Why Benchmark?

Transportation system performance involves a diverse set of agencies that operate at all levels of government; with varied spans of responsibilities across transportation modes; and within the context of different laws, regulations, and public priorities. These agencies increasingly are pressed to publicly report statistics on performance of the systems they manage, but there are very few commonly applicable definitions, criteria, or standards for how system performance is to be measured. Benchmarking—comparing one’s performance with that of carefully selected peers—uses appropriate comparisons to assist in identifying desirable levels of performance, and perhaps more importantly, learning how to achieve them.