S#

Schedule#

The listed departure and/or arrival times of public transport services. It determines the rate at which Transit Units are dispatched for service.

Scheduled Service#

The total time a public transport service is designed to regularly perform its primary function of transporting people.

A system’s scheduled service can be found from documents such as public timetables and schedules.

Scope Creep#

a.k.a. “Project Creep”, “Feature Creep”

A phenomenon where a project’s requirements, costs, or features increase over its lifecycle. Commonly observed in construction and infrastructural projects.

Scope Creep can be damaging to a public sector project and its responsible agency’s image. Building in sufficient contingencies or buffering to anticipate time and cost overruns is important in managing public expectations of new public transport projects.

Service Span#

The period of time that a public transport service is scheduled to operate and be publicly accessible. This can be in terms of hours in a day (i.e. 06:00 to 21:00), or days of a year (i.e. all days excluding public holidays).

Spare Ratio#

A benchmark value measuring the proportion of a public transit service provider’s fleet that is held in reserve and unused. This metric is important for ensuring that agencies have contingencies in the event active vehicles fall out of service, whether due to mechanical reasons or unpredictable causes such as road traffic collisions.

Metrics:

  • Percentage (%)

In the USA, the Federal Transit Administration requires that all United States public transport agencies to maintain a 20% spare ratio.

Speed#

Operating Speed

The actual velocity of a Transit Unit in service, based on roadside conditions.

Maximum Technical Speed

abbrev. “MTS”

The highest possible speed that a public transport Vehicle

State of Good Repair#

A asset management principle that public transport agencies adopt to maintain a working fleet and infrastructure to a high standard, incorporating preventative measures and practices.

Station#

A dedicated facility for Boarding and Alighting activities (for passengers), or loading and unloading activities (cargo), that is commonly equipped with a platform and other amenities.

Stations are generally Grade Separation, as opposed to Stops which are generally integrated at street level.

Station Area Coverage#

The area within 400 meters (1/4 mile) or a five minute walk from a stop or station.

It signifies the destinations deemed reasonably accessible from the given transportation infrastructure.

Metrics:

  • Discrete number of specific destinations i.e. supermarkets/grocery stores

  • Area (in square metres or miles)

This information can often be found using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis tools or network analysis.