Transportation Glossary

The following is a listing of transportation-related terminology and phraseology developed by CCMPO.
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Term	Acronym	Definition
FTA Section 5307		Grant program for capital and operating assistance in urban areas with populations greater than 50,000.
FTA Section 5309		Grant for capital programs such as buses and bus facilities.
FTA Section 5310		Grant program to states for assisting private non-profit groups in meeting the transportation needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities.
FTA Section 5317		New Freedom Program. Grant program to encourage services and facility improvements to address the transportation needs of persons with disabilities that go beyond those required by the ADA.
Fare Elasticity		The extent to which ridership responds to fare increases or decreases.
Farebox Recovery Ratio		The proportion of revenue generated through fares by paying customers as a fraction of the cost of total operating expenses. The system-wide farebox recovery rate for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) for 2009 was in the range of 20-25%, with the ratio on the LINK routes substantially higher.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System	FARS	FARS is a federal census of crashes involving any motor vehicle on a trafficway, but only in fatal crashes. It is generally considered to be the most reliable national crash database. A large truck is defined in the FARS as a truck with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 10,000 pounds. A bus is defined in the FARS as a large motor vehicle used to carry more than 10 passengers, including school buses, inter-city buses, and transit buses. FARS is maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Federal Aviation Administration	FAA	U.S. Department of Transportation agency responsible for aviation related programs.
Federal Highway Administration	FHWA	U.S. Department of Transportation agency responsible for highways.
Federal Railroad Administration	FRA	U.S. Department of Transportation agency responsible for railroad programs.
Federal Transit Administration	FTA	U.S. Department of Transportation agency that administers federal funding to support a variety of locally planned, constructed, and operated public transportation systems throughout the U.S., including buses, subways, light rail, commuter rail, streetcars, monorail, passenger ferry boats, inclined railways, and people movers.
Federal-Aid Highway		Defined in 23 United States Code 101(a) as highways on the Federal-aid highway systems and all other public roads not classified as local roads or rural minor collectors. In the context of "Functional Classification", highways on the Federal-Aid System consist of; 1. A road in an Urban area that is at least an "Urban Collector" or higher (Functional Classes 1, 2, 6, & 7). 2. A road in a Rural area that is at least a “Rural Major Collector” or higher (Functional Classes 11, 12, 14, 16, & 17). Highways not on the Federal-Aid System consist of; "Urban Local Access", "Rural Minor Collector", & "Rural Local Access" (Functional Classes 19, 8, & 9 respectively).
Federal-Aid Interstate	FAI	Originally authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, a system for the allocation of funds by formula was developed for Interstates, which was based the most heavily travelled routes of the Federal-Aid Primary system. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, which required the use of "Functional Highway Classification" to update and modify the Federal-aid highway systems by July 1, 1976 replaced this classification scheme.
Federal-Aid Primary	FAP	Originally authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, a system for the allocation of funds by formula was developed based on area, population, and route miles. The Federal-Aid Primary system was considered the primary travelled roads. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, which required the use of "Functional Highway Classification" to update and modify the Federal-aid highway systems by July 1, 1976 replaced this classification scheme.
Federal-Aid Secondary	FAS	Originally authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944, a system for the allocation of funds by formula was developed based on area, population, and route miles. The Federal-Aid Secondary system was considered the "Farm-to-Market" roads. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973, which required the use of "Functional Highway Classification" to update and modify the Federal-aid highway systems by July 1, 1976 replaced this classification scheme.
Federal-Aid System	FAS	Defined in 23 United States Code 101(a) as highways on the Federal-aid highway systems and all other public roads not classified as local roads or rural minor collectors. In the context of "Functional Classification", highways on the Federal-Aid System consist of; 1. A road in an Urban area that is at least an "Urban Collector" or higher (Functional Classes 1, 2, 6, & 7). 2. A road in a Rural area that is at least a “Rural Major Collector” or higher (Functional Classes 11, 12, 14, 16, & 17). Highways not on the Federal-Aid System consist of; "Urban Local Access", "Rural Minor Collector", & "Rural Local Access" (Functional Classes 19, 8, & 9 respectively).
Federal-Aid Urban	FAU	Those roads within Urbanized Areas (UA) that are designated upon the Federal-Aid System (FAS), and are functionally classed as; 11 (Urban Interstate), 12 (Urban Other Freeway or Expressway), 14 (Urban Other Principal Arterial), 16 (Urban Minor Arterial), or 17 (Urban Collector).
Feeder Service		Local transport providing passengers with connections to a longer service.
Field of View	FOV	Field of View
Finding of No Significant Impact	FONSI	If a "Finding of No Significant Impact" is concluded from an Environmental Assessment, a full EIS would not be required for the project.
Fiscal Year	FY	The Fiscal Year for the State of Vermont and the CCMPO is July 1 – June 30, while the TIP and STIP follow the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) of October 1 – September 30.
Fixed Guideway	FG	A public transportation facility, which utilizes and occupies a separate right-of-way (ROW), or rail line, for the exclusive use of mass transportation and other high occupancy vehicles, or uses a fixed catenary system and a right of way usable by other forms of transportation. This term may include modes such as; rapid rail, light rail, commuter rail, automated guideway transit, people movers, ferry boat service, and fixed-guideway facilities for buses (such as bus rapid transit - BRT) and other high occupancy vehicles.
Fixed-Based Operator	FBO	Provider of aviation support services at airports, such as; fueling, line, paint, avionics, aircraft maintenance, hangar, catering, and other ground and/or logistical services.
Flexible Funds		Federal transportation funding that may be used for highway and/or transit.
Flood Zone A		Areas of a 100-year flood (1% chance flooding in a year). Such data represents a starting-point for floodplain mapping and should be used with caution as it may be highly inaccurate in some locations. Site-specific determinations should be done using the official source Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), site inspections, interviews of people who witnessed historic floods, and if needed, hydrologic engineering studies.
Flood Zone B		Areas between a 100-year and 500-year flood (0.2% chance flooding in a year). Such data represents a starting-point for floodplain mapping and should be used with caution as it may be highly inaccurate in some locations. Site-specific determinations should be done using the official source Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), site inspections, interviews of people who witnessed historic floods, and if needed, hydrologic engineering studies.
Floodplain		The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulates any development in mapped floodplains based on the 100-year flood (i.e. those areas which have a 1% chance of a flood in any given year). Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued Flood maps delineate 100-year floodplains, as well as 500-year floodplains (i.e. those areas which have a 0.2% chance of a flood in any given year).
Fog Line	FOGL	Reflective white lines painted along the shoulder of a road demarking the legally extent a motor vehicle is allowed to operate.
Formula Grants		Funds distributed according to some legislated or regulated scheme.
Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit	FEU	A Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit is used to express shipping or capacity volume of freight. Using the ISO standard of double the 20-foot shipping container (i.e. TEU - Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit) as a means of measurement, FEUs further summarise a general sense of freight traffic moving through major shipping ports commonly reported by government or industry. A FEU is an approximate measure of two containerized cargo units (20 ft. long * 8 ft. wide container), which does not account for container height. An FEU is generally the amount of freight carried by a standard 18-wheel tractor-trailer hauling a 48' trailer.
Freeway		A divided arterial highway designed for unimpeded flow of large traffic volumes, have controlled access, and grade separation from intersecting roads.
Freight Analysis Framework	FAF	Federal freight transportation data integration project, obtaining data from various sources to estimate and forecast freight activity among states, regions, and major international gateways.
Fringe Parking		Refers to any designated parking facility located outside a Central Business District (CBD) or other commercial activity center.
Frontage Road		A road abutting a limited-access highway that provides a means of access between the highway and local roads.
Full Truck Load Carrier	FTL	Full truckload carriers usually haul freight in single moves from shipper to receiver. "For-hire TL carriers" haul freight and special commodities in full truckload quantities, often in long-hauls (less than 500 miles up to a “transcontinental” haul) on irregular schedules determined by demand of shippers and receivers. "Private TL carriers" haul special commodities in truckload quantities, usually between manufacturing plants and warehouses as an in-house service.
Functional Classification	FC	A Federal Highway Administration road designation scheme for rural, small urban, and urbanized areas. Functional classification defines the role that any particular road or street should play in servicing the flow of trips through a highway network. Standards for highway classification were developed during 1969-1971 using criteria and procedures specified in the 1968 National Highway Functional Classification Study Manual. The scheme may be expressed as: 1 = Rural Interstate, 2 = Rural Principle Arterial, 6 = Rural Minor Arterial, 7 = Rural Major Collector, 8 = Rural Minor Collector, 9 = Rural Local Access, 11 = Urban Interstate, 12 = Urban Other Freeway or Expressway, 14 = Urban Other Principal Arterial, 16 = Urban Minor Arterial, 17 = Urban Collector, 19 = Urban Local Access.

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