Effective strategic planning in public transit systems

This paper identifies the characteristics of strategic planning systems of transit agencies that enhance these agencies’ abilities to respond effectively to federal legislative requirements and mandates, and have positive community impacts. These characteristics are, each unit or division must develop its own action plan to be combined into a system-wide strategic plan, strategic planning should receive more than lip service from top and unit or division level managers, and it requires the involvement and commitment of top-level management. Additional characteristics are, strategic planning should be designed to have an external orientation, to focus on an organization’s responsiveness to the demands of its customers, and it should focus on identifying and exploiting areas of future growth opportunities. Furthermore, it requires involvement of employees, and it must fit the management and decision-making styles of top-level managers.