From: fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu (Aaron Priven)
Newsgroups: ba.transportation
Subject: We need an FAQ list
Summary: here's my contribution
Keywords: FAQ frequently answered question proposed
Date: 25 Aug 92 19:22:53 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz (College Eight)
NNTP-Posting-Host: am.ucsc.edu


I think we need an FAQ on this group.  There are always abbreviations 
and other things brought up here that newcomers can't understand.  Or 
even oldcomers can't understand. 

Ideally there should be other things here, timetables for when BART 
extensions are planned to go into service and things like that, but I 
don't have much of that information here.  

Some of these things were copied from MTC's Transportation Glossary, 
dated 1977.  Okay, so it's old.  Most of the things I thought were 
well-known came from that (like "express service").  I did leave out 
the definitions for things like "carpool" and "freeway." 

                              Definitions

ABAG -- Association of Bay Area Governments.  A league of cities and 
   counties that works on long-range regional planning for the Bay 
   Area.  Its plans are not binding on the cities and counties. 

AC Transit -- A special district that operates most buses in Alameda 
   and Contra Costa Counties west of the hills.  Runs local routes and 
   transbay routes to San Francisco. 

At-grade -- at the same vertical level as the surrounding territory.  

BAAQMD -- Bay Area Air Quality Managment District. 

BART -- Bay Area Rapid Transit.  A rail rapid transit system on broad-
   gauge (66 inch) rail in San Francisco and in Alameda and Contra 
   Costa counties.  Operated by the BART District (BARTD), an elected 
   board of directors. 

BART Express Buses -- Buses hired by BARTD to serve parts of Alameda 
   and Contra Costa counties where there are no BART rail lines. 

BCDC -- Bay Conservation and Development Commission, a State 
   commission with power to review all proposals for Bay fill or Bay 
   shore construction in a 100-foot strip around San Francisco Bay. 

Bay Area -- usually refers to the following nine counties that touch
   San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San
   Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Solano.  Occasionally
   refers to a larger region which contributes commuters to the Bay
   Area's transportation system, including San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and
   Santa Cruz counties.

CBD -- central business district, the area of a city that contains the 
   greatest concentration of business activity. 

CCCTD -- Central Contra Costa Transit District.  Known locally as
   "County Connection."  Runs local transit service for Concord, Walnut
   Creek, the San Ramon Valley, Martinez, Orinda, and Lafayette.

CEQA -- California Environmental Quality Act.  Among other things,
   requires that environmental analyses be prepared for all projects
   and plans proposed in California.

CalTrain -- A diesel-powered railroad on standard gauge rail from 
   Santa Clara County to San Francisco.  Operated by a Joint Powers 
   Board consisting of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and the City 
   and County of San Francisco. 

CalTrans -- California Department of Transportation.  The State agency 
   responsible for state-wide coordination of multi-modal 
   comprehensive transportation planning and the provision of the 
   state highway system. 

Corridor -- a passageway of land use and transportation activities 
   having a specific location and character, and constituting a link 
   in a network of other such corridors. 

DEIR -- Draft Environmental Impact Report.  A detailed environmental 
   analysis required by the California Environmental Quality Act; must 
   be circulated to affected agencies for comments.  Comments on DEIR 
   are responded to in the final Environmental Impact Report (EIR). 

DEIS -- Draft Environmental Impact Study.  Like a DEIR, but required 
   by the National Environmental Policy Act for projects under federal 
   jurisdiction or federally funded. 

Dial-a-ride -- a transportation system responding to telephone 
   requests of the users.  Usually used for elderly and disabled 
   people, but not always.  Known as "demand responsive transit." 

Express service -- a transportation service which provides higher 
   speeds because of fewer stops to pick up passengers. 

FRA -- Federal Railroad Administration, a component of the U.S.
   Department of Transportation.

Feeder service -- local passneger pickup or delivery to express bus, 
   commuter railroad, or rapid transit. 

Fixed guideway system -- a transit system with an exclusive passageway 
   and vehicles which cannot operate off the passageway (passageway 
   may be elevated track or subway, or grade separated road). 

Frequency -- see "headway." 

GGBHTD -- see Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation 
   District. 

Gauge -- the width between two rails of the same track.  Standard 
   gauge (56 1/2 inch) [right?] is what most railroads in North 
   America use, allowing them to share cars and engines.  Broad gauge 
   is wider.  Narrow gauge is narrower. 

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District -- a special 
   district which provides bus and ferry service for Marin and parts 
   of Sonoma County and operates and maintains the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Grade separation -- separation of intersecting streams of traffic by 
   crossing structures or underpasses. 

Guideway -- a supporting physical structure in or upon which transit 
   vehicles travel. 

HOV -- high occupancy vehicles, buses, vans, or carpools.  HOV lanes 
   are roadway lanes that are reserved for HOVs at least during 
   commute hours. 

Headway -- the time interval between two public transportation 
   vehicles traveling in the same direction on the same route.  
   Usually this is what is meant by "frequency." 

Heavy rail -- rail with big cars. (I think I need a better definition 
   here...) 

LRV -- light rail vehicle.  See "light rail." 

Light rail -- "electrically powered transit vehicles running on rails 
   for guidance and traction, i.e., the modern streetcar."  [That's 
   MTC's 1977 definition.  I'm not fond of it.] 

MTC -- Metropolitan Transportation Commission.  The regional body 
   responsible for multi-modal comprehensive transportation planning 
   for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.  Also responsible for 
   review of applications of federal and state transportation grants 
   and allocation of certain transportation monies. 

Metro -- term used for rail rapid transit in various areas, i.e., 
   Washington D.C., Paris, San Francisco's "Muni Metro." 

Modal -- refers to modes of both passenger and freight transportation 
   such as the automobile, trucks, buses, trains, ships and boats, 
   bicycles, and so on.  "Multimodal" means it serves several 
   different modes of transportation.  "Intermodal" means it acts as a 
   link between different modes. 

Muni -- San Francisco Municipal Railway.  The first government-owned 
   transit service in the country.  Now provides bus service in San 
   Francisco, and operates the Muni Metro and the cable cars. 

Muni Metro -- a light rail system operating on the streets in San 
   Francisco neighborhoods and in a subway under downtown San 
   Francisco's Market Street. 

NEPA -- National Environmental Policy Act.  Enacted by Congresss to 
   develop a policy for environmental protection.  Agencies using 
   federal funds must determine if a proposal will have a significant 
   impact on the environment, and if so, prepare an environmental 
   impact statement. 

Off peak period -- the period in the day when the demand for transit 
   and highway space is the least (non-commute hours). 

PUC -- Public Utilities Commission.  The California PUC is a judicial 
   and administrative agency that regulates public and privately owned 
   utilities, transportation companies, and highway carriers.  Some 
   cities and counties have their own PUCs, such as San Francisco's, 
   which operates the Municipal Railway. 

Paratransit -- non-scheduled transit, e.g., taxis, jitneys, dial-a-
   ride, carpools, vanpools, etc. 

Park and ride -- an auto parking facility for the transit user at 
   transit stops or terminals, to pick-up or drop off passengers. 

Peak period -- the period in the day when the demand for transit 
   service and highway space is the greatest (commute hours). 

ROW -- right of way, the strip of land over which a transportation 
   facility such as a highway or transit line is built. 

Rapid transit -- passenger trains propelled by on-board electric 
   motors drawing power from a third rail or other external power 
   source.  Has exclusive grade-separated right-of-way and platform 
   loading at stations. 

SCCTD -- Santa Clara County Transit District.  Known locally as 
   "County Transit."  Runs local bus service for Santa Clara County 
   and the Santa Clara County light-rail system. 

SFO -- San Francisco International Airport. 

SPTCo -- Southern Pacific Transportation Company.  Same as "SP", 
   "SPT". 

SamTrans -- San Mateo County Transit.  Local bus service for San Mateo 
   County as well as long-haul routes up the county to San Francisco. 

TSM -- Transportation Systems Management.  

U.S. DOT -- United States Department of Transportation. 

----------------

Comments?  Etc.

 =Aaron=
-- 
Aaron Priven, aaronrp@ucscb.ucsc.edu or fuzzface@cats.ucsc.edu
        "Men make history, but they do not do so under 
         conditions of their own choosing." -- Karl Marx