum of community services within ¼ mile of transit divided by the number of community services in the MPO and City Percent of Total Population within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Sum of total population of each block group that intersects a ¼ mile buffer divided by the sum of total population within the MPO Salem Transportation Systems Plan Accessibility Total Daily Transit Revenue Hours Average daily transit revenue hours SKATS Transportation Disadvantaged Report Mobility Percent of Transportation Disadvantaged within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Sum of Transportation Disadvantaged population within ¼ mile of transit divided by sum of total Transportation Disadvantaged population within the region Table
2.
Local
Transit
Related
Performance
Goals
and
Indicators
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 12
 GIS
Methods
Assessing
how
transit
service
is
meeting
the
community
goals
is
determined
by
how
transit
service
is
geographically
distributed
and
across
the
city
and
regional
boundaries.

Accessibility
is
reported
using
the
district
boundaries
of
both
the
City
of
Salem
and
SKATS.

For
instance,
city
measures
will
reflect
a
measurement
of
all
transit
stops
within
the
city
boundary.

 An
assumption
made
here
is
that
transit
passengers
are
accessing
the
system
as
pedestrians.

Each
indicator
was
calculated
using
GIS
to
measure
pedestrian
access
to
each
bus
stop,
(1/4
mile
is
the
generally
agreed
upon
distance
to
which
a
person
will
walk
to
transit,
and
distance
used
in
agency
goals).

As
shown
in
Figure
3,
pedestrian
sheds
were
created
using
a
simple
circular
buffer
technique
in
order
to
present
a
simple,
straightforward
methodology
that
can
be
easily
recreated.



Evaluation
consists
of
a
stop‐based
analysis
comparing
the
differences
between
service
levels
across
the
boundary
of
SKATS
and
the
City
of
Salem.

Ratio
measurements
are
measured
as
the
sum
of
population,
dwellings,
services,
or
jobs
within
each
pedestrian
shed
divided
by
the
total
population
of
dwellings,
services,
or
jobs
within
the
city
or
regional
boundary.

The
Transportation
Disadvantaged
indicators
measure
the
ratio
of
each
population
group
within
the
pedestrian
shed
to
the
total
number
of
each
population
group
within
the
SKATS
area.



Transit
level
of
service
was
defined
as
the
peak
service
frequency
for
each
route,
with
higher
frequency
service
occurring
generally
between
8‐10
am
and
4‐6
pm.

Cherriots
routes
were
identified
as
having
peak
headways
of
either
15
or
30
minutes,
referred
to
as
high
or
low
frequency
respectively.




GIS
layers
for
each
route
were
assigned
headways,
and
then
aggregated
by
level
of
service.

Transit
stops
were
then
assigned
a
level
of
service
based
upon
the
highest
available
headway
of
the
routes
serving
each
stop.

Transit
stops
were
then
aggregated
and
buffered
by
¼
mile
to
create
a
pedestrian
shed
for
a
30‐minute
headway
(Figure
4)
and
a
15‐minute
headway
(Figure
5).

These
two
pedestrian
sheds
were
then
used
to
select
socio‐demographic
and
land
use
data
to
reflect
the
accessibility
to
each
level
of
service.

An
intersecting
point
or
polygon
technique
was
used
to
select
census
boundaries
or
employment
points
that
are
within
or
touch
the
pedestrian
shed
of
the
transit
system.

One
limitation
of
using
an
intersecting
polygon
technique
is
that
it
 Figure
3.
Pedestrian
Shed
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 13
 potentially
overestimates
the
population
within
walking
distance
as
it
counts
the
total
for
the
entire
geography
even
if
only
a
corner
of
it
touches
the
pedestrian
shed.

A
comparison
of
the
results
using
point
data
for
two
of
the
measures,
which
provides
a
more
accurate
measure,
produced
similar
proportions
of
accessibility
to
level
of
service
to
the
polygon
data.

This
indicates
that
any
potential
overestimation
occurring
with
polygon
data
may
not
be
as
important
of
a
consideration
given
the
high
geographic
coverage.

Accordingly,
a
comparison
over
time
using
consistent
methods
will
reveal
the
pattern
of
change
regardless
of
estimation
errors.


 





 
 Figure
4.
30‐Minute
Pedestrian
Shed
 



 Figure
5.
15‐Minute
Pedestrian
Shed

In
accordance
to
the
best
practices
previously
identified
for
transit
performance
measurement,
the
data
utilized
consists
of
readily
available
government
data
collected
at
equal
intervals,
shows
a
clear
linkage
to
agency
and
community
goals,
are
composed
of
a
variety
of
measures,
and
can
be
easily
replicated.

Data
was
obtained
based
upon
the
best
available
data
for
each
indicator,
from
three
primary
sources.

 • US
Census‐
American
Community
Survey
 • Oregon
Employment
Department
 • Salem‐Keizer
Transit


Table
3
below
provides
an
overview
of
the
data
source,
unit
of
observation
(geography),
and
the
unit
of
analysis
utilized
for
each
indicator.

The
unit
of
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 14
 observation
varies
between
each
indicator,
and
is
based
upon
the
most
accurate
or
smallest
geography
that
the
data
was
available.

The
geographies
used
consist
of
census
tracts,
block
groups,
blocks,
and
tax
lots.




















 Indicator Data Source Geography Unit of Analysis Percent of Total Population within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop 2009 ACS- Total Population Block Region Percent of Average Population Density within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop 2009 ACS- Population Density Block Region Percent of Total Employment within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Oregon Employment Department- ES-202 Tax Lot City/Region Percent of Total Transportation Disadvantaged Population within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop 2009 ACS- Poverty, Non- White, Ling. Isolated, Elderly, Households w/ No Car Tract Region Percent of Total Community Services within ¼ mile of a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop Oregon Employment Department- ES-202 Tax Lot City/Region Percent of Total Dwelling Units within ¼ mile of Transit Stops a 15 or 30 Min Transit Stop 2009 ACS- Year Structure Built Block Group City Total Daily Transit Revenue Hours NTD- Agency Profile System System 










Table
3.

Data
Sources
for
Indicators
 Figure
1.
Overview
of
Transit
System
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 15
 Findings

The
purpose
of
this
report
is
to
compile
a
set
of
community‐based
transit
performance
measures,
which
assesses
transit
performance
through
the
lens
of
local
government
planning
goals.

An
assessment
of
performance
from
multiple
viewpoints
requires
that
a
diverse
set
of
indicators
be
used.

Based
upon
the
set
of
indicators
used
to
assess
transit
accessibility,
Cherriots
appears
to
be
doing
well
in
providing
a
high
degree
of
coverage
across
it’s
service
area
and
providing
an
equitable
split
of
service
levels.

 Figure
6.
Results
of
Transit
Performance
Indicators
Within
the
SKATS
area,
92%
of
the
region’s
population
is
within
walking
distance
to
a
transit
stop,
and
45%
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
service.

89%
of
jobs
are
accessible
to
transit,
with
45%
of
jobs
accessible
to
frequent
service.

94%
of
the
community
service
locations
are
within
walking
distance
to
transit,
with
56%
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
service.

Population
densities
within
walking
distance
to
the
transit
system,
as
a
whole,
is
also
higher
than
the
regional
average,
suggesting
that
transit
services
are
targeted
to
transit
supportive
land
uses.



 0%
 20%
 40%
 60%
 80%
 100%
 120%
 P er ce n t
 
A cc es ib le 
t o
 T ra n si t
 15
Minute
Headway
30
Minute
Headway
System
Total
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 16
 Accessibility
to
transit
service
within
the
City
of
Salem
reveal
a
similar
result,
with
46%
of
jobs
accessible
to
frequent
service
and
89%
accessible
to
the
system
as
a
whole.

The
number
of
community
services
within
walking
distance
to
transit
is
95%
for
the
system
as
a
whole
and
62%
for
frequent
service.

These
numbers
are
consistent
with
the
region’s
top
employers
who
employ
500
people
or
more,
where
55%
are
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
service
and
100%
are
within
walking
distance
to
the
transit
system
as
a
whole.



The
average
population
density
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
routes
is
higher
than
the
system
as
a
whole
and
the
system
average
for
the
region.

The
proportion
of
new
dwelling
units
within
walking
distance
compared
to
the
total
new
unit
count
is
39%
for
frequent
service
and
92%
for
30‐minute
service.

Transportation
Disadvantaged
is
measured
at
the
regional
level
using
census
tracts.

Figure
7
shows
the
percentage
of
each
disadvantaged
population
within
walking
distance
to
transit;
numbers
in
parentheses
indicate
the
total
percentage
of
each
population
group
for
the
SKATS
area.

Accessibility
to
transit
by
disadvantaged
populations
is
measured
as
the
ratio
of
each
population
group
within
a
15
or
30‐minute
headway
pedestrian
shed
to
the
total
number
of
each
population
group
within
the
SKATS
boundary.



 
 Figure
7.
Results
of
Transportation
Disadvantaged
Indicators
 56%
 55%
 58%
 47%
 62%
 90%
 89%
 95%
 80%
 91%
 0%
 10%
 20%
 30%
 40%
 50%
 60%
 70%
 80%
 90%
 100%
 Below
Poverty
(16%)
 Non‐white
(17%)
 Linguistically
Isolated
(5%)
 Elderly
(13%)
 No
Access
to
Car
(8%)
 P er ce n t
 of 
D is av an ta ge d 
P op u la ti on s
 A cc es ib le 
t o
 T ra n si t
 15
Minute
Headways
 30
Min
Headways
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 17
 Percent
of
Total
Population
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit
The
Transportation
Systems
Plan
identifies
the
percentage
of
the
total
population
living
within
¼
mile
of
transit
as
one
way
to
measure
plan
effectiveness.

A
higher
ratio
of
population
living
within
a
walkable
distance
to
a
transit
stop
indicates
a
more
accessible
transit
system
and
the
successful
linkage
between
land
use
and
transportation
planning
and
policies.



The
highest
numbers
of
population
are
located
on
the
periphery
of
downtown
Salem.


Figure
6
shows
good
residential
transit
accessibility
with
45%
of
the
total
regional
population
living
within
walking
distance
to
a
15‐minute
transit
service,
83%
living
within
a
30‐minute
service
area,
and
92%
living
within
distance
to
the
system.


 Average
Population
Density
within
¼
mile
of
Transit
Areas
with
high
population
density
increase
the
potential
for
transit
ridership
by
efficiently
locating
residential
populations
within
smaller
areas
that
can
be
better
targeted
by
transit
planning.

Population
and
job
density
are
closely
related
to
higher
transit
ridership
(Cervero
1994).

Clusters
of
block
groups
with
the
highest
population
densities
are
located
in
east
Salem.

The
findings
reveal
that
high
frequency
routes
are
reaching
block
groups
with
higher
levels
of
population
density
than
low
frequency
routes
and
the
region
as
a
whole.

The
highway
99
corridor
north
of
downtown
Salem
has
higher
than
average
population
densities
and
might
be
an
area
supportive
of
higher
frequencies
in
the
future.




 
 






Figure
8.
Average
Population
Density
per
sq
Mile
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit
 Average
population
density
within
¼
mile
of
15
minute
headway
routes
Land
uses
identified
in
the
literature
that
support
a
multi­destinational
timed
 transfer
route
structure
include
measuring
population
densities
around
high
frequency
routes.

The
average
population
density
within
walking
distance
is
higher
 4,543
 5,497
 4,985
 4,998
 0
1,000
 2,000
3,000
 4,000
5,000
 6,000
 SKATS
 15
Minute
Headway
30
Minute
Headway
 System
Total
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 18
 than
the
region
and
system
as
a
whole,
suggesting
that
high
frequency
routes
are
being
provided
to
corridors
of
high
population
densities.
 Percent
within
¼
mile
of
30
minute
headway
routes
Low
frequency
routes
show
a
uniform
geographic
distribution,
serving
a
large
majority
of
the
high
population
density
block
groups.

Population
density
within
walking
distance
to
low
frequency
service
is
slightly
denser
than
the
region
as
a
whole.

The
findings
suggest
that
additional
high‐density
block
groups
in
south
and
east
of
downtown
Salem
could
provide
additional
gains
by
modifying
nearby
routes.

 Percent
of
Total
Employment
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit
–
SKATS
There
are
a
total
of
99,982
jobs
within
the
SKATS
district
boundary
with
87,193
of
the
jobs
located
within
the
City
of
Salem.
Within
the
region,
there
is
an
average
of
14
employees
per
job
location.

Employment
in
the
SKATS
boundary
and
City
of
Salem
are
primarily
clustered
in
downtown
Salem
and
along
major
corridors.

Just
as
many
other
regions,
the
Salem
area
shows
a
decentralized
pattern
of
employment,
with
only
17%
of
the
region’s
jobs
located
in
the
central
business
district.



Employment
is
largely
located
on
major
corridors
served
by
transit
and
high
levels
of
service.

An
indicator
of
regional
jobs
accessibility
shows
that
45%
of
all
job
sites
have
access
to
15‐minute
service,
with
79%
within
walking
distance
to
30‐minute
service
and
89%
are
within
walking
distance
to
the
system
as
a
whole.

Figure
9
shows
the
distribution
of
job
site
by
the
number
of
employees.



The
percentages
of
regional
jobs
accessibility
are
largely
consistent
with
the
measure
of
jobs
within
the
City
of
Salem
shown
below.

There
are
87,193
jobs
located
within
the
City
of
Salem.

Of
these
jobs,
46%
are
accessible
to
high
frequency
routes,
80%
accessible
to
low
frequency
routes,
and
89%
accessible
to
the
system
as
a
whole.

In
order
to
capture
choice
riders,
higher
service
frequencies
might
be
targeted
around
some
of
the
major
employment
centers
on
the
north
side
of,
and
southeast
to
downtown
Salem.

Of
the
18
regional
employers
who
employ
500
people
or
more,
all
but
Chemeketa
Community
College
are
within
the
City
of
Salem
city
limits.

55%
of
these
are
located
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
service,
and
all
are
within
walking
distance
to
30‐minute
service
and
the
transit
system
as
a
whole.

Allocating
more
frequent
services
near
major
employment
centers
may
allow
the
transit
agency
to
capture
more
choice
riders.



 
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 19
 
 
 





Figure
9.
Employment
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit

 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 20
 
 



Figure
10.
Major
Employers
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit






 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 21
 Percent
of
Community
Services
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit
–SKATS
Community
services
are
defined
as
services
and
businesses
essential
to
satisfy
life’s
daily
needs.

They
are
composed
of
such
things
as
grocery
stores,
banks,
health
care,
retail
locations,
schools,
and
churches
(a
complete
list
of
services
is
available
in
the
appendix).

A
measure
of
community
services
within
walking
distance
to
transit
is
closely
related
to
the
planning
goals
of
each
of
the
three
agencies,
such
as
encouraging
transit
supportive
land
uses,
and
enhancing
access
opportunities
for
the
Transportation
Disadvantaged.

The
SKATS
area
shows
a
decentralized
pattern
of
community
services
locations
similar
to
the
employment
pattern,
with
20%
of
all
community
services
located
in
the
city
center.

Within
the
SKATS
region,
94%
of
the
community
service
locations
are
within
walking
distance
to
transit,
with
56%
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
service.

Within
the
City
of
Salem,
these
numbers
increase
to
95%
for
the
system
as
a
whole
and
62%
for
frequent
service.

 
 







Figure
11.
Community
Services
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 22
 Percent
of
Total
New
Dwelling
Units
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit
New
dwelling
units
were
defined
as
units
built
in
the
last
five
years.

The
indicator
was
calculated
as
New
Dwelling
Units
within
walking
distance
to
transit
divided
by
the
total
New
Dwelling
Units
in
Salem.

This
unit
of
measurement
may
prove
to
be
too
coarse
to
provide
an
accurate
figure,
however
the
data
for
Year
Structure
Built
is
not
available
at
the
smaller
geography
of
the
census
block.

A
comparison
of
total
dwelling
units
between
the
block
and
block
group
levels
revealed
a
predictable
drop
off
in
total
dwelling
units
within
walking
distance
to
transit.

The
indicator
reveals
a
clear
pattern
of
residential
development,
suggesting
that
the
pattern
of
residential
developments
in
the
region
over
the
last
five
years
are
not
in
line
with
the
Salem
Comprehensive
Plan’s
Goals
of
steering
residential
development
within
walking
distance
of
frequent
transit
service.

Serving
neighborhoods
on
the
periphery
with
frequent
service
is
more
costly
than
providing
services
within
the
central
area
due
to
the
low
population
densities
and
travel
distances.


 
 












Figure
12.
Percent
of
New
Housing
Units
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit

In
the
City
of
Salem,
39%
of
new
dwelling
units
were
within
walking
distance
to
frequent
service,
92%
within
walking
distance
to
30‐minute
service,
and
98%
within
walking
distance
to
the
transit
network
as
a
whole
when
measured
at
the
block
group
level.

The
findings
shown
in
Figure
13
reveal
that
the
majority
of
new
housing
is
being
built
on
the
periphery
of
the
transit
agency’s
service
area,
particularly
on
the
south,
west,
and
north
sides.


 
 



 39%
 92%
 98%
 0%
20%
 40%
60%
 80%
100%
 120%
 15
Minute
Headway
 30
Minute
Headway
 System
Total
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 23
 
 Figure
13.
Number
of
New
Housing
Units
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit
This
indicator
was
developed
using
available
public
data
from
the
2009
ACS,
which
reported
at
the
block
group
level,
may
be
too
coarse
for
the
city
to
effectively
evaluate
policy
with.

A
comparison
using
a
measurement
of
Total
Housing
Units
at
the
census
block
level
reveals
42%
within
frequent
service,
68%
within
30‐minute
service,
and
84%
within
the
system
as
a
whole.

Using
the
larger
geography
of
the
block
group
results
in
an
average
of
20%
more
housing
units
within
walking
distance.

The
drop
off
is
most
notable
in
the
less
dense
population
areas
comprised
of
larger
block
groups
that
are
influenced
more
by
the
larger
unit
of
analysis.



The
Mid‐Valley
Council
of
Governments
publishes
building
permit
data
for
public
use
at
the
tract
level
and
for
transportation
analysis
zones.

Although
the
data
was
not
available
at
the
time
of
this
report,
future
monitoring
of
this
indicator
should
include
permit
data
at
the
tax
lot
level
to
gain
a
more
detailed
measurement.
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 24
 Transportation
Disadvantaged
 Poverty
The
census
bureau
defines
poverty
as
people
whose
income
in
the
last
year
was
below
the
federally
established
poverty
level.

In
the
SKATS
region,
over
38,000
people
(16%
of
the
population)
had
income
below
poverty
level.

Of
those,
22,000
(56%)
lived
in
census
tracts
within
walking
distance
to
a
15‐minute
service,
and
34,000
(90%)
lived
within
walking
distance
to
a
30‐minute
service.

Tracts
with
the
largest
share
of
people
below
poverty
level
are
located
in
the
central
Salem
area,
in
and
around
downtown.

This
is
an
area
that
is
well
served
by
transit
due
to
the
downtown
transfer
station.
 
 Non‐White
Persons
The
non‐white
population
is
defined
as
people
who
identified
themselves
as
Black
or
African
American,
American
Indian,
Asian,
Native
Hawaiian
or
Pacific
Islander,
some
other
race,
or
two
or
more
races.

Non‐white
populations
have
historically
experienced
discrimination
to
equal
access
to
transportation
services
(SKATS).

Of
the
41,500
people
(16%
of
the
population)
for
the
SKATS
region
as
a
whole
who
are
identified
as
non‐white,
22,658
people
(55%)
live
within
walking
distance
to
a
15‐minute
service
and
36,883
(89%)
to
30‐minute
service.

The
majority
of
the
tracts
with
the
highest
concentrations
of
non‐white
population
are
located
east
of
downtown
Salem
along
the
Lancaster
corridor,
which
is
well
served
by
high
frequency
service
and
grid
routes.
 
 Linguistically
Isolated
Households
Linguistically
Isolated
Households
are
defined
as
a
household
that
didn’t
have
a
person
aged
14
years
or
older
who
speaks
English
or
speaks
English
very
well.

Linguistic
isolation
can
create
a
barrier
to
accessing
transit,
by
the
inability
to
communicate
with
drivers
and
read
posted
schedules.

Approximately
4,800
households
(5%
of
households)
are
identified
as
Linguistically
Isolated
in
the
SKATS
region.

Of
those
linguistically
isolated
households,
2,770
(58%)
are
within
walking
distance
to
a
15‐minute
service,
and
4,562
(95%)
are
within
walking
distance
to
a
30‐minute
service.

The
geographic
distribution
of
Linguistically
Isolated
tracts
largely
follows
the
Non‐White
measure,
with
the
highest
concentrations
located
east
of
downtown
Salem,
running
north
south
along
the
Lancaster
Drive
corridor.

This
area
is
among
the
highest
service
levels
in
the
region
with
high
frequency
routes
and
transfers
between
high
frequency
grid
routes.
 
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 25
 The
Elderly
Elderly
is
defined
as
people
who
are
identified
as
aged
65
or
older
in
the
ACS.

Evidence
suggests
increased
transit
ridership
in
areas
with
high
concentrations
of
elderly
populations.

The
elderly
are
more
susceptible
to
physical
barriers
when
accessing
transit,
such
as
bus
height,
street
crossings,
and
distance
to
bus
stops.

In
the
SKATS
region,
approximately
31,700
people
(13%
of
the
population)
were
aged
65
or
older,
14,985
of
those
(47%)
lived
within
walking
distance
to
a
15‐minute
service,
and
25,526
(80%)
lived
within
walking
distance
to
a
30‐minute
service.

Census
tracts
with
the
highest
concentration
of
elderly
populations
in
the
SKATS
region
are
primarily
located
on
the
outskirts
of
the
region
where
scheduled
transit
service
is
lowest.

Four
tracts
showing
high
concentrations
in
south
Salem
between
Liberty
Road
and
Commercial
Street
are
located
within
the
central
area.

These
tracts
are
highly
accessible
to
high
frequency
transit
running
north
south
along
Liberty
and
Commercial.

 No
Vehicle
Available
Households
The
lack
of
access
to
an
automobile
is
a
barrier
to
mobility
for
many
households.

The
census
defines
this
category
as
households
that
have
no
vehicle
available.

Approximately
7,000
households
(8%
of
all
occupied
households)
didn’t
have
a
private
automobile
available.

Of
those
households,
4,376
(62%)
are
within
walking
distance
to
a
15‐minute
service,
and
6,440
(91%)
are
within
walking
distance
to
a
30‐minute
service.
Census
tracts
with
the
highest
proportion
on
households
without
access
to
a
vehicle
are
primarily
located
within
the
City
of
Salem,
between
the
Willamette
River
and
Lancaster
Drive.

Due
to
their
centralized
location,
these
tracts
are
highly
accessible
to
transit.

The
measure
for
accessibility
to
frequent
service
is
the
highest
out
of
all
Transportation
Disadvantaged
measures
at
62%.


 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 26
 Highest
Percentages
of
Transportation
Disadvantaged
within
¼
Mile
of
Transit

 
 Figure
14.

Highest
Regional
Transportation
Disadvantaged
Tracts
Accessible
to
15
Min
 Headways
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 27
 
 Figure
15.
Highest
Regional
Transportation
Disadvantaged
Tracts
Accessible
to
30
Min
Headways

 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 28
 Multiple
Disadvantaged
Populations
Four
census
tracts
are
classified
as
Multiple
Disadvantaged
Populations.

As
shown
in
Table
4
below,
Multiple
Disadvantaged
Populations
have
highest
percentage
of
one
or
more
population
groups
for
the
five
indicators
used.

These
tracts
are
located
downtown
and
to
the
northeast
of
downtown
Salem
in
the
Highland/Northgate
area,
and
as
can
be
seen
in
Figure
16,
these
tracts
are
well
served
by
frequent
transit
service
with
three
out
of
four
having
15‐min
service,
and
transfer
opportunities
between
routes.



 Tract Below Poverty Non-white Linguistically Isolated Elderly No Access to Car 2
 37.8%
 5.7%
 1.3%
 9.95%
 22.0%
 5.02
 35.3%
 42.7%
 19.8%
 4.36%
 10.7%
 16.02
 30.4%
 28.8%
 22.9%
 5.90%
 9.9%
 17.01
 21.2%
 33.7%
 12.4%
 15.02%
 24.6%
 SKATS
Average
 16.7%
 16.3%
 5%
 13%
 8%
 Table
4.
Multiple
Disadvantaged
Populations,
Shaded
Cells
Represent
Highest
%
of
Each
Category

 
 

















Figure
16.
Multiple
Disadvantaged
Tracts
within
Walking
Distance
to
Transit
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 29
 
 Total
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours
The
Salem
Transportation
Systems
Plan
uses
Average
Total
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours
as
a
measure
of
plan
success.

Data
gathered
from
the
NTD
for
the
last
ten
years
show
that
Average
Total
Daily
Revenue
Hours,
computed
as
Annual
Transit
Revenue
Hours
divided
by
service
days
(365
subtract
52
weekend
days
and
8
holidays),
has
steadily
grown
annually.

Only
one
year,
2009,
posted
a
decline
over
previous
years.

Cherriots
does
not
provide
transit
service
on
weekends,
although
weekend
services
are
a
part
of
their
strategic
plan.

Adding
weekend
services
is
likely
to
produce
a
dip
in
the
Average
Total
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours,
as
these
services
tend
to
operate
on
much
lower
frequencies
and
hours
of
operation
than
weekday
services.




 
 












Figure
17.
Average
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours
 532
 1298
 0
200
 400
600
 800
1000
 1200
1400
 1998
 2000
 2002
 2004
 2006
 2008
 2010
 2012
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 30
 Conclusions

The
findings
show
that
accessibility
to
transit
is
very
high
within
the
SKATS
area
and
the
City
of
Salem,
with
the
average
accessibility
to
each
indicator
above
90%
for
overall
accessibility
to
the
transit
system.
However,
when
measuring
accessibility
to
transit
stops
with
higher
service
frequencies,
accessibility
for
each
indicator
goes
down
by
an
average
of
30‐40%.

This
finding
is
consistent
with
the
overall
size
difference
between
the
pedestrian
shed
for
higher
frequency
routes
and
the
pedestrian
shed
for
lower
service
frequency
routes,
which
covers
30%
more
area.

The
even
proportion
by
which
each
indicator
is
served
by
the
different
service
frequencies
suggests
that
on
a
whole,
transit
service
levels
are
equitably
distributed
across
the
region.

This
suggests
that
Cherriots
is
efficiently
distributing
services
among
the
community,
while
providing
a
high
level
of
service
coverage.

Given
the
financial
constraint
of
transit
agencies
to
provide
frequent
service,
Cherriots
appears
to
be
doing
well
in
operating
high
frequency
service
in
areas
that
capture
an
even
proportion
of
the
indicators
evaluated
here.

Total
Daily
Transit
Revenue
Hours
has
steadily
increased
over
the
last
ten
years,
meeting
goals
in
the
Salem
Transportation
Systems
Plan.
Overall,
the
findings
suggest
that
Cherriots
is
meeting
or
exceeding
community
goals
in
allocating
the
increased
transit
services
over
the
last
ten
years.


 Recommendations
 • Use
measures
to
target
improvements

 • Residential
development
is
a
regional
transportation
issue
 • Agency
goals
are
interrelated,
requiring
a
uniform
platform
of
reporting
 • Further
improvements
to
indicators
are
needed

Both
the
transit
agency
and
local
governments
can
utilize
the
diverse
set
of
transit
performance
indicators
used
here
for
planning,
programming,
and
evaluation.

Transportation
and
land
use
planning
directly
affect
each
other,
and
a
unified
monitoring
program
will
provide
a
more
comprehensive
view
of
the
interaction.
The
transit
agency
can
evaluate
how
services
are
meeting
stated
community
goals,
and
local
governments
can
evaluate
the
effects
of
development
and
land
use
changes
on
the
transit
system.

Utilizing
the
performance
measures
examined
here,
the
transit
agency
can
make
service
adjustments
to
the
margins
of
existing
routes
to
capture
more
potential
passengers.

Research
suggests
that
adding
higher
service
levels
to
major
employment
centers
would
appeal
to
choice
riders,
currently
only
45%
of
the
region’s
jobs,
and
55%
of
the
major
employers
are
accessible
to
frequent
service.

Connecting
regional
employment
centers
with
intercity
passenger
rail
would
be
another
way
to
appeal
to
choice
riders,
and
has
been
shown
to
increase
ridership
for
a
multi‐destinational
system.

Cherriots
does
not
currently
provide
service
to
the
 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 31
 Amtrak
Cascades
passenger
rail
line,
although
the
Salem
Comprehensive
Plan
identifies
this
as
a
service
goal.



Results
measuring
the
distribution
of
new
residential
development
indicate
that
the
pattern
of
housing
development
in
the
region
for
the
last
five
years
are
not
in
line
with
the
Salem
Comprehensive
Plan’s
goal
of
steering
residential
development
within
walking
distance
of
frequent
transit
service.

Serving
neighborhoods
on
the
periphery
with
frequent
service
is
more
costly
than
providing
services
within
the
central
area
due
to
the
low
population
densities
and
longer
distances.

The
findings
suggest
that
much
of
the
new
residential
development
is
taking
place
outside
of
the
Salem
city
limits,
meaning
that
a
discussion
on
how
land
use
policies
can
be
better
suited
for
an
efficient
transit
system
need
to
take
place
on
a
regional
level.

A
review
of
Cherriots,
the
City
of
Salem,
and
SKATS
planning
documents
show
a
clear
linkage
between
local,
regional,
and
transit
agency
goals,
suggesting
that
transit
performance
goals
be
measured
and
presented
in
a
unified
report
to
provide
a
more
comprehensive
assessment
of
public
transit.

A
mock
up
of
how
the
transit
measures
evaluated
here
might
be
reported
in
a
unified
document
is
presented
in
the
appendix.

The
idea
behind
a
unified
monitoring
report
is
to
clearly
present
the
overlapping
agency
goals
with
respect
to
transit
and
findings
of
the
evaluation
with
charts
and
maps
to
present
a
quick
understanding
of
how
local
government
goals
and
policies
are
affecting
the
transit
network.

The
findings
revealed
areas
for
improving
upon
the
methodology
used
in
this
study,
such
as
including
interlined
routes
and
to
obtain
more
accurate
spatial
data
for
indicators
such
Total
New
Dwelling
Units.

Interlining
refers
to
street
segments
that
serve
multiple
routes.

These
segments
effectively
increase
service
frequencies
by
running
two
or
more
30‐minute
services
offset
at
15‐minute
increments.

Street
segments
with
interlined
routes
should
be
identified
and
reclassified
as
15‐minute
service.

Reclassifying
these
corridors
will
result
in
increased
accessibility
to
higher
service
levels.

Indicators
were
developed
using
the
best
data
available,
and
the
findings
for
Total
New
Dwelling
Units
revealed
that
the
data
could
be
improved
upon
for
future
study.

Building
permit
data
at
the
tax
lot
level
would
provide
a
much
more
accurate
indicator
of
transportation/land
use
policy.

A
comprehensive
report
of
transit
performance
can
help
to
align
transportation
and
land
use
goals
among
government
agencies
with
overlapping
transit
goals.

Further
monitoring
efforts
should
include
the
setting
of
benchmarks
to
develop
performance
targets
and
be
repeated
at
even
increments
of
time
to
evaluate
the
outcomes
of
service
changes
and
land
use
policies.

As
Cherriots
adds
additional
service
routes
and
increases
frequencies,
these
performance
measures
can
be
utilized
to
evaluate
the
effects
of
proposed
services
on
stated
goals.

Similarly,
from
a
local
government
perspective,
performance
measures
repeated
over
time
can
help
evaluate
the
effects
of
planning
and
policy
from
the
local
government
agencies
on
the
transit
system.


 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 32
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Bruun,
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C.
(2007).
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 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 34
 Appendix
 Data
Sources
Data
for
the
regional
measures
come
from
two
primary
sources,
the
US
Census
and
the
State
of
Oregon
Employment
Department.

Additional
data
obtained
from
Cherriots
includes
bus
and
route
GIS
layers.

A
full
set
of
detailed
calculation
performed
for
each
measure
can
be
found
in
the
appendix.
 Socio‐Demographic
Census
data
collected
in
the
long
form
of
the
2000
decennial
census
are
now
collected
in
the
American
Community
Survey
(ACS).

The
data
is
collected
from
a
rolling
sample
of
the
population
in
1,
3,
and
5
year
estimates.

The
decennial
census
long
form
questions
reflected
a
snapshot
in
time
for
the
time
period,
where
the
ACS
data
is
a
rolling
average
of
the
sampling
period.



The
most
recent
2009
5
year
estimate
is
available
at
geographies
as
low
as
the
block
group
in
Summary
File,
however
the
variables
used
in
the
Transportation
Disadvantaged
report
are
not
available
at
this
level.

In
order
to
make
a
valuable
comparison
between
populations
within
walking
distance
to
transit
and
the
Transportation
Disadvantaged
report,
census
tracts
are
used.

Several
of
the
Transportation
Disadvantaged
indicators
available
at
the
tract
level
are
not
available
at
the
block
group.



Transportation
Disadvantaged
populations
are
defined
as
“populations
that
potentially
experience
some
level
of
limitation
to
convenient,
accessible
transportation”
(SKATS
2000).

The
demographic
profile
of
this
population
is
reflected
in
the
census
variables
listed
below.

 • 


Poverty

 • 


Non‐white
 • Linguistically
isolated
 • Elderly
(aged
65
and
older)
 • Households
without
access
to
a
vehicle
 
 Land
Use
Land
use
data
was
obtained
from
the
2009
ACS
at
the
block
group
level
for
the
variable
listed
below.

 • Total
Population
 • Population
Density
 • Year
Structure
Built

 Community Based Transit Performance: Salem-Keizer Area Transit 35
 
 Employment
and
Community
Services
ES‐202
employment
data
is
an
annual
report
from
the
Oregon
Employment
Department
used
to
measure
jobs
and
community
services.

The
data
contains
geocoded
employment
records
at
the
taxlot
level
making
a
stop
level
analysis
possible.

The
records
contain
six
digit
North
American
Industrial
Classification
System
(NAICS)
codes
that
were
used
to
identify
community
services.

A
list
of
community
services
was
obtained
through
the
LEED
“Development,
Density,
and
Community
Connectivity”
report,
which
is
used
to
score
development
based
upon
their
access
to
commercial
and
community
services.

The
community
services
categories
shown
in
Table
5
were
selected
from
the
employment
GIS
layer
and
exported
as
a
“Community
Services”
layer.

 LEEDS Categories NAICS Code Convenience/small grocery store 445120 Gas station w/ convenience store 447110 Supermarket 445110 Hardware store 444130 Fruit/vegetable market 445230 Laundry/dry cleaners 812320 Clothing store 448120 Post office 491110 Elementary school 611110 Other schools 611210, 611310, 611410 Book store 451211, 453310 Fast food restaurant 722211 Coffee place 722213 Bank/credit union 522110 Non-fast food restaurant 722110, 722211 Video store 532230 Pharmacy/drug store 446110 Salon/barber shop 812112 Recreation center 713940, 624110 Day Care 624410 Place of worship 813110 Senior Care Facility 624120 Medical/Dental 621111, 621112, 621210, 621310, 621320, 621330, 621391 Table
5
 
 
 SALEM-KEIZER AREA TRANSIT: PERFORMANCE MONITORING LOCAL GOALS Source Goal Indicator Calculation Percent of New Dwelling Units within ¼ mile of Transit Stops with Headways of 15 min. or Higher Sum of new dwelling units within ¼ mile of stops with 15 minute headways divided by total new dwelling units Salem Comprehensive Plan Accessibility Percent of New Dwelling Units within ¼ mile of Transit Stops with Headways of 30 min. or Higher Sum of dwelling units within ¼ mile of stops with 30 minute headways divided by total new dwelling units Average Population Density within ¼ mile of Transit Stop Average population density within ¼ mile of a transit stop compared to the average population density of the MPO and City Percent of Jobs within ¼ mile of Transit Stop Sum of jobs within ¼ mile of transit divided by the number of jobs in the MPO and City Cherriots Strategic Business Plan Focus service improvements in areas that support transit friendly development. Promote importance of land use/ transit connection. Percent of Community Services within ¼ mile of Transit Stop Sum of community services within ¼ mile of transit divided by the number of community services in the MPO and City Percent of Total Population within ¼ mile of Transit Stop Sum of total population of each block group that intersects a ¼ mile buffer divided by the sum of total population within the MPO Salem Transportation Systems Plan Accessibility Total Daily Transit Revenue Hours Average daily transit revenue hours SKATS Transportation Disadvantaged Report Mobility Percent of Transportation Disadvantaged within ¼ mile of Transit Stop Sum of Transportation Disadvantaged population within ¼ mile of transit divided by sum of total Transportation Disadvantaged population within the region 
 METHODS Public transportation plays a key role in shaping the livability of communities. It pro- vides access to jobs, school, social and community services, friends, and family for those without access to an automobile, and offers travel options to the entire community. Local governments base many of their land use and transportation planning goals upon an accessible to a public transit system, and as such it is necessary to measure transit performance from the perspective of the local governments in addition to the transit agency. Measuring transit performance from the viewpoint of the local governments agencies requires that transit accessibility be measured from stated community goals, with a diverse set of indicators informed from the overlapping goals of each agency. A review of Cherriots, the City of Salem, and SKATS planning documents show a clear linkage between local, regional, and transit agency goals. This report suggests that transit performance goals be measured and presented in a unifi ed report to present a more comprehensive view of transit service. To this end, this report compiles a set of community-based transit performance measures, which assesses transit performance through the lens of local government planning goals. An assessment of perform nce from multiple view- points requires that a diverse set of indicators be used. The Indicators consist of both level of service and spatial indicators to identify accessibility to transit stops and the frequency of service. Goals and objectives were devel- oped from reviewing the following planning documents: • Cherriots Strategic Business Plan • City of Salem Comprehensive Plan Transportation Systems Plan • SKATS Transportation Disadvantaged Assessing how transit service is meeting the community goals is determined by how transit ser- vice is geographically distributed and across the city and regional boundaries. An assumption of this report is that transit passengers are accessing the system as pe- destrians. Each indicator was calculated using GIS to measure pedestrian access to each bus stop, (1/4 mile is the generally agreed upon distance to which a person will walk to transit, and distance used in agency goals). Pedestrian sheds were created using a simple circu- lar buffer technique in order to present a simple, straightforward methodology that can be easily recreated. Evaluation consists of a route-based analysis comparing the differences between ser- vice frequencies across the boundary of SKATS and the City of Salem. Transit level of service was defi ned as the peak service frequency for each route, with higher frequen- cy service occurring generally between 8-10 am and 4-6 pm. Cherriots routes have a peak headways of 15 and 30 minutes. GIS layers for transit stops were assigned a level of service based upon the highest available headway of the routes serving each stops, and then aggregated by level of service to create pedestrian sheds for a 30-minute headway (Figure 4) and a 15-minute headway (Figure 5). These two pedestrian sheds were then used to select socio-demo- graphic and land use data to refl ect the accessibility to each level of service. Data was obtained based upon the best available data for each indicator, from three primary sources. • US Census- American Community Survey • Oregon Employment Department • Salem-Keizer Transit Transit Pedestrian Sheds NEW HOUSING UNITS POPULATION DENSITY 39% 92% 98% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% % of All New Housing Units Within Walking Distance to Transit 15 Minute Headway 30 Minute Headway System Total 4,543 5,497 4,985 4,998 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 SKATS 15 Minute Headway 30 Minute Headway System Total Average Population Density per sq Mile SOURCE: Cherriots Strategic Business Plan GOAL: Focus service improve- ments in areas that support transit friendly development. Promote importance of land use/ transit connection. INDICATOR: Aver- age Population Density within ¼ mile of Transit Stop CALCULATION: Aver- age population density within ¼ mile of a transit stop compared to the average population density of the MPO and City using census block groups FINDINGS: Areas with high popula- tion density increase the potential for transit ridership by effi ciently locating residential popu- lations within smaller areas that can be better targeted by transit plan- ning Block groups with the highest population densities are located in east Salem. The fi ndings reveal that high frequen- cy routes are reaching block groups with higher levels of population density than low frequency routes and the region as a whole. SOURCE: Salem Comprehensive Plan GOAL: Accessibility INDICATOR: Percent of New Dwelling Units within ¼ mile of Transit Stops with Headways of 15 min. or 30 min. CALCULATION: Sum of new dwelling units within ¼ mile of stops with 15 and 30 minute headways divided by total new dwelling units using census block groups FINDINGS: In the City of Salem, 39% of new dwelling units were within walking distance to frequent service, 92% within walking distance to 30-minute service, and 98% within walking distance to the transit network as a whole when measured at the block group level. The fi ndings shown in Figure 13 reveal that the majority of new housing is being built on the periphery of the transit agency’s service area, particularly on the south, west, and north sides. The indicator reveals a clear pattern of residential devel- opment, suggesting that the pattern of residential develop- ments in the region over the last fi ve years are not in line with the Salem Comprehen- sive Plan’s Goals of steering residential development within walking distance of frequent transit service. Serving neigh- borhoods on the periphery with frequent service is more costly than providing services within the central area due to the low population densities and travel distances. SOURCE: Cherriots Strategic Business Plan GOAL: Focus service improvements in areas that support transit friendly development. Promote importance of land use/ transit con- nection. INDICATOR: Percent of Jobs within ¼ mile of Transit Stop CALCULATION: Sum of jobs within ¼ mile of transit divided by the number of jobs in the region and City using tax lots FINDINGS: There are a total of 99,982 jobs within the SKATS district boundary with 87,193 of the jobs located within the City of Salem. Within the region, there is an av- erage of 14 employees per job lo- cation. Employment in the SKATS boundary and City of Salem are primarily clustered in downtown Salem and along major corridors. Just as many other regions, the Salem area shows a decentralized pattern of employment, with only 17% of the region’s jobs located in the central business district. Employment is largely located on major corridors served by transit and high levels of service. An indicator of regional jobs accessibility shows that 45% of all job sites have access to 15-minute service, with 79% within walking distance to 30-minute service and 89% are within walking distance to the system as a whole. SOURCE: Cherriots Strategic Business Plan GOAL: Focus service improve- ments in areas that support transit friendly development. Promote importance of land use/ transit connection. INDICATOR: Percent of Com- munity Services within ¼ mile of Transit Stop CALCULATION: Sum of community services within ¼ mile of transit divided by the number of community services in the region and City using tax lots FINDINGS: Community services are de- fi ned as services and business- es essential to satisfy life’s daily needs. A measure of com- munity services within walking distance to transit is closely related to the planning goals of each of the three agencies, such as encouraging transit support- ive land uses, and enhancing access opportunities for the Transportation Disadvantaged. The SKATS area shows a decentralized pattern of community services locations similar to the em- ployment pattern, with 20% of all community services located in the city center. Within the SKATS region, 94% of the community service locations are within walking distance to transit, with 56% within walking distance to frequent service. Within the City of Salem, these numbers increase to 95% for the system as a whole and 62% for frequent service. • Convenience/small grocery store • Supermarket • Fruit/vegetable market • Laundry/dry cleaners • Clothing store • Post office • Elementary school • Book store • Fast food restaurant • Coffee place • Bank/credit union • Non-fast food restaurant • Pharmacy/drug store • Salon/barber shop • Recreation center • Day Care • Place of worship • Senior Care Facility • Medical/Dental EMPLOYMENT Community Services COMMUNITY SERVICES TRANSPORTATION DISADVANTAGED CONCLUSIONS 56% 55% 58% 47% 62% 90% 89% 95% 80% 91% 16% 17% 5% 13% 8% Below Poverty Non-white Linguistically Isolated Elderly No Access to Car % of Transportation Disadvantaged within Walking Distance to Transit 15 Minute Headways 30 Min Headways SKATS Average 39% 45% 45% 46% 56% 62% 92% 83% 79% 80% 74% 74% 98% 92% 89% 89% 94% 95% % of New Housing Units Salem % of Total Population % of Jobs SKATS % of Jobs Salem % of Community Services SKATS % of Community Services Salem % of Each Indicator Within Walking Distance to Transit 15 Minute Headway 30 Minute Headway System Total SOURCE: SKATS Trans- portation Disadvantaged GOAL: Mobility INDICATOR: Percent of Transportation Disadvan- taged within ¼ mile of Transit Stop CALCULATION: Sum of Transportation Disadvan- taged population within ¼ mile of transit divided by sum of total Transportation Disadvantaged population within the region using census tracts FINDINGS: The four census tracts with multiple incidences of higher than average disadvantaged populations are located downtown and to the northeast of downtown Salem in the Highland/Northgate area. These tracts are well served by fre- quent transit service (15-minute headways, with the exception of tract 5.02 which is 30-minute) and transfer opportunities between routes. Based upon these set of indicators used to assess transit accessibility, Cherriots ap- pears to be doing well in providing a high degree of coverage across it’s service area and providing an equitable split of service levels. The fi ndings show that accessibility to transit is very high within the SKATS area and the City of Salem, with the average accessibility to each indicator coming in above 90% for overall accessibility to transit. However, when measuring accessibility to transit stops with higher service frequen- cies, accessibility for each indicator goes down by an average of 30-40%. This fi nding is consistent with the overall size difference between the pedestrian shed for higher frequency routes and the pedestrian shed for lower service frequency routes, which covers 30% more area. The even proportion by which each indicator is served by the different service frequencies suggests that on a whole, transit service levels are equita- bly distributed across the region. This suggests that Cherriots is effi ciently distributing services among the community, while providing a high level of service coverage. Given the fi nancial constraint of transit agencies to provide frequent service, Cherriots appears to be doing well in operating high frequency service in areas that capture an even proportion of the indicators included in this report. Total Daily Transit Rev- enue Hours has steadily increased over the last ten years, meeting goals in the Salem Transportation Systems Plan. Overall, the fi ndings suggest that Cherriots is meeting or exceeding community goals in allocating the increased transit services over the last ten years.