Transit Asset Management Performance Measures & TIP Analysis

Metro Transit completed and certified its initial Transit Asset Management (TAM) Plan in December 2018. The plan is considered a “living document" with reviews and revisions planned on an annual basis.

The initial plan incorporated Metro's initial 2019 TAM performance measure targets for the applicable measures, which relate to the different assets, including equipment (non-revenue vehicles), rolling stock (revenue vehicles), and facilities.

2020 TAM targets were adopted in 2019 in TPB Resolution 163, 2021 targets were adopted in MPO 2020 Resolution No. 5, and 2022 targets were adopted in MPO 2021 Resolution No. 12. The MPO adopted the 2023 TAM targets in November 2022 through Greater Madison MPO 2022 Resolution No. 13, 2024 Resolution No. 3 in April 2024, and 2025 Resolution No. 16 in November 2025 and will continue to adopt updated targets after Metro updates theirs. 2025 TAM targets will remain unchanged from 2024 targets.

Performance Measures & Conditions Data

The tables below show the 2025 Metro/MPO targets, 2024 performance, and 2020 baseline conditions for Metro Transit for the three TAM performance measures related to buses, non-revenue service vehicles, and facilities. For purposes of the TAM plan, Metro's bus maintenance facilities are located at 1 South Ingersoll (formerly 1101 E. Washington Avenue) and 3829/3901 Hanson Road.

Buses 

For buses, a 2024 target was set for 11% of Metro's inventory to exceed the useful life benchmark (ULB) of 14 years. As of December 2024, 19% of Metro's 40-foot bus fleet exceeded the ULB, and 0% of the 60-foot bus fleet exceeded the ULB.

Metro uses 14 years as the ULB rather than the federal minimum of 12 years because Metro uses the oldest buses for school and other peak-period-only service and as reserves, thus limiting the number of miles on buses as they age. ULB performance improved from 2020–21 because the fleet transition to include new 60-foot articulated buses involves disposing of five additional 40-foot buses each year.

The bus replacement plan calls for the annual replacement of 15 buses based on age and condition. With BRT and the Route Redesign projects, a fleet analysis was conducted, and Metro will require fewer 40-foot buses in the future, so the inventory reduction process continued in 2023 with the disposal of 23 buses.

The new bus delivery was delayed until 2024, so even with these disposals, the performance measure target was not met. Bus disposal proceeded in 2025, and the TAM performance of Metro's rolling stock will change dramatically as older buses are removed from the fleet in 2025 and 2026.

Non-Revenue Service Vehicles

In 2022, Metro lengthened the ULB for non-revenue trucks from eight years to ten based on historic use and longevity of this vehicle type. Although two new vehicles were purchased in 2022, they were not delivered that year, and Metro did not meet its target of 38% of vehicles beyond their ULB in 2022.

Based on a 2023 inventory analysis, at least two non-revenue vehicles will be replaced annually, which will aid in meeting the performance targets. The replacement of non-revenue vehicles occurred in 2023 with the addition of 16 vehicles. Due to late deliveries, the four vehicles scheduled for disposal in 2023 were delayed until early 2024.

Maintenance Facilities

For TAM performance measure purposes, Metro's maintenance facilities are located at 1 South Ingersoll (formerly 1101 East Washington Avenue) and at 3829/3901 Hanson Road.

Metro has adopted a TAM target of a TERM rating of 4, with 0% of facilities rated under 3. Facility TAM targets did not change in 2023, but the addition of the new Hanson Road facility and continued upgrades at the Ingersoll facility (formerly East Washington) improved performance to a TERM rating of 3.7 for the Ingersoll facility and 4.1 for the Hanson Road facility in 2024.

Project Analysis

Bus Replacement

Metro Transit has programmed funds to continue adhering to its current bus replacement schedule of 15 buses per year. If Metro had been able to maintain this schedule, the percentage of buses at or past their ULB would have met or dropped below the 11% target by 2021. However, Metro was not able to add new electric buses as scheduled in 2020 and retained a bus scheduled for disposal to use in the interim.

Increasing the fleet size by retaining a vehicle past its ULB negatively affected this performance measure in 2020 and exacerbated the measure in 2021 as the entire fleet aged. However, the 2022 bus replacement brought this measure under the 11% target to 8%.

The fleet transition plan for BRT and the Network Redesign will reduce the number of older 40-foot buses and replace them with 60-foot articulated buses, which will further reduce the percentage of the fleet beyond their ULB once older buses have been disposed of.

Service Vehicles

Metro's replacement plan for service vehicles is more flexible, with funding allocated each year and a decision made annually on which vehicles to replace based on age, repair history, and any anticipated major repairs.

It is less certain whether Metro will be able to meet its performance target for service vehicles based on the funding currently programmed. Due to the combined need to make facility repairs and the unexpected costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, these purchases have not taken place since 2020.

Maintenance Facility

Metro's maintenance facility at 1 South Ingersoll (formerly 1101 E. Washington Avenue) has been in need of major renovation. It operated over capacity, having been designed to serve 140 buses but servicing as many as 220 buses in 2021. The facility had no significant upgrades from when it was built 40 years ago until renovations began in 2018.

Investment in the facility was delayed for years in anticipation of a relocation, but a full relocation of the facility is no longer being considered. Facility and functional issues included inadequate ventilation, heating, and cooling; an open-air wash line creating air quality problems; needed upgrades to emergency egress lighting; a confined number of work bays and poor space layout; and right-turn vs. desired left-turn circulation for buses.

A facility renovation plan was developed with the assistance of an engineering firm, Mead & Hunt, with improvements to be implemented in four phases from 2019 through 2025. Roof repairs were already made. Because of the need to use federal formula funding for buses and capital maintenance, the facility renovation was 100% locally funded.

Implementation of the programmed facility renovation plan has allowed the facility to meet the federal performance measure target. An inventory and condition assessment completed in 2022 reflects the impact of ongoing repairs and upgrades on meeting the facility TAM performance target, with the TERM rating increasing from 1.0 to 2.0 in 2019, to 2.5 in 2020, to 3.6 in 2022, and 3.7 in 2023 and 2024.