Memorandum

Date       March 7, 2013

TO           Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

FROM      Karl H. Quackenbush
CTPS Executive Director

RE            Work Program for: MBTA Bus Schedule Maps

Action Required

Review and approval

Proposed Motion

That the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization, upon the recommendation of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, vote to approve the work program for MBTA Bus Schedules in the form of the draft dated March 7, 2013.

Project Identification

Unified Planning Work Program Classification

Technical Support/Operations Analysis Projects

CTPS Project Number

14337

Clients

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Project Supervisor: Melissa Dullea

CTPS Project Supervisors

Principal: Jane Gillis

Manager: Kenneth Dumas

Funding

Future MBTA Contract

 

Impact on MPO Work

The MPO staff has sufficient resources to complete this work in a capable and timely manner. By undertaking this work, the MPO staff will neither delay the completion of nor reduce the quality of other work in the UPWP.

Background

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority currently has 130 bus schedules printed quarterly and distributed throughout its system. The software used to produce these schedules in no longer manufactured or supported. As a result, new maps need to be created using up-to-date software.

Objective

Create 130 new maps for the MBTA bus schedule cards

Work Description

Create 130 new maps for the MBTA bus schedule cards using the current schedules as a guide. The schedules will be created with minor changes in design suggested by the MBTA.

Task 1  Create New Master Template in InDesign

The current MBTA bus schedule cards are individual files created in the computer program FreeHand. The goal is to create new maps and place them in one InDesign file. To do this, a master template must be created. This will allow total control of the consistency of all schedule cards.

Product of Task 1

Master template in the computer program InDesign.

Task 2  Create a New Map for Each Schedule Card

Once the master template is finalized, the maps for each schedule card will be created in Adobe Illustrator using the current MBTA System Map as a base. As each map is finished, it will be imported into the InDesign file.

Products of Task 2

A new map for each schedule card, totaling 130 maps.

Task 3  Train MBTA Schedule Coordinator

Once the maps have been completed, the final step is to train the current MBTA Schedule Coordinator in the correct operation of Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.

Products of Task 3

Trained Schedule Coordinator.

Estimated Schedule

It is estimated that this project will be completed six months after work commences. The proposed schedule, by task, is shown in Exhibit 1.

Estimated Cost

The total cost of this project is estimated to be $24,999. This includes the cost of 9.9 person-weeks of staff time and overhead at the rate of 96.58 percent. A detailed breakdown of estimated costs is presented in Exhibit 2.

KQ/KAD/kad

 

Exhibit 1
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE
MBTA Bus Schedule Maps


Task		 Month
1 2 3 4 5 6
1.
Create New Master Template in InDesign
From month 1 to 1.2.
2.
Create a New Map for Each Schedule Card
From month 1.2 to 5.6.
3.
Train MBTA Schedule Coordinator
From month 5.6 to 7.

 

Exhibit 2
ESTIMATED COST
MBTA Bus Schedule Maps

Direct Salary and Overhead

$24,999

Task		 Person-Weeks Direct
Salary		 Overhead
(96.58%)		 Total
Cost
M-1 P-4 Total
1.
Create New Master Template in InDesign
 0.1 0.5 0.6 $800 $773 $1,573
2.
Create a New Map for Each Schedule Card
 0.3 7.5 7.8 $10,024 $9,681 $19,704
3.
Train MBTA Schedule Coordinator
 0.0 1.5 1.5 $1,893 $1,828 $3,721
Total
 0.4 9.5 9.9 $12,717 $12,282 $24,999

Other Direct Costs

$0

TOTAL COST

$24,999
Funding
Future MBTA Contract