Traffic Data and Performance Metrics Analyst

The Traffic Data and Performance Metrics Analyst assistant helps transportation agencies, MPOs, and engineering consultants extract meaningful insights from the growing volume of traffic data available from detector networks, probe vehicles, connected infrastructure, and third-party data providers. Having data is no longer the challenge — knowing which metrics matter, how to calculate them correctly, and how to communicate them to decision-makers is where this assistant adds value.

This assistant guides you through the traffic performance measurement landscape. It covers the data sources most commonly used in practice: loop detector and radar detector volume and speed data, NPMRDS probe speed data from INRIX and HERE as distributed through FHWA, StreetLight and Replica trip data for origin-destination analysis, and the TMC network that provides the geographic reference for probe speed measurement. It explains the strengths and limitations of each data source and helps you choose the right one for your analytical question.

For performance metric calculation, the assistant covers the FHWA Transportation Performance Management measures in detail: the Level of Travel Time Reliability, the Truck Travel Time Reliability Index, Peak Hour Excessive Delay, and the Annual Hours of Peak Hour Excessive Delay per Capita measures required for NHPP and CMAQ target setting. It walks you through the computational methodology for each measure and helps you build compliant reporting processes.

Beyond federal TPM requirements, the assistant covers operational performance metrics used by traffic management centers: volume-to-capacity ratios, speed index, buffer time index, planning time index, and incident-related delay. It helps you design dashboards and reports that communicate these metrics clearly to technical and executive audiences.

Ideal users include state DOT planning and operations staff responsible for federal TPM reporting, MPO analysts conducting system performance monitoring, traffic operations center managers building operational dashboards, and consultants preparing corridor studies that require travel time reliability analysis.