Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Transportation
Chapter Trans 6 - Rural And Small Urban Area Public Transportation Assistance Program
Section Trans 6.02 - Definitions
Current through February 26, 2024
(1) "Capital equipment" means non-expendable personal property for use in the provision of public transportation service and having all of the following:
(1g) "Capitalized maintenance project" means vehicle and facility related maintenance which a mass transit system has classified as a capital project as allowed under 49 USC chapter 53.
(1r) "Department" means the Wisconsin department of transportation.
(2) "Eligible applicant" means a local public body or federally recognized American Indian tribal governing body.
(2m) "Eligible project cost" means an expense that an eligible applicant incurs in the operation or capitalization of a public transportation service for which it is eligible to receive federal section 5311 funds.
(3) "Eligible public transportation service" means a public transportation service operating or designed to operate in rural or small urban areas.
(4) "Federal section 5311 funds" means all funds appropriated to the state for use in the federal program for public transportation projects in small urban, rural and intercity areas.
(4m) "Federal section 5307 funds" has the meaning given in s. Trans 8.02 (4).
(5) "Intercity bus service" means regularly scheduled bus service for the general public that operates over routes connecting 2 or more urbanized areas and serving rural or small urban areas, or both.
(5g) "Job access and reverse commute project" means a transportation project to finance planning, capital, or operating costs that support the development and maintenance of transportation services designed to transport welfare recipients and low-income individuals to and from jobs and employment-related activities, including transportation projects that facilitate the provision of public transportation services from rural and urbanized areas to suburban employment locations.
(5r) "Local contribution" means operating deficit less federal and state operating assistance received.
(6) "Local public body" means one the following:
(6m) "Low-income individual" means an individual whose family income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line, as that term is defined in section 673 (2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act, 42 USC 9902(2), including any revision required by that section.
(7) "Operating deficit" means the difference between the costs of operating an eligible public transportation service and the revenues derived therefrom. User subsidies such as transportation stamps are not considered to be operating project costs for purposes of this chapter.
(7m) "Operating project cost" means a cost accruing to a public transportation service by virtue of its operations, including a cost to subsidize fares paid by individuals with disabilities for transportation within the urban area of the eligible applicant, or its maintenance activities.
(8) "Private provider" means a privately owned (for-profit or nonprofit) entity that provides public transportation service.
(8m) "Project" means operation of a public transportation service or subsystem thereof during a project year, or purchase of capital equipment for use in a service or subsystem thereof.
(9) "Project year" means a calendar year.
(10) "Public transportation service" means a passenger transportation service that is provided to the general public on a regular and continuing basis by a public agency or private firm, and that is authorized by the office of the department secretary under ch. 194, Stats., unless exempt under s. 85.20(5), Stats., or under ch. 194, Stats. The service may be provided by bus, rail, shared-ride taxicab or other conveyance. The service may constitute an entire public transit system or may be an individual route or a segment of a route provided by a common carrier of passengers. A transportation service provided exclusively for a subgroup of the general public is not considered to be a "public transportation service" for purposes of this chapter, unless it is part of an overall public transit service.
(10m) "Rural area" means an area that has not been designated as an "urban area" by the U.S. bureau of the census.
(11) "Small urban area" means any area that includes a city or village having a population of at least 2,500, but not more than 49,999. The department shall determine the population of a city or village within a small urban area using the most recent estimates prepared by the department of administration.
(12) "Station revenues" means those revenues which are derived from the operation of a public transportation facility. Such revenues include concessions, storage rentals, parking, office space rental, and other miscellaneous sources.
(13) "Through revenue" means revenue derived from passengers whose trips begin and end outside an eligible project route but whose route of travel includes the eligible project route.
(14) "Urbanized area" means an area of the state so defined by the U.S. bureau of the census.
(14m) "Useful life" means a minimum time period, specified by the department, during which an asset is expected to remain in suitable operating condition for continued use in its intended capacity.
(15) "User-side subsidy" means a program whereby users of a transit service are permitted to purchase transportation vouchers at prices substantially below the fares charged by the transit provider, or are given ride vouchers free of charge. Users may exchange these vouchers for transportation services, and the provider may then redeem them for the full fare.
(16) "Welfare recipient" means an individual who has received assistance under a State or tribal program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, 42 USC 601 et seq., at any time during the previous three-year period.
