“The metropolitan transportation planning process shall provide for the establishment and use of a performance-based approach to transportation decision making to support national goals…..” 23 USC Section 134(h)(2); 49 USC Section 5303(h)(2).
Current federal transportation legislation requires MPOs, in collaboration with the state DOT and transit agencies, to formally establish targets for performance measures aligned with seven identified national goals:
National Goals:
- Safety – to achieve a significant reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads
- Infrastructure condition – to maintain the highway infrastructure asset system in a state of good repair
- Congestion reduction – to achieve a significant reduction in congestion on the National Highway System
- System reliability – to improve the efficiency of the surface transportation system
- Freight movement and economic vitality – to improve the national freight network, strengthen the ability of rural communities to access national and international trade markets, and support regional economic development
- Environment sustainability – to enhance the performance of the transportation system while protecting and enhancing the natural environment
- Reduced project delivery delays – to reduce project costs, promote jobs and the economy, and expedite the movement of people and goods by accelerating project completion through eliminating delays in the project development and delivery process, including reducing regulatory burdens and improving agencies’ work practices
What is PBPP?
PBPP refers to the application of performance management within the federally-required regional planning and programming processes to achieve desired performance outcomes for the multimodal transportation system. PBPP is intended to ensure that transportation investment decisions are made — both in the long-term planning and medium-term programming of projects – based on their ability to meet established goals. Implementation of PBPP is done within the Transportation Performance Management (TPM) framework which includes setting targets for the performance measures identified in the federal legislation.
