Why Our Transport Systems Keep Breaking Down (And How to Fix Them)
Key Takeaways
- Many transport organisations have assets that are run down, unreliable and create safety risks. It is a symptom of poor Strategic Asset Management (SAM).
- Strategic Asset Management is simply planning ahead to manage your assets in the best way possible.
- Many transport organisations have a gap between their asset management plans and actual implementation.
- SAM transforms decision-making from reactive asset management to strategic choices based on data, clear objectives, and long-term thinking. Every decision considers total lifecycle costs, not just upfront expenses.
- Emergency repairs cost 3-9 times more than planned maintenance, making prevention dramatically more cost-effective. Mature SAM shifts spending from expensive emergency response to strategic investment.
- A Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) should address key questions about your asset management practices and be used by senior executives to make budget decisions.
- Understanding asset lifecycles helps you make smarter decisions about when to maintain, renew, or replace assets.
- The biggest SAM mistakes include confusing planning with implementation, making short-term savings at the expense of long-term costs, and operating without clear performance targets.
- Key questions for decision-makers to ask include the level of SAM maturity, upcoming asset renewals, and current performance against targets.
- Successful SAM is about making informed trade-offs between cost, risk, and performance. The goal is reliable, predictable transport services that serve your community effectively year after year.
What Next?
Do you know the level of asset management maturity in your transport organisation?
Introduction
Does your public transport system frequently break down? Are your roads full of potholes? Are your bus stops, stations, and transport facilities run-down?
Around the world, a common pattern emerges. Assets deteriorate gradually, almost invisibly, until suddenly they don't. Then it's crisis mode: emergency funding, media attention, angry passengers, and hasty fixes. Things improve in the short term but then assets are left to deteriorate again and the cycle starts all over.
Unfortunately, many transport organisations are failing at what is known as Strategic Asset Management (SAM). Put simply, SAM is about taking care of your assets so they work when you need them to, for as long as possible, at the lowest total cost.
When done right, SAM transforms your organisation from constantly reacting to problems to preventing them. It turns unpredictable emergency spending into planned, strategic investment. It gives you the data and insight to make decisions confidently, knowing the long-term consequences.
Unfortunately, for the vast majority of the public, politicians and even many transport professionals have little idea of what SAM is or what it should look like.
This lack of understanding, especially among decision-makers, means that many transport organisations make poor decisions, resulting in poor Strategic Asset Management that ultimately delivers poor transport outcomes.
This blog post is written for all those involved in transport who have a limited understanding of SAM.
What is Strategic Asset Management?
Put simply, Transport SAM is planning ahead to take care of your assets (roads, trains, buses, etc.) in the most efficient way possible, so you can utilise them now and in the future to meet your objectives. It means:
Knowing your assets: You can't manage what you don't measure. This means having accurate, up-to-date information about what you own, where it is, what condition it's in, and how it's performing.
Predicting the future: Using data and experience to forecast when assets will need attention, what that will cost, and what happens if you wait too long.
Making smart trade-offs: Every dollar spent on maintenance is a dollar not spent somewhere else. SAM helps you decide where to invest for maximum impact, balancing immediate needs with long-term sustainability.
SAM focuses on improving decision-making based on high-quality information and well-defined objectives, aligning investment with what you are trying to achieve.
It provides a framework for decision-making for today, 5, 10 and 20+ years into the future.
Mature SAM acts as the early warning system of where assets are not going to meet the objectives you are setting and provides an opportunity to take action early to prevent that from occurring. Unfortunately, that information is rarely transparent and understood by decision makers.
Why SAM Matters: The Real-World Impact
Organisations with mature SAM fundamentally change how they operate:
Predictable Performance: Instead of wondering if your buses will make it through the morning peak, you know with confidence what level of reliability to expect and can plan accordingly. When performance starts declining, you see it coming months or years in advance.
Smarter Spending: Emergency repairs cost 3-9 times more than planned maintenance. SAM shifts spending from expensive crisis response to cost-effective prevention.
Better Decisions: Every major asset decision is backed by solid data about long-term costs and performance implications.
Reduced Risk: System failures damage public trust, disrupt communities, and can create safety hazards. SAM identifies and addresses risks before they become crises.
Strategic Alignment: Your asset investments actually support your broader goals, whether that's improving accessibility, reducing emissions, or enhancing service quality.
The bottom line: SAM transforms your transport system into a reliable, predictable operation that serves your community effectively year after year.
How SAM Changes Decision-Making
Transport decision-making can look like this: A problem emerges, options are quickly evaluated based on immediate costs, and a decision is made to fix the most urgent issue. Next month, repeat the process.
Strategic Asset Management flips this approach entirely. Instead of reacting to problems, you're making decisions based on a clear framework that considers the bigger picture.
SAM decisions incorporate five key questions:
What are we trying to achieve? Your policy goals and performance targets drive everything else. If your goal is 95% on-time performance, every asset decision should connect back to supporting that target.
What does the data tell us? Decisions are based on actual asset condition, performance trends, and predictive modelling.
What are our options? Instead of defaulting to "fix it" or "replace it," SAM considers the full spectrum of possibilities: preventive maintenance, condition-based maintenance, life extension, early replacement, or accepting higher risk.
What are the real costs? This isn't just the upfront price tag. It's the total cost over the asset's lifetime, including maintenance, downtime, replacement parts, and the impact on service quality.
What level of risk can we accept? Every choice involves trade-offs. SAM makes these trade-offs explicit and helps you choose the right balance between cost, performance, and risk for your specific situation.
This framework enables decisions that align with your long-term objectives.
Understanding Asset Lifecycles
Every asset goes through predictable phases:
Phase 1: Planning and Acquisition This is where you decide what you need and get it. But SAM thinking starts here with a crucial question: How will this asset perform over its entire life, not just on day one? A cheaper bus that requires expensive maintenance might cost more than a premium option over 15 years.
Phase 2: Early Operations Your asset is new, reliable, and performing well. This is your honeymoon period.
Phase 3: Mature Operations The asset is doing its job reliably, but you're starting to see patterns in maintenance needs and minor failures. This is your sweet spot for preventive maintenance and the phase where good SAM really pays off. You can extend this phase significantly with smart interventions.
Phase 4: Declining Performance Maintenance costs are rising, reliability is dropping, and you're facing more frequent service disruptions. The key question becomes: Can targeted renewal bring this asset back to acceptable performance, or is it time to plan for replacement?
Phase 5: End of Life Planning Rather than waiting for catastrophic failure, you're planning the transition to replacement assets. This might happen over months or years, allowing you to optimise timing, budget for replacement, and maintain service continuity.
When you understand these phases, you can make smarter decisions. Instead of being surprised by a 15-year-old bus fleet suddenly becoming unreliable, you saw it coming years ago and either planned renewals to extend their life or budgeted for replacement.
You're also not stuck in false choices. When someone says "we need to replace our entire rail fleet," lifecycle thinking helps you ask better questions: Which components are actually failing? Can we extend life through targeted upgrades? What's the optimal replacement schedule to balance cost and performance?
This is how mature SAM organisations avoid the crisis cycle. They're not smarter or luckier, they're just thinking several steps ahead.
What is a TAMP (And Why Should You Care)?
A Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) is essentially your organisation's blueprint for keeping transport assets working effectively over the long term. Think of it as the master plan that connects all your asset management thinking into one coherent strategy.
Many TAMPs are full of technical analysis and impressive charts, but they don't actually drive day-to-day decisions.
A good TAMP is a living tool that supports transport decision makers:
"What do we actually own?" Your TAMP should give you a clear picture of your entire asset portfolio, from the newest bus to the oldest piece of track infrastructure, including current condition and performance data.
"What's going to need attention in the next 5-10 years?" TAMPs should provide realistic forecasts of when major assets will need renewal or replacement.
"How much will it cost, and do we have the money?" Your TAMP should connect asset needs to actual budget realities. If the plan requires $50 million but you only have $30 million, the TAMP should address this gap honestly.
"What happens if we don't act?" Every TAMP should clearly explain the consequences of different investment scenarios. What does service look like if you defer major renewals for two more years?
"How do we know if our strategy is working?" The plan should include specific, measurable targets and explain how you'll track progress toward them.
Your TAMP should be the document that helps you move from crisis management to strategic planning. It should be the place where everyone in your organisation can go to understand what you're trying to achieve with your assets and how you're going to get there.
SAM Maturity
How well an organisation has implemented SAM is measured against a maturity model with five levels:
1. Initial/Ad Hoc:
- Assets are managed on an ad-hoc basis with little to no formal planning or processes.
- Decisions are often reactive and based on short-term needs rather than long-term strategic goals.
- Data is often fragmented and unreliable.
Example: A transport organisation that replaces rolling stock only when they fail.
2. Defined/Structured:
- Basic asset management processes are established, often documented.
- There is a growing awareness of the need for SAM.
- Some data collection and analysis may be in place, but it's not fully integrated or utilised.
Example: A public transport organisation has a basic asset register and performs regular preventative maintenance.
3. Managed/Proactive:
- Formalised asset management processes are integrated across the organisation.
- Strategic planning is aligned with asset management objectives (this is where many organisations fall down).
- Data is more reliable and used to inform decision-making.
Example: A public transport organisation that uses data to predict potential asset failures and schedule maintenance accordingly.
4. Quantitatively Managed/Optimising:
- Asset management is data-driven and performance is continuously monitored and improved.
- Advanced analytics and predictive modelling are used to optimise asset performance and lifecycle costs.
Example: A transport organisation that uses sophisticated software to track asset performance, predict maintenance needs, and optimise resource allocation.
5. Continuous Improvement/Optimised:
- Asset management is fully integrated into the organisation's culture and strategic planning.
- There is a focus on continuous improvement and innovation in asset management practices.
- Technology is leveraged to optimise asset performance and minimise risk.
Example: A transport organisation that uses machine learning and AI to optimise asset maintenance schedules and predict future asset needs.
Most transport organisations are stuck between levels 2 and 3. They have the systems and processes that look impressive on paper, but when you dig deeper, you find:
- Asset condition data that's months or years out of date
- Maintenance plans that aren't connected to actual budget decisions
- Strategic plans that bear little resemblance to day-to-day operations
- Performance targets that were set years ago and never updated
The SAM Mistakes
Decision-makers often make mistakes when it comes to Strategic Asset Management. Here are the big ones that create the most damage:
The Planning Illusion: You have an impressive asset management plan with detailed analysis, lifecycle models, and sophisticated projections. But when it comes to actual budget decisions or day-to-day operations, people make choices as if the plan doesn't exist.
Why this happens: The plan was created by specialists for specialists, not as a tool for decision-makers. It's too complex, too theoretical, or disconnected from the realities of running a transport system.
The fix: Your asset management plan should drive decisions, not just document them. If your senior team can't use it to make budget choices, it needs to be rewritten.
The Efficiency Fantasy: When budgets get tight, someone always suggests cutting operational spending while expecting teams to "find efficiencies" that will maintain the same performance levels. This almost never works out as planned.
Why this happens: Decision-makers do not have a clear plan for raising efficiency.
The fix: Be honest about what can be achieved through efficiency savings.
The Short-Term Savings Trap: Faced with immediate budget pressure, organisations defer major renewals, reduce preventive maintenance, or delay asset replacements. The savings look great in the current year's budget, but the costs show up later as emergency repairs, service failures, and more expensive replacement programs.
Why this happens: The people making budget decisions often won't be around to deal with the long-term consequences, and the political pressure for immediate savings outweighs future risks.
The fix: Make the long-term costs visible and explicit. Show decision-makers exactly what deferring maintenance will cost in future years, not just what it saves today.
The Performance Vacuum: Many organisations operate without clear performance targets for their assets. They know they want things to "work well", but can't define what that actually means in measurable terms.
Why this happens: Setting targets requires making difficult trade-offs between cost and performance, and it creates accountability that some people prefer to avoid.
The fix: Define what "good enough" actually means for your key performance measures, and be explicit about the investment required to achieve those targets.
Key questions for decision makers to ask
Now that you have a high-level understanding of SAM, what are the right questions to ask to find out about your organisation's SAM? Here are some suggestions.
- What is the level of maturity of our Strategic Asset Management? If it is not externally validated, then request that it is so that you have a good understanding of where you are and where you need to get to.
- What are the big budget items we should be renewing in the next 5 years? Transport organisations should have strategies and plans in place for the renewal or replacement of assets that will require significant investment.
- What are our SAM Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets and how are we performing against them? This will tell you about the current performance of your assets.
- What are the predictions for our KPIs in the years ahead? This will tell you about the performance moving forward. An organisation with mature asset management will be able to predict levels of performance, such as reliability. If the assets are expected to perform above your requirements (which is unlikely), you may be able to reduce your investment in maintenance.
- Are our current asset plans aligned with our policies, such as transitioning to Net Zero or improving reliability? Many organisations struggle to align their asset plans with their objectives. Inherently, this is because their objectives are often undeliverable based on the current investment schedule. However, rather than confront this, it gets buried to the detriment of longer-term performance.
Conclusion
If your roads are full of potholes, your trains are old and break down frequently, and your stations are run down, you’re not alone.
But you don't have to accept this as inevitable.
SAM is the difference between reactive spending that barely keeps things running and smart investment that delivers reliable, safe transport for years to come.
The good news is that you don't need to become an asset management expert overnight. You just need to start asking the right questions. Find out your organisation's maturity level. Understand what major renewals are coming. Get clear on your performance targets and whether you're meeting them.
Your community deserves transport systems that work reliably, safely, and efficiently.
The cycle of failure can be broken. It starts with understanding what Strategic Asset Management really means and having the commitment to implement it properly. Your passengers, your budget, and your future self will thank you for it.