Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual—2nd Edition PART 8 GLOSSARY This part of the manual presents definitions for the various transit terms discussed and referenced in the manual. Other important terms related to transit planning and operations are included so that this glossary can serve as a readily accessible and easily updated resource for transit applications beyond the evaluation of transit capacity and quality of service. As a result, this glossary includes local definitions and local terminology, even when these may be inconsistent with formal usage in the manual. Many systems have their own specific, historically derived, terminology: a motorman and guard on one system can be an operator and conductor on another. Modal definitions can be confusing. What is clearly light rail by definition may be termed streetcar, semi-metro, or rapid transit in a specific city. It is recommended that in these cases local usage should prevail. AADT — annual average daily ATP — automatic train protection. AADT—accessibility, transit traffic; see traffic, annual average ATS — automatic train supervision; daily. automatic train stop system. AAR — Association of ATU — Amalgamated Transit Union; see American Railroads; see union, transit. Aorganizations, Association of American Railroads. AVL — automatic vehicle location system. AASHTO — American Association of State AW0, AW1, AW2, AW3 — see car, weight Highway and Transportation Officials; see designations. organizations, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. absolute block — see block, absolute. AAWDT — annual average weekday traffic; absolute permissive block — see block, see traffic, annual average weekday. absolute permissive. ABS — automatic block signal; see control acceleration — increase in velocity per unit system, automatic block signal. time; in transit, usually measured in feet per second squared (meters per second squared) AC — alternating current. or, in the United States, sometimes in miles ADA — Americans with Disabilities Act of per hour per second. 1990; see legislation, Americans with Disabilities access, limited (controlled access) — in Act of 1990. transportation, to have entry and exit limited ADB — advanced design bus; see bus, to predetermined points, as with rail rapid advanced design and ATTB. transit or freeways. ADT — average daily traffic; see traffic, accessibility — 1. A measure of the ability or average daily. ease of all people to travel among various ATTB — Advanced Technology Transit Bus. origins and destinations. 2. In transportation AFC — automatic fare collection; see fare modeling and planning, the sum of the travel collection system, automatic. times from one zone to all other zones in a region, weighted by the relative AGT — automated guideway transit; attractiveness of the destination zones automated guided transit; see transit system, involved. 3. In traffic assignment, a measure automated guideway. of the relative access of an area or zone to ALRT — advanced light rail transit, see population, employment opportunities, transit system, light rail. community services, and utilities. APC— automatic passenger counter. accessibility, persons with disabilities (full APM — automated people-mover, see people- accessibility) — the extent to which facilities mover. are free of barriers and usable by persons APTA — American Public Transportation with disabilities, including wheelchair users. Association; see organizations, American Public accessibility, station — a measure of the Transportation Association. ability of all people within a defined area to APTS — Advanced Public Transportation get to a specific transit station. Systems. accessibility, transit — 1. A measure of the ATC system — automatic train control availability to all people of travel to and from system. various origins and destinations by transit. 2. ATIS — Advanced Traveler Information A measure of the ability of all people to get to Systems. and from the nearest transit stop or station and their actual origin or destination. 3. In ATO — automatic train operation. Part 8/GLOSSARY Page 8-1 Glossary Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual—2nd Edition accessible station—area, fare common usage, often used to mean the agency, transit — see transit district. paid ability of persons with disabilities to use air brake — see brake, air; and brake, automatic transit. air. accessible station — see station, accessible. air distance — see distance, air. accessible vehicle — see vehicle, accessible. alight — to get off or out of a transportation accessible transit system — see transit vehicle. system, accessible. alignment — in transportation, the accessible transportation facilities — horizontal and vertical layout of a roadway, transportation facilities that are barrier-free, railroad, transit route, or other facility as it allowing their use by all travelers, including, would appear in plan and profile. The elderly, transportation disadvantaged, and alignment is usually described on the plans persons with disabilities. by the use of technical data, such as grades, access mode — see mode, access. coordinates, bearings, and horizontal and vertical curves, see also roadbed and formation. access time — see time, access. all-or-nothing trip assignment — see trip active vehicle — see vehicle, active. assignment, all-or-nothing. activity center — see major activity center. all-stop station — see station, all-stop. act — see legislation. alternate fuel — alternatives to conventional add fare — 1. an additional fare to upgrade diesel fuel for urban transit buses, intended an existing ticket. 2. an additional fare paid to reduce pollution, includes methanol, on exit from a distance based fare system propane, CNG (compressed natural gas), when there are insufficient funds remaining LNG (liquefied natural gas), hydrogen (for on a stored value ticket, see also fare, fuel cells) and biomass derived fuels. All differential. carry premium costs that trend in larger or adult cash fare — see fare, adult cash. more cost-conscious operators toward “clean advanced design bus — see bus, advanced diesel” solutions. See also buses, hybrid. design. alternating-current motor — see motor, Advanced Public Transportation Systems — alternating-current. collection of technologies to increase alternative fuel — see fuel, alternative. efficiency of public transportation systems Amalgamated Transit Union — see union, and offer users greater access to information transit. on system operation. amenity, passenger — see passenger amenity. Advanced Railroad Grade Crossing — American Association of State Highway and National ITS Architecture Market Package Transportation Officials — see organizations, that manages highway traffic at highway-rail intersections where operational requirements American Association of State Highway and demand advanced features (e.g., where rail Transportation Officials. speeds are greater than 80 mph or 128 km/h). American Public Transit Association — see It includes all capabilities from the Standard organizations, American Public Transportation Railroad Grade Crossing Market Package and Association. augments these with additional safety American Public Transportation features to mitigate the risks associated with Association — see organizations, American higher rail speeds. Public Transportation Association. Advanced Traveler Information Systems — a.m. peak — see peak. technologies that provide travelers and Amtrak — see U.S. Government, National transportation professionals with the Railroad Passenger Corporation. information they need to make decisions, annual average daily traffic — see traffic, from daily individual travel decisions to annual average daily. larger-scale decisions that affect the entire system, such as those concerning incident annual average weekday traffic — see traffic, management. annual average weekday. advisory committee — see organizations, area, auto-free — see auto-free zone. citizen advisory committee. area, auto-restricted — see auto-restricted aerial lift — ropeways on which passengers zone. are transported in cabins or on chairs and area, coverage — in transit operations, the that circulate in one direction between geographical area that a transit system is terminals without reversing the travel path. considered to serve, normally based on aerial structure — in transportation, any acceptable walking distances (e.g., ¼ mile, 0.4 structure other than a culvert that carries a km) from loading points. For suburban rail roadway or track or other guideway above transit that depends on automobile access an earth or water surface; see also guideway, (park-and-ride or kiss-and-ride), coverage elevated. may extend several miles (kilometers). Coverage is usually computed for transit- aerial tramway — ropeways on which supportive areas. See also area, service. passengers are transported in cable- supported carriers and are not in contact area, fare paid — 1. An area that a passenger with the ground or snow surface, and in may enter only after having paid a fare or which the carrier(s) reciprocate between with proper credentials. 2. The area in a terminals. Also called a reversible tramway. station that is set off by barriers, gates, or other structures to permit ready access to agencies, federal — see U.S. Government. transit only by those who have paid fares or agency, regional planning — see secured passes before entering. organizations, regional planning agency. 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