Transportation Glossary

The following is a listing of transportation-related terminology and phraseology developed by CCMPO.
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Term	Acronym	Definition
Magnetic Levitation	MAGLEV	High-Speed fixed-guideway transportation systems, which utilize magnetic levitation or suspension (which counteracts gravity) instead of conventional rail infrastructure.
Maintenance Area		Any U.S. region previously designated "Nonattainment" pursuant to the Clean Air Act Ammendments of 1990 (CAAA) and subsequently redesignated to "Attainment". Such regions are subject to develop a maintenance plan under section 175A of the Clean Air Act as ammended.
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices	MUTCD	Published by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), this manual defines the standards used by road managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices (signage, pavement markings, traffic signals, etc.) on all streets and highways.
Maritime Administration	MARAD	The Maritime Administration is the agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation dealing with waterborne transportation. MARAD is responsible for waterborne transportation, the U.S. merchant marine, and other areas, such as; ships, shipping, shipbuilding, port operations, vessel operations, national security, environment, and safety.
Measures of Effectiveness	MOE	Indicators or test results reflecting degree of attainment for specific objectives.
Memorandum of Understanding	MOU	A document providing specific duties and responsibilities to be assumed by two or more parties in pursuit of a project or goal.
Metropolitan Planning Organization	MPO	Federally established organization responsible for a cooperative, continuous, and comprehensive framework to make transportation investment decisions within their designated area.
Metropolitan Statistical Area	MSA	Defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, an MSA is a county or a group of contiguous counties that contain at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more, or 2) An urbanized area of at least 50,000 inhabitants and a total MSA population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England). The contiguous counties are included in an MSA if, according to certain criteria, they are essentially metropolitan in character and are socially and economically integrated with the central city. In New England, MSAs consist of towns and cities rather than counties.
Metropolitan Transportation Plan	MTP	A federally-mandated long-range plan for transportation development and investment based on the goals in the CCMPO Vision Statement.
Metropolitan Transportation System	MTS	The multimodal network of highways, arterial and collector roadways, transit services, rail lines, Burlington International Airport, and other intermodal facilities critical to the movement of people and goods in Chittenden County.
Milemarker	MM	A milemarker (i.e. milepost) is a reflective green paddle sign placed alongside highways indicating total mileage from an original control point. For Interstates, the zero milemarker originates at the southernmost, or the westernmost end of the route. However, for other routes, the location of the zero milemarker varies. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) manages their milemarkers from South to North, and West to East. This is reflected in their distributed GIS data.
Milepost	MP	A milepost (i.e. milemarker) is a reflective green paddle sign placed alongside highways indicating total mileage from an original control point. For Interstates, the zero milepost originates at the southernmost, or the westernmost end of the route. However, for other routes, the location of the zero milepost varies. The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) manages their mileposts from South to North, and West to East. This is reflected in their distributed GIS data.
Minor Civil Division	MCD	A U.S. Census Bureau designated Minor Civil Division (MCD) is a legally specified (by State law) county governmental or administrative subdivision (e.g. township, gore, grant, unincorporated place, et al.). There states where MCDs do not exist. In such case the Census Bureau, in cooperation with state and local officials, delineates county subdivisions known as Census County Divisions (CCD). In some situations, the Census Bureau must complete the coverage of subcounty units by creating additional entities called unorganized territories (UTs) that it treats as being statistically equivalent to MCDs.
Mobile Source Pollutants		Vehicle-generated pollutants as regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for air quality. These include; Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons (HC) or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Small Particulate Matter (PM-10), and Large Particulate Matter (PM 2.5).
Mobile6		A vehicle emission modelling software, which develops factors for predicting gram per mile emissions of Hydrocarbons (HC), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Particulate Matter (PM), and toxics from mobile sources under various conditions. This model has been upgraded/replaced by a model called MOVES.
Mobility		The door-to-door experience of traveling or shipping goods throughout our communities and across the region, measured in terms of travel time, comfort, convenience, safety, and cost.
Mode		One of several major types of transportation such as rail, bus, automobile, and non-motorized (bicycle/pedestrian) transportation.
Mode Choice		A process by which an individual selects a transportation mode for use on a trip chain, given the trip’s purpose, origin, and destination; characteristics of the individual; and characteristics of travel by the realistically available modes.
Mode Split		The percentage, or share, of trips captured by the various transportation modes.
Model		In Transportation or Land-Use Planning, a computer model is employed to generate forecasts on future conditions of population levels, traffic, economic development, housing development, etc. Such a tool ought to be considered a Decision-Support system, augementing sound judgement of a decision-making entity.
Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator	MOVES	EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) is developing the "MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator" (MOVES). The successor to MOBILE6, this more recent emission modeling system estimates emissions for on-road and nonroad mobile sources, covers a broader range of pollutants, and allows multiple scale analysis from fine-scale analysis to national inventory estimation. MOVES is planned to serve as the replacement for MOBILE6 and NONROAD for all official analyses associated with regulatory development, compliance with statutory requirements, and national/regional inventory projections.
Multimodal		Using several integrated modes of transportation (rail or bus transit, carpool, bicycle, pedestrian, single-occupancy vehicle, etc.) in a given area.
Municipal Separate Stormwater Sewer System	MS4	Roads with drainage systems, municipal streets, catchbasins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, or storm drains, which are owned by a public body and are designed to collect or convey stormwater. MS4 does not include infrastructure that is a combined sewer or part of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) as defined by 40 CFR 122.2.

OTHER TRANSPORT TERMINOLOGY REFERENCES: