Transit Vehicle Reliability

Transit service¹ interruptions due to mechanical failures remained relatively level from 1995 through 2000,² averaging between 18 and 19 mechanical problems per 100,000 revenue vehicle-miles [1, 2] (figure 8-7).

Among transit vehicles, buses and light rail had the highest rates of mechanical failure in 2000. Buses broke down an average of 28 times per 100,000 revenue vehicle-miles, while light-rail vehicles broke down 15 times per 100,000 revenue vehicle-miles. Light-rail vehicle breakdowns have changed the most since 1995. In that year, there were 32 mechanical failures per 100,000 revenue vehicle-miles. The rate of failure then dropped 56 percent to 14 per 100,000 revenue vehicle-miles by 1998.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, National Summaries and Trends (Washington, DC: Annual issues), also available at http://www.ntdprogram.com/, as of April 2003.

2. U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics 2002 (Washington, DC: 2002), table 1-32 and Transit Profile, also available at http://www.bts.gov/, as of April 2003.

¹ Here transit service includes light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail, and demand-responsive vehicles (see glossary for definitions).

² Data prior to 1995 and later than 2000 were collected using different definitions of what constitutes an interruption of service and are not comparable.