A new report by an outside consultant shows the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority ranks favorably compared to 12 other transit agencies.

The consultant found the AATA is fully capable of carrying out its current mission and the agency has done well at controlling increases in expenses, increasing ridership and providing services beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

AATA CEO Michael Ford speaks at an event earlier this week.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

Jack Doolittle of McCollom Management Consulting of Maryland read the preliminary results of his firm's extensive organizational audit at tonight's meeting of the AATA governing board.

"Our findings are basically that the organizational structure and senior management team are sound and well-qualified to carry forward to meet the near-term challenges of the agency," Doolittle said. "Performance of the core functions of transit service operations and maintenance of the fixed-route system is excellent. In particular, the efficiency of the driver workforce scheduling is among the highest in our experience."

The review was conducted in an effort to inform new AATA CEO Michael Ford and board members about the current performance of the organization and to identify opportunities for improvement.

“I’m pleased these initial findings have demonstrated that TheRide is on track with its mission of offering the region affordable, efficient and environmentally sound transportation alternatives,” Ford said. “This report is a critical component to helping us assess our organization as we work to help shape a long-term public transit plan in Washtenaw County.”

But the report wasn't all positive. The consultant pointed out problems in wage structures that have resulted in AATA employees reaching the top of their pay scale too quickly.

"The seniority of the operating workforce is very high," Doolittle said. "The result of that is you have a graduated wage structure in which operators reach the top rate in three years and something like 70 percent of your operators are already well through that — with the result that very few of the operators are paid at anything other than the top wage rate.

"And in addition to that, vacation entitlements are a function of seniority with the result that you absorb a lot of time in vacation schedules for the senior workforce," he added. "And that reduces their availability for work, and it creates the need for more employees."

The report compared the AATA to transit systems in Durham, N.C., Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Lexington, Ky., Little Rock, Ark., Madison, Wis., South Bend, Ind., Syracuse, N.Y., Tallahassee, Fla., Toledo, Ohio, and Urbana, Ill.


The agencies were chosen based on similarities to the AATA in operating expenses, number of passengers and miles of service, as well as population. The consultant also considered university communities and whether the agencies faced a similar funding and economic environment.

AATA's staffing levels were found to be mostly appropriate to its current mission, but the consultant recommended additional road supervision. Also recommended was additional staffing to expand financial and operating planning and analysis, and to upgrade and support the maintenance information technology system, described as "quite inadequate."

Doolittle also said the AATA would need additional professional skills to plan and execute its vision for countywide service.

"In particular, the administrative staff of the authority is about 8 percent smaller than the average of the peers, and I know there has been some concerns about that," he added. "Our stance is, if anything, that the staff outside of maintenance and transportation might be a little bit small."

Doolittle highlighted the fact that the AATA provides an extensive family of paratransit services, those services for seniors and people with disabilities that don't follow a fixed route or schedule. However, he said, the agency could reduce some paratransit costs without compromising service quality.

In terms of total operating expenses, AATA management decisions over the past several years have resulted in controlling costs so the average annual rate of increase is about 1.4 percent, which is well under inflation. Meanwhile, the average peer system experienced cost increases of 4 percent.


The consultant said the AATA's cost per service hour is virtually the same as the peer average when adjusted for "regional price parities" that reflect the overall costs of living in urban areas across the country.


The report highlighted that the AATA increased its ridership per hour of service from 22.8 passengers in 2003 to 31.2 in 2008, when it became 4 percent higher than the peer average. Over that five-year period, the AATA's bus ridership increased from 4 million to 5.9 million passengers annually.

At the same time, the cost per ride decreased from $3.39 in 2003 to $2.37 in 2008, an average annual decrease of more than 5.4 percent.


The consultant found that AATA also provides about 4 percent more service hours per employee than the peer average.

It also was noted the AATA is prudent in its use of federal formula funds for preventive capital maintenance on its buses and facilities.

Tonight's meeting was punctuated by two notable absences: Paul Ajegba, who had been the board's chairman, and Ted Annis, who has served as treasurer. Both of their terms on the board expired at the beginning of May.

Mayor John Hieftje plans to appoint Anya Dale to replace Ajegba, who chose not to seek another term. Hieftje said this week he's still considering whether to reappoint Annis, who has earned a reputation for shaking things up and asking tough questions of administration about the agency's finances.

Annis at times has been at odds with AATA's administration, but generally is well respected and liked by fellow board members.

"Ted has done a very good job," said board member Jesse Bernstein. "I've enjoyed working with him and I think he has raised some important issues that we've taken seriously. But that's the mayor's call and council's call."

Bernstein gave partial credit to Annis for tonight's audit report.

"The general results are really very positive, and again, Ted raised a lot of questions that this report tended to answer and we needed those answers," he said. "So it's good Ted raised them and it's good we got the answers. It's a very good feeling that the staff has gotten a good pat on the back and that we've been doing a good job in relation to our peers, but we have to keep doing better and that's part of the staff's commitment and the board's commitment."

In other action tonight, AATA's governing board voted 4-0 to enter into a $343,439 contract with DLZ Michigan for architectural and engineering services for a new downtown transit center to replace the Blake Transit Center. Construction is expected to start next March or April and last about 8 to 10 months, AATA officials said.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.