We use a lot of acronyms here at TransportBlog. We try to write them out in full the first time we use them in a post, but we won’t always remember – sorry in advance! With that in mind we’ve created a page (under the About heading) to list them so readers can reference them if they’re not sure what something means. Here’s an initial list some of the ones we see regularly, plus some quick definitions to help get you up to speed:
- AMETI – Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative. A large transport project that was born out of the failed Eastern Motorway project that has thankfully become more and more public transport oriented over time.
- AT – Auckland Transport. Run by the council, and “responsible for all of the region’s transport services (excluding state highways), from roads and footpaths, to cycling, parking and public transport”. Not affiliated with us.
- AWHC – Additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing. Another crossing of the Waitemata Harbour. Current proposals suggest another road crossing which has a very poor business case
- BRT – Bus Rapid Transit. What the Northern Busway is.
- CCO – Council Controlled Organisation. These include Auckland Transport, Ports of Auckland, Waterfront Auckland,Auckland Council Property Ltd and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development.
- CRL – City Rail Link. The missing link in Auckland’s train network.
- DMU – Diesel Multiple Unit. A self-contained diesel passenger train, was previously used in Auckland but no longer in service (except Pukekohe)
- FTN – Frequent Transit Network. Regular public transport services, running at least every 10-15 minutes all day.
- ECTS – European Train Control System. Part of the signalling system that controls Auckland’s trains.
- EMU – Electric Multiple Unit. An electric train, as used in Wellington and (now) Auckland
- GPS – Government Policy Statement. A high level document that specifies the governments transport priorities and sets a rough guide for how much money can be spent on each key activity
- LRT – Light Rail Transit. Often considered modern trams but LRT also generally features a lot of segregated running i.e. via its own lanes
- MOT – Ministry of Transport. The government department which provides policy advice on transport.
- NEX – Northern Express. The service that runs only on the Northern Busway
- NLTF – National Land Transport Fund. Money comes into this from petrol excise tax, road user charges and other sources. It then goes to pay for state highways, a pittance on public and active transport, and to help councils fund local projects.
- NLTP – National Land Transport Plan. – A three year plan outlining just what projects projects will receive funding across the country
- NZTA – NZ Transport Agency. The government agency responsible for state highways, the National Land Transport Fund and a number of other transport functions.
- PAUP – Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan. The proposed new planning rulebook for Auckland. It is currently going through a formal hearing process.
- PT – Public transport. Bus, train, ferry.
- PTOM – Public transport operating model. This will be a new way of awarding contracts for bus routes, and we’ll be shifting to it over the next few years.
- RLTP – Regional Land Transport Plan. A three year plan outlining just what projects projects will receive funding across the region
- RoNS – Roads of National Significance. The government’s centrepiece transport policy – a series of large motorway projects, many of which have very poor business cases.
- RPTP – Regional Public Transport Plan. This is a document created by Auckland Transport, outlining the public transport services they want to provide over the next ten years, and how they plan to deliver it.
- RTN – Rapid Transit Network. Regular public transport services, running on their own right of way so they are not affected by road congestion. Auckland’s RTN includes the trains and (to some extent) the Northern Busway.
- SA Set – Carriage trains that were pushed/pulled around the Auckland network by freight locomotives – no longer in service (except Pukekohe)
- SHA – Special Housing Area. An area the council and government have agreed to fast track housing consents in a bid to build houses faster
- SMART – South Western Multimodal Airport Rapid Transit Project. Otherwise known as Rail to the Airport
- WRR – Western Ring Route. – The name for the series of motorway projects creating a motorway from Manukau to Constellation via Waterview
There’s bound to be lots we’ve missed so please let us know and we can update the page.
Processing...
MPR – minimum parking requirements
CAF – Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, the manufacturers of Auckland’s electric trains
GNR / GSR / NNR – Great North Road / Great South Road / New North Road
BCR – Benefit Cost Ratio. A way of measuring the pros and cons of traffic projects in monetised values. Rons do not need this.
CFN?
Port of Auckland is not a CCO. ACIL is the CCO that oversees POAL on our behalf. Subsequently you forgot ACIL – Auckland Council Investments Limited
ADL (both the buses and the trains)
KR – KiwiRail
Also FTN is out of alphabetical order
At the risk of being accused of pedantry, these are nearly all abbreviations rather than acronyms – an acronym is the particular sort of abbreviation that can be pronounced as a word, such as RoNS. Try doing the same with NLTF or RPTP!
And a typo – ECTS should be ETCS.
RCA – Road Controlling Authority, such as AT and NZTA;
FAR – Financial Assistance Rate, the percentage of costs borne by NZTA;
KR – KiwiRail;
HPMV – High Productivity Motor Vehicle, i.e. larger vehicle than normally allowed to operate, requiring an NZTA-issued permit;
RMA – Resource Management Act.
FAR can also be floor-area ratio, a staple of urban planning. On that note:
THAB – terraced houses and apartment buildings, a zone in the proposed Unitary Plan
MU – mixed use, both a proposed zone in the Unitary Plan and a form of building combining multiple uses, typically commercial and residential.
RMA – resource management act (for our international readers, as http://theegonomist.co.nz/ would say)
RC – resource consent
NoR – notice of requirement
CPO – central post office, the building housing part of Britomart Station
Maybe this page should also cover general jargon, too?
By the way – if you’re writing posts or comments, you can use an abbreviation with a special HTML tag that shows the full name if you hover over it. For example: RMA.
To do it, use the <abbr> tag:
<abbr title=”Long Name For Abbreviation”>LNFA</abbr>
How do people using phones or tablets “hover”?
They don’t.
There’s various solutions to that: some mobile browsers allow you to touch the text to expand the definition. Others don’t have the option unless the website maintainer does a bit of special magic.
Right – so if you’re writing posts or comments, *please don’t* use an abbreviation with a special HTML tag, unless you want many people with tablets and smartphones to be unable to read it.
Should be ok in a post, so long as it is spelt out after the first instance. The html tag then provides an extra easy reminder for those that have access to them.
WTF The thought that arises after listening to the Minister of Transport (either the past or present one)
Yes and you can add in here FFS for similar purposes.
Traffic Calming – People inefficient measures to slow down traffic and destroy suspension in the vein hope that someone might walk somewhere they didn’t before
Poppycock
traffic calming is more about resident calming than traffic 😉
Good start. Stop been so picky everyone.
GW: last of the dinosaurs.
NAP – No Acronym Policy
CCC – Christchurch City Council
ECan – Enviroment Canterbury
CCDU – Christchurch Central Development Unit
EQC – Earthquake Commission
CERA – Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
SCIRT – Stronger Christchurch Inrastructure Rebuild Team
No FAB
NUMPTY someone who thinks cars are not going to remain the main mode of travel.
From today’s post: LOS – level of service.
“ECTS” – you meant “ETCS”