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Chapter 2: Key Findings

CANADA

Canada has a long tradition of corporate planning in the governmental sector. From the national government to local municipalities, public agencies have spent considerable time developing approaches to policy formation and implementation that provide a long-term perspective on desired outcomes and on the effectiveness of government programs in achieving these outcomes. In visiting Canada, the scan team was particularly interested in identifying best practices on corporate planning, transportation system performance measurement, and the use of performance measures relating to the linkage between transportation and sustainable development.

Governmental Context

Canada is a confederation of member provinces and territories, governed by parliamentary democracy. The Parliament is bicameral, with the Prime Minister choosing the Cabinet from among his own party or from parties in a coalition government. Because of the structure of the national government and of the great distances involved, Canadian provinces tend to be more independent ( and more powerful) than comparable U.S. States. Most service and infrastructure provisionis the responsibility of the provinces (e.g., provincial and local governments are responsible for most of the roads in Canada). The national government is often the vehicle for collecting revenues (e.g., a national gas tax), returning a portion of these revenues to the provinces in the form of transfer payments. Similar to the United States, there appears to be considerable debate about what constitutes a fair return of the revenues collected in the provinces.

Transport Canada

Transport Canada, the federal ministry of transport for Canada, is responsible for safe and efficient movement on Canada's rail, marine, road, and air transportation system. It establishes policies and sets standards to achieve this goal. Although at one time responsible for operating Canada's air traffic control system,this system has since been transferred to a nonprofit corporation. Most port sand harbors have also been divested, leaving Transport Canada with little direct operating responsibility. With privatization came a substantial downsizing in staff, resulting in about 4,700 employees working at Transport Canada today. One of the most important legislatively mandated roles for Transport Canada it relates to this scan is its responsibility to monitor and assess the performance of Canada's transportation system.

A National Highway System ( NHS ) serves as the backbone of Canada's road network. Representing 3 percent of total road mileage ( 25,000 kilometers ( km) or 15,535miles (mi)), this system carries 30 percent of all vehicle travel in the country. Transport Canada administers several funding programs that support improvements to the NHS and other critical transportation infrastructure in the country. The Strategic Highway Infrastructure Program ( SHIP ) committed CN$600 million( US$441 million) over the past four years to critical components of the network,with $500 million going to highway construction and $100 million to national system integration. The funds are allocated to the provinces and territories mainly based on population with consideration of other factors, and require a 50-50 match. A CN$600 million ( US$441 million) Border Infrastructure Fund,administered jointly by Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada, focuses investment on critical border infrastructure and also requires a 50-50 match. Infrastructure Canada provides CN$2 billion ( US$1.47 billion) to support large-scale infrastructure projects done in partnership with provincial, municipal, or territorial governments. This $2 billion Strategic Infrastructure Fund was announced in the 2001 federal budget. An additional $2 billion was set aside for this fund in the 2003 budget. Although regional equity considerations are taken into account,investments will be directed to large-scale projects of national and regional significance. Population is a factor used to determine funding allocations between regions, but not the only factor.

In the 2003 federal budget, a Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund ( CN$1 billion) was announced. At least 80 percent of the funds are dedicated to municipalities with a population of less than 250,000, and the remaining funds are available to municipalities with greater than 250,000 population. The federal government contributes, on average, one-third of the eligible costs. Provinces and municipalities will contribute the remainder of the cost.

The Canadian government has a few other infrastructure initiatives related to transportation improvements. Eligible projects under these programs include sustainable transportation projects, transit improvements, and road projects. The projects include the following:

Infrastructure Canada Program (CN$2.05 billion, 2000-2007)

Similar to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Transport Canada produces an annual report on national transportation statistics that focuses on trends in the demand, supply, and financing of the transportation system. This report,a parliamentary requirement, not only examines the factors that drive transportation demand ( e.g., national economic performance), but also presents the characteristics of transport system performance by mode. There was a sense among those the scan team interviewed that because much of the data for this report comes from the provinces, and because of the aggregate nature of many of the measures reported on, the annual report does not provide a good picture of Canada's "state of transportation." Officials noted, however, that the annual report often adopts a theme, such as international trade, that is useful for focusing attention on a particular issue.

Transport Canada uses a "results" chain as the underlying logic of its more comprehensive performance measurement efforts. Figure 1 shows such a results chain for the goal of achieving a more sustainable transport network. As shown,individual activities in the organization can be targeted at specific audiences,which then lead to various levels of outcomes. An example of the linkage among strategic objectives, ultimate outcomes, and performance indicators is shown in table 1. Note that this table was prepared by Transport Canada to illustrate the framework being developed.

In 2003, Transport Canada's Corporate Audit and Advisory Services unit reviewed the performance framework established for the agency's sustainable development strategy. This review indicated that 80 percent of the agency's commitments and just over 70 percent of the targets were met or were on track to be met. In addition, this review concluded that the agency's environmental management system ( EMS) was critical to the overall success of improving environmental performance.

Provincial Efforts at Performance Measurement

Many provincial governments in Canada are in various stages of developing and using a performance-based planning and decision-making framework. A good example is Alberta, where in 1992 a new government instituted dramatic changes in government operations, including the use of outcome-based performance measurement. The Alberta Ministry of Transportation has been a leader in implementing such change( visit Alberta Ministry of Transportationfor its latest annual report and to see how performance is measured). To obtain a more detailed understanding of how a province and a metropolitan area undertake performance measurement, the scan team visited Vancouver, British Columbia.

Results chain for Transport Canada
Figure 1.Results chain for Transport Canada.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

The scan team met with officials from Transport Canada, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, and TransLink, Vancouver's regional transportation agency. To a large extent, the performance management experience in Vancouver and British Columbia is still in a period of development. Both the Ministry of Transport and TransLink have developed a performance-based planning and decision-making accountability system in recent years, and both are still determining how to integrate the system into the decision-making process.

British Columbia Ministry of Transportation­

In 2001, the provincial government instituted a policy requiring government ministries to establish "service plans that include measurable performance standards and targets for all programs that are annually audited and published." This requirement was in direct response to a provincial law entitled "Budget Transparency and Accountability Act." The Ministry of Transportation's service plan for fiscal years (FY) 2004/05 and 2006/ 07 was organized by agency goals and core business areas. For each performance measure, a baseline value was identified along with targets for the next three years. The performance measures found in the service plan are shown in table 2.

Several aspects of the performance measurement regimen shown in table 2 merit comment. It is clear from the focus of the performance measurement effort that transportation's role in fostering economic growth is a key policy direction of the ministry, a focus confirmed in conversation with a ministry representative. In this

Table 1. Linkage among objectives, outcomes, and indicators at Transport Canada.
Strategic Objective Ultimate Outcome Indicators of Progress*

Ensure high standards for a safe and secure transportation system.

-Protection of life, health, environment and property

-High confidence in the safety and security of the transportation system

-Reduced accident rate
-Increased compliance rate
-High public confidence in travel
-Stakeholder understanding of safety benefits and issues
-Reduced security risks
-A regulated community that is engaged and well informed

Contribute to Canada's economic growth and social development.

-An integrated intermodal transportation system with the following characteristics:
-Efficient, effective, viable, affordable, and accessible
-Responsive to users and communities
-Competitive and harmonized, both domestically and internationally

-Service and price levels
-Current and prospective viability of system components
-Trends in operational costs
-Cost to taxpayer
-Community and user satisfaction with price and service
-Benefits to industry and consumers from improved harmonization

Protect the physical environment.

-Environmentally sustainable transportation system for Canadians
-Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from the transportation sector
-Prevention and mitigation of environmental damage from transportation activities

-Increased public awareness of the environmental impact of transportation activities
-Increase in the use of more energy-efficient vehicles
-Reduction in annual vehicle kilometers
-Reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants from transportation sources

* This list is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all current and/ or future indicators.

Source: Transport Canada, Sustainable Development Principles for Transport Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

Table 2. Performance measures for the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation.
Goal Objective Performance Measure

Key transportation infrastructure is improved to drive economic growth and trade.

Regional and local input is used when setting transportation priorities.

Annual reports from Regional Transportation Advisory Committees

Available provincial investment dollars are used as effectively as possible.

Private investment capital leveraged through public/ private partnerships,plus defrayed or reduced costs from efficient land use

Worsening congestion trend in urban areas is mitigated.

Percentage of urban vehicle- kilometers traveled in congested conditions

Mobility is improved for highways servicing major economic gateways.

Commercial trucking travel time between economic gateways

British Columbia is provided with a safe and reliable highway system.

Contractors maintain the provincial highway system to a high standard.

Maintenance cost per lane-kilometer

Rating of maintenance contractors

Existing main highway system is systematically preserved and replaced at the least life cycle cost.

Percentage of kilometers with good or excellent pavement condition

Percentage of bridges with good or excellent condition

Number of lane-kilometers improved

Road access is improved for resource industries and rural residents.

Percentage of rural kilometers with good or excellent pavement condition

Number of lane-kilometers improved

Highway safety and reliability are improved.

Demonstrated safety improvements on a capital project-by-project basis,with measure comparing crash data before and after projects

Annual total duration of unplanned closures greater than 30 minutes for all numbered highways

An effective risk management process is established across the ministry.

Risk management plan development and implementation status

British Columbia's transportation industries become more competitive.

Provincial regulatory burden on the public, industry, and stakeholders is reduced by one-third.

Reduction in legislation, regulations, and policies

Procedures for commercial passenger carriers are simplified, with safety as the primary criterion.

Reduction in the number of motor carrier regulatory requirements

Third-party regulations and policies that impede British Columbia's ability to compete with other jurisdictions in the transportation market are reduced or eliminated.

Process toward implementation of an amended Canada-U.S. air service agreement

Excellent customer service is achieved and the ministry is recognized as a good employer.

Excellent service is provided to all British Colombians.

Higher user satisfaction with existing ministry services and delivery processes

Employees are provided with the support, training, and working environment they need to excel at their jobs.

Survey of employee satisfaction with organizational improvements

regard, the measures relating to "leveraged private investment" and "commercial trucking travel time between economic gateways" stand out because the scan team did not find them at other scan sites. The measures on competitiveness, especially those measuring reduction in legal and regulatory barriers, were also unique compared to those found elsewhere.

Another interesting category of measures related to highways. The reliability measure­duration of highway closures longer than 30 minutes-directly linked to the ministry's and police agency's ability to remove incidents from the road network.

The team found the use of customer and employee satisfaction surveys all of the cases it examined during this scan. Of interest in the Ministry of Transport's effort, however, was its attempt to pinpoint those aspects of dissatisfaction that it could address ( e.g., maintenance and snow removal efforts) . More than1,000 surveys were used to establish the baseline satisfaction score ( 6.5 out of 10.0) . The Ministry of Transport has established an FY 2006/ 07 target of8.0 out of 10.0 for this performance measure.

TransLink -The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, known as TransLink, was created in 1999 with a mandate to plan, finance, and manage a regional transportation system, including Vancouver's public transit system and major road network. The actual delivery of public transit services takes place through subsidiary companies and contractors, while maintenance and improvement of the major road network is done in partnership with the municipalities. Unlike most such authorities in the United States, TransLink has the ability to assess property taxes, collect tolls, and raise motor vehicle and parking fees to support its programs.

TransLink chose a "balanced scorecard" approach to performance measurement. Based on 1990s research on corporate management, the scorecard was intended to balance the reporting of organizational achievement among financial performance,customer satisfaction, organizational learning and growth, and internal business practices. The scorecard aims to align the strategic directions of an agency with its programs and day-to-day activities. Figure 2 shows where the performance scorecard fits into the decision-making context in TransLink . In this construct,the scorecard consists of the customer, financial, best practices, and employee factors.

According to TransLink officials, the process of developing the scorecard highlighted key themes common to most groups participating in the process. These include the following:

Relationship of performance scorecard factors to Translink decisions

Figure 2.Relationship of performance scorecard factors to TransLink decisions.

The most recent version of TransLink 's performance scorecard is shown in table3.

Congestion

As seen in table 3, a congestion measure is not yet part of the TransLink scorecard. Transport Canada has expressed some interest in developing consistent measures of congestion and greenhouse gas emissions that could be used for Canada's urban areas. A study on congestion costs is underway to examine a variety of ways that congestion measures could be defined, ranging from total social cost of congestion to facility delay indicators.

Even though a congestion measure is not yet available, TransLink has developed set of project evaluation guidelines in support of a multiple account evaluation( MAE ) process that has been established by the government for major investment analysis. These guidelines serve as the methodological foundation for project evaluation and development of study recommendations. The criteria are divided into four major accounts-direct sector, indirect sector, external, and social accounts. The direct sector relates to the generalized costs, including travel time of the consumers of transportation, and to the capital and operating costs for the producers of transportation. The indirect sector relates to the economic development and land value changes. External accounts reflect crash, air quality,and noise impacts. Social accounts relate to the intergovernmental transfer,neighborhood, and social impacts. The MAE is used to evaluate larger projects and to assess the larger-scale systems effects of network investment. There was some discussion during the scanning study of the need to link system performance measures with the criteria found in the MAE approach. As one TransLink representative noted, consensus is good on what is important within modal categories, but across modes little agreement exists on how multimodal performance should be measured.

Observations

The following are the scan team's key observations from the Vancouver, British Columbia, visit:

Table 3. TransLink 's performance scorecard.
Customer
Objectives Measures

Customer Satisfaction

Overall transit system rating

Specific transit service, car/ van pool, and AirCare ratings

Ratings of onboard safety and personal safety at transit stops

Rating of major roads/ bridges

Public acceptability of TransLink 's performance

Partner Satisfaction

TransLink 's approach to communication and involvement

Effective Mobility

Proximity and frequency of transit services

Accessibility of transit fleet

Peak hour and weekend travel time between key centers

People movement and mode share

Goods movement and mode share


Financial
Objectives Measures

Financial Strength

Transportation revenue proportion versus other revenue sources

Debt ratio

Reserve ratio

Financial Performance

Budget versus actual

Transit cost recovered by transit revenues

Road expenditures commitment

New leveraged capital funds committed


Best Practices
Objectives Measures

Transit System Performance

Transit service effectiveness: ridership growth

Transit service efficiency: peak hours load factor

Service reliability: on time performance

Service reliability: % of actual service versus scheduled service

Safety and Security

Number of safety-related incidents per transit passenger trip

Road Network Performance

Operating condition of major road network

Capital Project Management

Project performance based on the following:

Timeliness

Cost

Quality

Delivery of agreed scope

Environmental Stewardship

TransLink 's emission-reduction contribution


Employees
Objectives Measures

Employee Satisfaction

Employee ratings of satisfaction and corporate climate

Employee ratings of internal communications

Performance Culture

Vision, mission, and values implementation

Scorecard implementation

Completion of individual annual review sessions with staff

Assessment of corporate performance against annual plan

Skills and Knowledge

Percentage of employees with professional development plans

Organizational resource capacity to execute current and future strategic objectives

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Page last modified on November 7, 2014
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