Community of Metros

The four main objectives of the metro benchmarking groups are:[1]

1. To share knowledge and identify best practices in a confidential environment
2. To support members in achieving their operational and strategic goals – focusing on improvements
3. To build systems of measures for use by management and to establish public transport best practices
4. To prioritise areas for improvement and support decision-making for management, boards, government, and other stakeholders

The key performance indicator (KPI) system is used by the COMET during the benchmarking process in order to compare performance across the member metro systems. The purpose of benchmarking is to search for best practices that lead to superior performance. There are approximately 30 top-level indicators, which are designed to measure the overall performance of the organisation in six distinct areas:[2]

• Growth, learning, and innovation
• Financial
• Customer
• Internal processes
• Safety and security
• Environment

The indicators are reviewed by members on an annual basis. The group members operate under a full confidentiality agreement. This allows for full data and information exchange within the COMET but not externally.[3]

Statistical analyses are used to provide greater understanding of the results, while time series analyses allow for trends in performance to be identified. This helps to highlight which members are changing their practices and what improvements are relatively achievable. Where clear differences or improvements in performance are identified, detailed analysis is carried out through case studies.[4] Multiple case studies are conducted in the COMET each year; these studies include detailed data analysis, questionnaires, and interviews with functional experts. Case studies are further supported by expert workshops where appropriate. In many cases, best practices may be found outside the metro industry, so other public transport operations and even other industries are reviewed for relevant practices.[5][6]

As of June 2022 the Community of Metros consisted of 43 metro systems located in 39 cities around the world.[7]

Some of the major publication journals by COMET include:

• Canavan S, Barron A, Cohen J, Graham DJ, Anderson RJ et al. (2019). Best Practices in Operating High Frequency Metro Services, Transportation Research Record.
• Anupriya A, Graham D, Anderson R, Carbo JM et al. (2018). Cost Function for Urban Rail Transport Systems, Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting.
• Canavan, S., Graham, D.J., Anderson, R.J., Barron, A. (2017). Urban Metro Rail Demand: Evidence from Dynamic Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) Estimates using Panel Data.
• Hörcher, D., Graham, D. J., and Anderson, R. J. (2017). Crowding cost estimation with large scale smart card and vehicle location data. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART B: METHODOLOGICAL, 95, 105–125.
• Singh, R., Graham, D.J., Anderson, R. (2017) Characterising journey time performance on urban metro systems. TransitData conference, Santiago, Chile, 22 May 2017.
• Hörcher,D., Graham,D.J., Anderson,R., (2017) Crowding cost estimation with large scale smart card and vehicle location data, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, pp. 105–125.
• Brage-Ardao, R., Graham, D.J., Anderson, R.J., Barron, A. (2017). Metro Operating Costs: Main Patterns and Determinants. Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting.

• Community of Metros Website
• Transport Strategy Centre at Imperial College London