ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the development of performance indicators for the highway programs of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. It presents a conceptual base and analytical approach that can be applied by other transportation departments and in other program areas. The chapter is concerned with monitoring the highway program, a citizen survey could solicit feedback on a range of DOT activities including mass transit, vehicle inspections, and driver licensing. Familiarity with citizens' assessments of conditions, needs, and performance may be as useful to transportation administrators as the professional's "inside" perspective. The notion of a performance monitoring system connotes integration in processing and utilizing the wide variety of indicators discussed in this chapter. The key to developing a performance monitoring system as opposed to collecting an array of data is the action component mentioned earlier in the chapter. The indicators discussed in the chapter lend themselves to analysis of trends across time, and most facilitate comparisons among organizational units.
