Community of Metros

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The Community of Metros Benchmarking Group (COMET), formerly CoMET and Nova groups, is a multinational collection of metro systems focusing on international benchmarking, facilitated by the Transport Strategy Centre (TSC) at Imperial College London. The Community of Metros consist of 47 metro systems in 44 cities around the world. The groups are jointly owned and steered by the various members.

Contents

History

In 1994, London Underground and four other metro systems formed a small group to share performance data with each other. In 1996, the Community of Metros (CoMET) group was formed with 8 metro systems, to allow benchmarking between them. [1]

COMET benchmarking

The four main objectives of the metro benchmarking groups are: [2]

  1. To share knowledge and identify best practices in a confidential environment
  2. To support members in achieving their operational and strategic goals – focusing on improvements
  3. To build systems of measures for use by management and to establish public transport best practices
  4. To prioritise areas for improvement and support decision-making for management, boards, government, and other stakeholders

The key performance indicator (KPI) system is used by the COMET during the benchmarking process in order to compare performance across the member metro systems. The purpose of benchmarking is to search for best practices that lead to superior performance. There are approximately 30 top-level indicators, which are designed to measure the overall performance of the organisation in six distinct areas: [3]

The indicators are reviewed by members on an annual basis. The group members operate under a full confidentiality agreement. This allows for full data and information exchange within the COMET but not externally. [4]

Statistical analyses are used to provide greater understanding of the results, while time series analyses allow for trends in performance to be identified. This helps to highlight which members are changing their practices and what improvements are relatively achievable. Where clear differences or improvements in performance are identified, detailed analysis is carried out through case studies. [5] Multiple case studies are conducted in the COMET each year; these studies include detailed data analysis, questionnaires, and interviews with functional experts. Case studies are further supported by expert workshops where appropriate. In many cases, best practices may be found outside the metro industry, so other public transport operations and even other industries are reviewed for relevant practices. [6] [7]

Membership

As of August 2025 the Community of Metros consisted of 47 metro systems located in 44 cities around the world. [8]

Americas

Asia and Oceania

Europe

Former members

Major publications

Some of the major publication journals by COMET include:

References

  1. ↑ "The Future Tubes Investigative Committee" (PDF). London Assembly . January 2003. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Benchmarking". CoMET and Nova Metro Benchmarking. Community of Metros. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Condry, Ben. "International PublicTransport Benchmarking: Learning from others". Academia. Imperial College London. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Richard. "Metro Benchmarking Yield Tangible Benefits" (PDF). Imperial College London. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Rail and Underground Panel" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Benchmarking". Community of Metros. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "The Operator's Story Emerging Findings OECD ITF 2017, Leipzig" (PDF). World Bank / Imperial College London. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Members of the Community of Metros". Community of Metros Benchmarking Group. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Atlanta MARTA Joins COMET". Community of Metros Benchmarking Group. 21 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Honolulu Rapid Transit Joins". Community of Metros Benchmarking Group. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  11. ↑ "Community of Metros News: PATH Joins COMET". 7 April 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Community of Metros News: OC Transpo Joins". 15 May 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Joins". 18 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Welcome to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority". 2 January 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Vancouver SkyTrain Joins". 30 September 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  16. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Bangalore BMRCL Joins". 24 February 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  17. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Chennai Metro Joins COMET". communityofmetros.org. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  18. ↑ "CoMET and Nova News: Nova welcomes Rapid KL, Kuala Lumpur". 4 November 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  19. ↑ "Community of Metros News: MRT Jakarta Joins COMET". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  20. ↑ "CoMET and Nova News: Nova welcomes Nanjing Metro". 4 October 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  21. ↑ "The Community of Metros Welcomes Seoul Metro as its Newest Member". 1 September 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  22. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Shenzhen Metro Joins". 10 July 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  23. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Sydney Metro Joins Nova". 29 December 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  24. ↑ "Community of Metros News: Tokyo Metro Joins CoMET". 22 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  25. ↑ "CoMET and Nova News: Introducing Istanbul Ulasim". 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  26. ↑ "CoMET and Nova News: Nova welcomes London Docklands Light Railway". 4 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  27. ↑ "CoMET and Nova News: Oslo Metro Joins Nova". 23 September 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
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