Short-Range Transit Plan Glossary of Terms
NOTE: All definitions are stated in reference to their use in the Triangle Transit Short-Range Transit Plan.
Cost recovery ratio – Also referred to as the Farebox Recovery Ratio, it is a measure of how much money a transit service provider recovers in fares compared to the cost of providing service. It is the sum of fares collected on a route divided by the operating cost of the route, expressed as a percentage.
Headway – The time, usually expressed in minutes, between trips on the same transit route. For example, Triangle Transit Route 105 operates on a 15-minute headway between approximately 6:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. This means that Route 105 buses depart every fifteen minutes from the Triangle Transit Regional Transfer Center during that time period (6:15 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 6:45 a.m., and so on until 9:15 a.m.).
Home-based work trip – A trip that starts or ends at home with the purpose of going to or from one’s place of employment
Operating cost – The cost of operating a transit service. This includes operators’ and supervisors’ salaries, maintenance, insurance, fuel, and other costs associated with providing transit service.
Person-trip – A trip by one person in any mode of transportation
Subsidy – Operating cost minus fares collected
Travel demand – The estimated number of home-based work trips taking place in 2005 during the peak commute period between the origin and destination zones of a specific transit corridor. If the destination end of the corridor includes one of the three largest universities in the area (UNC, NCSU, or Duke), university trips were also added to the travel demand. The units of travel demand are person-trips.
University trip – A trip taken by a university student that starts or ends at home with the purpose of going to or from the university.
Unlinked passenger trip – An unlinked passenger trip is counted each time a passenger boards a transit vehicle, even though the boarding may be the result of a transfer from another route to complete the same one-way journey.
Vehicle revenue hour – An hour of bus operation when the bus is in active service and can pick up or drop off passengers. Time spent driving from the garage to the first stop on the route, or from the last stop at the end of the day to the garage are NOT vehicle revenue hours.
Vehicle revenue mile - A mile of distance traveled when the bus is in active service and can pick up or drop off passengers. Miles traveled from the garage to the first stop on the route, or from the last stop at the end of the day to the garage are NOT vehicle revenue miles.
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