Public transportation is one of the key challenges each city needs to address, in order to provide the proper infrastructure for its citizens.
The City of Portland, Oregon, is one of the urbs that strives for improved performance in this area. Portland Streetcar is a city venture into transit services, as the city works with 2 transportation partners: Portland Streetcar Incorporated (PSI), a private nonprofit corporation, and TriMet, the public transportation agency for the Portland metropolitan area.
Making data available to citizens is no news for the Governments which aim at improving their current level of performance. The City of Seattle has understood that a transparent approach to conducted activities and obtained results is the leading path towards both a better relationship with the citizens, and a roadmap to performance.
“The PEEL reports enable the public to judge our performance as a whole… anything that makes it easier for people to hold us to account and get involved with local policing has to be a good thing”, are the words of Constable Chris Sims – West Midlands Police Chief, in reference to the performance report released by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
The City of Tacoma’s operations are constantly under track, in order to provide its residents valuable services 24-hours a day, seven days a week. The results of its performance are made available to citizens, to keep them informed about the effectiveness of the City’s programs, about the way tax revenues are being spent and about the progress toward the City’s goals.
Tacoma 24/7 is a quarterly report on 24 indicators the City monitors in 7 key service areas: Public Safety, Infrastructure, Community Services, Economic Development, Convention, Visitor & Arts, Sustainability, Open Government.
Shifting focus from the classic Gross Domestic Product as a means for measuring a country’s success, Michael Green, renowned social progress expert and CEO of the Social Progress Imperative, suggests a tool that is more apt in measuring societal and national success, tailor-made for the 21st century.
