Definitions & Terms

The solutions that may be implemented to address your transportation challenges may be referred to in abbreviations or terms that you may be unfamiliar with. This section will help you understand the difference between a "DMS" and a "HAR", for example.

511 - Simply stated, 511 is an easy-to-remember 3-digit telephone number, available nationwide, that provides current information about travel conditions, allowing travelers to make better choices - choice of time, choice of mode of transportation, choice of route.

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act. The legislation defining the responsibilities of and requirements for transportation providers to make transportation accessible to individuals with disabilities. ADA also defines how to make facilities (buildings, etc.) accessible as well.

An aerial tramway is an electric system of aerial cables with suspended powerless passenger vehicles. The vehicles are propelled by separate cables attached to the vehicle suspension system and powered by engines or motors at a central location not on board the vehicle. Only two such transit operations exist in New York City and at Mountain Village, CO. All other aerial tramways are at ski areas or at tourist sites.

An aerial tramway car is an unpowered passenger cabin suspended from a system of aerial cables and propelled by separate cables attached to the vehicle suspension system. Engines or motors at a central location, not on board the vehicle, power the cable system.

Architecture – see ITS Architecture

An articulated bus or articulated trolleybus is an extra-long (54 to 60 feet) vehicle with two connected passenger compartments. The rear body section is connected to the main body by a joint mechanism that allows the vehicle to bend when in operation for sharp turns and curves and yet have a continuous interior. (Such vehicles are normally operated in local service in the very largest metropolitan areas on extremely heavily-patronized routes.).

AFC - Automatic Fare Collection. The controls and equipment that automatically admit passengers on insertion of the correct fare in an acceptable form, which may be coins, tokens, tickets, or farecards (stored value farecards must be inserted again on exit, at which point an additional fare may be required).

APTS - Advanced Public Transportation Systems, address the transportation needs of non-drivers by leveraging services provided by Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) to streamline the operations of fixed-route transit, demand response transit and other High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) modes (e.g. carpool and vanpool).

ARTS - Advanced Rural Transportation Systems, support ITS technologies that can be used in rural areas, primarily to increase safety on rural roadways.

ATC - Automatic Toll Collection (also known as Electronic Toll Collection). The use of electronic devices (e.g. transponder and receiver) to automate the collection of tolls on roadways and at entrance gates.

ATIS - Advanced Traveler Information Systems, provide timely traffic, schedule, fare, reservation, and weather information that provides travelers the opportunities to make informed decisions on where to go, when to go, what transportation mode to use, which route to take, and how much to budget.

ATMS - Advanced Traffic Management Systems, involve the use of surveillance technologies (e.g. machine vision devices, sensors, and closed circuit television) and advanced communications (dynamic message signs, highway advisory radio, and personal communication devices) to maximize throughput and safety.

Automated Gate Access is the use of electronic devices (e.g. transponder and receiver) to automate the process of allowing access to certain areas.

An automated guideway car is a guided passenger car operating under a fully automated system without an onboard crew. One type is a downtown people mover, which operates on a loop or shuttle route within the central business district of a city.

AVC - Automated Vehicle Classification. Automated Vehicle Classification (AVC) is closely related to Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI). AVC and AVI are used in many instances at toll facilities which charge different rates for different types of vehicles, making it necessary to distinguish the vehicles passing through the toll facility.

AVI - Automated Vehicle Identification is the process of determining the identity of a vehicle. AVI typically uses a variety of electronic systems (License Plate Reader, or a vehicle transponder) to automatically identify a vehicle.

AVL - Automated Vehicle Location. A system that senses, at intervals, the location of vehicles carrying special electronic equipment that communicates a signal back to a central control facility. AVL is typically used to manage fleets of vehicles.

Bicycle facilities - A general term denoting improvements and provisions made to accommodate or encourage bicycling, including parking facilities, all bikeways and shared roadways not specifically designated for bicycle use.

Bicycle network - A system of connected bikeways that provide access to and from local and regional destinations and to adjacent bicycle networks.

Bike lane - A portion of a roadway that has been designated by striping, signing and pavement markings for the preferential or exclusive use of bicyclists.

Bikeway - A bikeway is created when a road has the appropriate design treatment for bicyclists, based on motor vehicle traffic volumes and speeds. On-road bikeways include shared roadway, shoulder bikeway, bike lane or bicycle boulevard design treatments. Another type of bikeway design treatment, the multi-use path, is separated from the roadway.

BRT – Bus Rapid Transit. A type of limited-stop service developed in the 1990s that relies on technology to help speed up the service. It combines the quality of rail transit and the flexibility of buses. It can operate on exclusive transitways, high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, expressways, or ordinary streets. A BRT line combines intelligent transportation systems technology, priority for transit, rapid and convenient fare collection, and integration with land use policy in order to substantially upgrade bus system performance.

A bus shelter is a structure that allows individuals to wait at a "bus stop" out of the elements (weather). Most bus shelters are pre-fabricated.

A bus station is a type of transit center. A location that has very little infrastructure--such as shelters and/or benches at a street corner where two routes intersect--would be a transfer point.

A cable car is an electric railway with individually controlled transit vehicles attached to a moving cable located below the street surface and powered by engines or motors at a central location not on board the vehicle.

A call box is a wireline or wireless telephone station that is setup in an area to help with motorist communications. A call box is typically used to request assistance or report an emergency situation.

Capital Expenses are expenses related to the purchase of equipment. Equipment means an article of non-expendable tangible property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost which equals the lesser of a) the capitalization level established by the government unit for financial statement purposes or b) $5,000. Capital expenses do not include operating expenses that are eligible to use capital funds.

CCTV - Closed Circuit Television. Camera/video technology that can be used for traffic monitoring, etc.

Circulator - When limited to a small geographic area or to short-distance trips, local service is often called circulator, feeder, neighborhood, trolley, or shuttle service . Such routes, which often have a lower fare than regular local service, may operate in a loop and connect, often at a transfer center or rail station, to major routes for travel to more far-flung destinations. Examples are office park circulators, historic district routes, transit mall shuttles, rail feeder routes, and university campus loops.

Complementary paratransit service is required by law for those disabled persons and others not able to use fixed-route service. Generally it must operate in the same areas and during the same hours. The fare is limited to twice the fixed-route fare. Service may be the fixed-route bus agency or by a completely separate agency.

Congestion is a condition where traffic demand exceeds roadway capacity. Congestion can be recurring (predictable) or nonrecurring (due to special circumstances). Congestion may occur en-route to a Federal Land , at the entrances to a Federal Land , or within the Federal Land .

CMS - Changeable Message Sign (see also DMS - dynamic message sign and VMS - variable message sign). A sign (typically an electronic sign) that can change the message it displays.

CVO - Commercial Vehicle Operations. ITS applications for commercial vehicle operations are designed to enhance communication between motor carriers and regulatory agencies. Examples include electronic registration and permitting programs, electronic exchange of inspection data between regulating agencies for better inspection targeting, electronic screening systems, and several applications to assist operators with fleet operations and security.

Demand Response (also called paratransit or dial-a-ride ) is comprised of passenger cars, vans or small buses operating in response to calls from passengers or their agents to the transit operator, who then dispatches a vehicle to pick up the passengers and transport them to their destinations. A demand response operation is characterized by the following: (a) The vehicles do not operate over a fixed route or on a fixed schedule except, perhaps, on a temporary basis to satisfy a special need; and (b) typically, the vehicle may be dispatched to pick up several passengers at different pick-up points before taking them to their respective destinations and may even be interrupted en route to these destinations to pick up other passengers. The following types of operations fall under the above definitions provided they are not on a scheduled fixed route basis: many origins-many destinations, many origins-one destination, one origin-many destinations, and one origin-one destination.

DMS - Dynamic Message Sign (see also CMS - changeable message sign and VMS - variable message sign). An electronic sign that can be used to display a variety of messages or message sets.

A double decked bus is a high-capacity bus having two levels of seating, one over the other, connected by one or more stairways. Total bus height is usually 13 to 14.5 feet, and typical passenger seating capacity ranges from 40 to 80 people. Although common in older cities of Europe and Asia where street capacity is very limited, only a handful of such buses are used in U.S. transit service.

A dual-mode trolleybus is a trolleybus that also has an on-board power source that can be used in emergencies or to extend the route beyond the end of the overhead wires. Only one city (Seattle) operates such vehicles.

ESS - Environmental Sensing Station. A general term applied to technologies that measure environmental parameters such as temperature, wind speeds, humidity, etc.

ETC - Electronic Toll Collection (also know as AFC - Automated Fare Collection). The use of electronic devices (e.g. transponder and receiver) to automate the collection of tolls on roadways and at entrance gates.

Express service speeds up longer trips, especially in major metropolitan areas during heavily-patronized peak commuting hours, by operating long distances without stopping. Examples include park-and-ride routes between suburban parking lots and the central business district that operate on freeways, and express buses on major streets that operate local service on the outlying portions of a route until a certain point and then operate non-stop to the central business district.

Ferryboat is a transit mode comprised of vessels carrying passengers and/or vehicles over a body of water, and that are generally steam or diesel-powered. Since ferries vary widely in size, costs also vary dramatically. Small water taxis might cost about $250,000, while the largest vehicle and passenger-only ferries cost tens of millions of dollars.

Fixed-route service provided on a repetitive, fixed-schedule basis along a specific route with vehicles stopping to pick up and deliver passengers to specific locations; each fixed-route trip serves the same origins and destinations, unlike demand response. Includes route deviation service, where revenue vehicles deviate from fixed routes on a discretionary basis.

Government Funds are funds provided by federal, state, and/or local governments. For some purposes, also includes directly generated taxes, tolls, fees, and other imposed funding sources.

GPS - Global Positioning System. A space base radio positioning, navigation, and time transfer system developed by the Department of Defense. The system provides highly accurate position and velocity information, and precise time, on a continuous global basis, to an unlimited number of properly equipped users.

Grade separation refers to separating two items (roads, sidewalks, etc.) that cross each other by placing them on different levels, or at different heights, to each other.

HAR - Highway Advisory Radio. A low power radio system that is used to provide traveler information, generally specific information about the condition of roadways. HAR systems are typically limited in their transmission range to a radius of approximately 5 miles.

HOV - High Occupancy Vehicle. Vehicles that can carry two or more persons. Examples of high occupancy vehicles are a bus, vanpool, and carpool.

High Occupancy Vehicle Lane: Exclusive road or traffic lane limited to buses, vanpools, carpools, and emergency vehicles.

An intercity bus has a front door only, separate luggage compartments, and usually restroom facilities and high-backed seats for use in high-speed long-distance service. (Such buses are 40 or 45 feet in length and are used by the largest transit agencies and private companies on express and limited-stop routes.)

Intermodal (multimodal) are those issues or activities which involve or affect more than one mode of transportation, including transportation connections, choices, cooperation and coordination of various modes.

ITS - Intelligent Transportation Systems - Using technology (electronic systems, etc.) in surface transportation to save lives, time and money and improve the quality of life.

ITS Architecture – ITS projects make use of electronics, communications, or information processing to improve the efficiency or safety of a surface transportation system.  Because information technology is generally most effective when systems are integrated and interoperable, the U.S. DOT has established the National ITS Architecture to provide a common structure for the design of ITS projects.  The National Architecture describes what types of interfaces could exist between ITS components and how they will exchange information and work together to deliver ITS user service requirements.

A kiosk is a computer terminal display typically located in a public area such as a mall, airport, or other area, giving real-time transportation or traffic information for the purpose of trip or route planning.

A kiss and ride facility is a part of a park and ride facility where commuters who are passengers in non-transit vehicles are dropped off to board a mass transportation vehicle.

Lane control refers to the ability to control the lane or lanes of a roadway. Lane control is necessary to implement/use reversible lanes.

Light rail (streetcar, tramway, or trolley) is lightweight passenger rail cars operating singly (or in short, usually two-car, trains) on fixed rails in right-of-way that is not separated from other traffic for much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley or a pantograph.

A light rail car (or streetcar, tram, or trolley car) has motive capability, is usually driven by electric power taken from overhead lines, and usually operates much or all of its route on non-exclusive right-of-way. If built before 1960 or a modern replica of such cars, it is called a heritage trolley car (or vintage trolley car).

Limited-stop service is a hybrid between local and express service, where the stops may be several blocks to a mile or more apart to speed up the trip.

Local Government Funds are financial assistance from local governments (below the state level) to help cover the operating costs of providing transit service.

Local service, where vehicles may stop every block or two along a route several miles long, is by far the most common type of bus service. Trolleybuses, unless bypass overhead wiring is available, cannot pass the trolleybus in front of them, and thus generally operate in local service only.

Loop roads are roads (roadways) that begin and end at or near the same location. Loop roads can be either one-way or two-way roads, and are often roads that are off the main path (e.g. scenic loops).

LPR - License Plate Reader. An electronic system that identifies vehicles based on their license plate. Often used in systems for Automatic Vehicle Identification purposes.

A mode is the system for carrying transit passengers described by specific right-of-way, technology and operational features. Transit data are generally collected by mode.

Operating Expenses are the expenses associated with the operation of the transit agency, and classified by function or activity and the goods and services purchased.

A park and ride facility is a parking garage and/or lot used for parking passengers' automobiles, either free or for a fee, while they use transit agency facilities. Park-and-ride facilities are generally established as collector sites for rail or bus service. Park-and-ride facilities may also serve as collector sites for vanpools and carpools, and as transit centers.

Passenger Fares are revenue earned from carrying passengers in regularly scheduled and demand response service. Passenger fares include: the base fare; zone premiums; express service premiums; extra cost transfers; and quantity purchase discounts applicable to the passenger's ride.

Passenger-only ferries have only passenger decks, though they may also have space for bicycles. They can range from small boats about 50 feet long holding about 50 people up to the 310-foot long Staten Island ferries in New York, which can accommodate 6,000 people. Because they don't have vehicle decks, they need not be square-ended and may have pointed bows and side-loading. Catamaran (double hull) and hydrofoil (where the vehicle skims the surface of the water) styles may be used for high-speed services.

Peak Period Surcharge is an extra fee required during peak periods (rush hours).

Public transportation (transit, mass transit, mass transportation) is transportation by bus, rail, or other conveyance, either publicly or privately owned, providing to the public general or special service (but not including school buses or charter or sightseeing service) on a regular and continuing basis.

Regional access bikeway - The function of regional access bikeways is to focus on accessibility to and within the central city, regional centers and some of the larger town centers. Bicyclist travel time to and from activity centers is an important consideration on regional access bikeways. Regional access bikeways generally have higher bicyclist volumes because they serve areas of higher population and employment density.

Regional corridor bikeway - Regional corridor bikeways function as longer routes that provide point-to-point connectivity between the central city, regional centers and larger town centers. Regional corridor bikeways are generally of longer distance than regional access bikeways and community connector bikeways. Regional corridor bikeways generally have higher automobile spends and volumes than community connector bikeways.

Rehabilitation is the rebuilding of revenue vehicles to original specifications of the manufacturer. Rebuilding may include some new components but has less emphasis on structural restoration than would be the case in a remanufacturing operation, focusing on mechanical systems and vehicle interiors.

A reversible lane is a lane in which traffic may travel in both directions, depending on specific conditions, such as the time of day. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours by having overhead traffic lights and lighted street signs to notify drivers which lanes are open or closed to driving in a certain direction.

RS-D - Road Side Detection (or Roadside Detector). Roadside Detection is a general term for any type of ITS technology that detects vehicles and relays information for processing. Examples of typical roadside detection include inductive loop detectors, closed circuit television, infrared and microwave sensors and acoustic sensors.

RWIS - Road Weather Information Systems collect atmospheric, pavement surface, sub-surface and video data to provide the most accurate pavement specific weather information available. RWIS systems can be used to manage roadways by Departments of Transportation, and to provide information to travelers.

A suburban bus has front doors only, normally high-backed seats, but no luggage compartments or restroom facilities for use in longer-distance service with relatively few stops. (Such 40 and 45-foot buses are used in the same manner as intercity buses.)

TIS - Travelers Information Service (or Traveler Information Systems). Generally regarded as a radio system similar to a Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) system, only that TIS provides more general traveler information.

TMC - Traffic (or Transportation) Management Center. The TMC is the hub of a transportation management system, where information about the transportation network is collected and combined with other operational and control data to manage the transportation network and to produce traveler information.  It is the focal point for communicating transportation-related information to the media and the motoring public, a place where agencies can coordinate their responses to transportation situations and conditions. The TMC links various elements of Intelligent Transportation Systems such as variable message signs, closed circuit video equipment, roadside count stations, etc., enabling decision makers to identify and react to an incident in a timely manner based on real-time data.

Transfer Surcharge is an extra fee charged for a transfer to use when boarding another transit vehicle to continue a trip.

A transit agency (transit system) is an entity (public or private) responsible for administering and managing transit activities and services. Transit agencies can directly operate transit service or contract out for all or part of the total transit service provided. When responsibility is with a public entity, it is a public transit agency. When more than one mode of service is operated, it is a multimode transit agency.

A transit bus typically has front and center doors; with a rear-mounted engine; low-back seating; and without luggage compartments or restroom facilities for use in frequent-stop service. (By far the most common bus used for local service, these buses can be 40 feet long, but 35-foot and 30-foot versions are also common in smaller cities and on lightly-patronized routes.)

A transit center is a fixed location where passengers interchange from one route or vehicle to another that has significant infrastructure such as a waiting room, benches, restrooms, sales outlet, ticket or pass vending machines, and/or other services.

A trolleybus (trolley coach, trackless trolley) is a rubber-tired electrically powered passenger vehicle operating on city streets drawing power from overhead lines with trolleys.

A trolley replica bus (trolley) has an exterior (and usually an interior) designed to look like a streetcar from the early 1900s. (These specialized buses are generally shorter--22 to 32 feet--and are used mostly on historic district and tourist-oriented circulator or shuttle services.)

A van is a vehicle having a typical seating capacity of 5 to 15 passengers and classified as a van by vehicle manufacturers. A modified van (body-on- chassis van) is a standard van that has undergone some structural changes, usually made to increase its size and particularly its height. The seating capacity of modified vans is approximately 12 to 25 passengers.

Vanpool mode is comprised of vans (and very rarely, small buses and other vehicles) operating as a ridesharing arrangement, providing transportation to a group of individuals traveling directly between their homes and a regular destination within the same geographical area. The vehicles have a minimum seating capacity of seven persons, including the driver. It is considered mass transit service if it is operated by a public entity or is one in which a public entity owns, purchases, or leases the vehicle(s). Vanpool(s) must also be in compliance with mass transit rules including Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions, and be open to the public and that availability must be made known. Other forms of public participation to encourage ridesharing arrangements such as the provision of parking spaces, use of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, coordination or clearing house service, do not qualify as public vanpools.

Vanpool service is operated in two ways. Either transit agency vehicles are leased to companies or directly to volunteer drivers, or the service is contracted to a vanpool management company that has its own vehicles and administers the service. Under either arrangement, many vanpools serve large private corporations or government agencies and consist solely of their employees.

Vehicle ferries have at least one deck for vehicles, with additional decks for passengers. The largest are in the Seattle, WA area, and are over 460 feet long, accommodating 2,500 passengers and 218 vehicles. Such ferries are normally square-ended to allow vehicle access and egress.

VMS - Variable Message Sign (also known as a Changeable Message Sign or Dynamic Message Sign). Electronic signs which can change the message they display.

Water taxis are very small passenger-only ferries (about 50 feet or less) that may operate in both fixed-route and on-demand service, depending on the time of day and patronage levels. They can load and unload very quickly and operate very frequently, sometimes to several different points around a harbor or along a river.

WIM - Weigh-In-Motion. A technology for determining the weight of a commercial vehicle without requiring it to stop on a scale.

Zone or Distance Surcharge is an extra fee charged for crossing a predetermined boundary.