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APPENDIX C
Glossary
Alignment: The specific route or path of a new transit line (horizontal alignment), and whether
the line travels through a tunnel, at grade, or is on an aerial structure or other infrastructure
(vertical alignment).
Alternatives Analysis (AA): An early phase in planning for a major new transit construction
project, where a project sponsor, with local community involvement, evaluates a transportation
corridor and considers a range of fixed guideway and other transit alternatives.
Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC): Sometimes referred to as CM-at-Risk,
a project delivery method whereby the construction manager acts as a consultant to the project
sponsor for all pre-construction activities (e.g., project development and design phases), but as
an equivalent of a general contractor during the construction phase. In most cases this project
delivery method entails a commitment by the construction manager to deliver the project within
a guaranteed maximum price.
Cost-Effectiveness (CE): One metric by which FTA evaluates a potential New Starts project
for funding. The measure is defined as: incremental annualized capital cost, plus incremental
operating and maintenance cost, divided by the Transportation System User Benefits the project
would provide. (Previously termed by the FTA as the Cost-Effectiveness Index, or CEI)
Delivery Method: The structure and timing of a project sponsor's relationships with its con-
tractor(s) for design and construction. These methods describe how a project sponsor intends
to implement a project, and typically include designbidbuild, designbuild, and others.
DesignBidBuild (DBB): A traditional project delivery method whereby a project sponsor
produces and finalizes design before receiving bids to construct the project.
DesignBuild (DB): A less traditional project delivery method whereby a project sponsor
advances design work to a preliminary stage, and then the contractor (design builder) agrees to
complete the work of finishing the design and then the building, facility, or systems installation
to the point of readiness for operation or occupancy.
DesignBuildOperateMaintain (DBOM): Under this project delivery method, the design
builder is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project, usually for a specified
period of time.
Dummy Variable: A type of variable included in a multivariate regression to represent a value
of true (1) or false (0).
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS): When planning a major federally funded transit
project, the project sponsor may be required by the National Environmental Policy Act to study
and predict environmental impacts resulting from the project.
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Glossary 37
Final Design: A project planning phase where the project sponsor brings preliminary engi-
neering plans and designs to a finer level of detail before construction begins.
Fixed Guideway Modernization: A federal capital grant program managed by the FTA designed
to assist grantees to invest in existing rail and other fixed guideway infrastructure. Grants are
apportioned by formula.
Force Account: The compensation and benefits of a transit agency's employees who are
supporting a new capital project.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The total value of goods and services produced by a nation.
GDP is a measure of a country's national income and outputs, and a good indicator of broad
economic performance.
Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA): The alignment and mode of a new transit project chosen
during an alternatives analysis.
New Starts: A federal capital grant program managed by the FTA designed to assist grantees
to construct new public transportation infrastructure.
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA): A comprehensive federal law requiring
project sponsors to analyze the environmental impacts of any federally funded action, such as a
New Start transit project.
PM/CA: Abbreviation used in this Guidebook for project management and construction
administration soft costs.
Preliminary Engineering (PE): The initial phase in the project development process where
the project sponsor brings conceptual designs to a finer level of detail, to approximately
30% design.
Professional Services: FTA's SCC 80, Professional Services, covers all of those services and
activities commonly associated with project soft costs. This Guidebook considers FTA's defini-
tion of professional services and soft costs as being equivalent.
Project Management Oversight (PMO): The process by which the FTA oversees grantees'
project development process to ensure the grantee is meeting all federal requirements.
Project Management Plan (PMP): A plan that documents the roles, responsibilities,
procedures, and processes in place to manage and deliver a federally funded transportation
project.
Right-of-Way (ROW) Acquisition: The process of acquiring the real estate or property ease-
ments necessary for the transit project's alignment.
Root Mean Square Error: A statistical measure of the differences between actual values and
the values predicted by a model.
Small Starts: A federal capital grant program managed by the FTA, similar to New Starts but
aimed at smaller transit infrastructure projects.
Sponsor: The agency or organization with the responsibility of planning and constructing a
major new transit infrastructure project.
Standard Cost Categories (SCC): FTA's standard structure for reporting and managing project
costs. In the SCC, a project's total capital budget is broken down into categories and components
of expenditures.
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38 Estimating Soft Costs for Major Public Transportation Fixed Guideway Projects
Transportation System User Benefits: One metric FTA examines when evaluating an appli-
cation for New Starts funds; the incremental estimated mobility impacts (in terms of weighted
travel time) as compared to a baseline of a proposed New Starts project.
Turnkey: A variation of a designbuild project delivery method that includes financing or
leasing mechanisms.
Work Breakdown Structure: A structure to break down the work (and resulting costs) of a
new transit project into discrete work elements or tasks.
