Spare ratio

Last updated February 23, 2019

A spare ratio or spares ratio is the percentage of unused vehicles operated by a public transport operator during peak service periods. It is calculated as a simple percentage of the total fleet size.^[1]

Public transport is transport of passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public, typically managed on a schedule, operated on established routes, and that charge a posted fee for each trip. Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail. High-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world.

A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday; once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening, the times during which the most people commute. The term is often used for a period of peak congestion that may last for more than one hour.

$Percentage number or ratio as a fraction of 100,parts per 100$

In mathematics, a percentage is a number or ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. It is often denoted using the percent sign, "%", or the abbreviations "pct.", "pct"; sometimes the abbreviation "pc" is also used. A percentage is a dimensionless number.

In the United States, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) sets a 20 percent guideline for the spare ratio in a fleet of at least 50 vehicles.^[2]

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT. Headed by an Administrator who is appointed by the President of the United States, the FTA functions through a Washington, D.C., headquarters office and ten regional offices which assist transit agencies in all states, the District of Columbia, and the territories. Until 1991, it was known as the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA).

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References

↑ MacKechnie, Christopher (May 31, 2016). "Transit 101: The Spare Ratio". About.com . Retrieved August 1, 2016.
↑ "FTA Circular 9030.1C: Urbanized Area Formula Program: Program Guidance and Application Instructions". Federal Transit Administration. August 27, 2012. p. 5. Retrieved August 1, 2016.

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[1] MacKechnie, Christopher (May 31, 2016). "Transit 101: The Spare Ratio". About.com . Retrieved August 1, 2016.

[2] "FTA Circular 9030.1C: Urbanized Area Formula Program: Program Guidance and Application Instructions". Federal Transit Administration. August 27, 2012. p. 5. Retrieved August 1, 2016.