DOT - Transit Investment Prioritization - MRAS

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), on behalf of the Department of Transportation (DOT), is conducting market research to explore capabilities in providing a new analytical process or decision support tool for public transportation systems. This initiative, led by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), aims to replace the existing TERM Lite tool with a more advanced system that will assist in estimating capital investment needs and aid in asset investment prioritization for transit systems. The overarching goal is to ensure that public transportation systems can effectively manage their assets and prioritize investments to maintain or improve service quality over time.

The proposed work involves developing a comprehensive tool that can quantify long-term capital investment needs, forecast and monitor asset conditions, identify and manage maintenance backlogs, support strategic capital planning, and facilitate compliance with broader asset-management requirements. Specifically, the new system should be capable of estimating total annual capital expenditures required over a 20- or 30-year horizon. It should categorize these investments by transit mode, asset type, and service area characteristics while generating estimates of current asset conditions and projecting future conditions under various investment strategies.

Additionally, the tool must enable "what-if" analyses allowing asset management staff to adjust key input parameters such as rehabilitation assumptions and funding levels to evaluate different funding strategies' effects on long-term asset condition and performance. An important aspect is managing backlogs towards achieving a State of Good Repair (SGR) by determining current backlog levels and projecting necessary investment levels to eliminate or reduce these backlogs over time. Furthermore, the system should support strategic capital planning by providing objective analysis for resource prioritization among competing needs based on mode, condition, criticality, or other relevant factors.