Glossary

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): A high capacity and reliability transport system. Often BRT has dedicated lanes or roads and priority when stopped at an intersection (ie. light will change faster for a bus).

Light Rail Transit (LRT): A tram-style passenger train that runs at a higher speed and capacity than traditional tram. Most of Cap Metro’s Project Connect plan is LRT.

Single Family Home (SFH): A style of housing and zoning that places a single home for a single family on a lot. This style of home building is the de facto standard for much of the US due to highly restrictive regulations that prevent other types of housing from being built in most places.

Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD / TOD): A high level goal of cities to create housing close to transit. Equitable in this case means creating developments that house people of varied income levels and backgrounds. Typically cities will create an ETOD/TOD plan and then enact laws and take other measures to encourage development in key transit areas.

Right of Way (ROW): Refers to land that is owned by a department, city, or other entity that can be used for transportation.

CoA: The City of Austin.

Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO): Federally mandated and funded regional organizations that create transit policy for that region.

MFI / Median Family Income: Defined as the median income for a 4-person household in the Austin-Round Rock area. This amount was $110,300 in 2022 and is adjusted depending on the number of people in the household. For example the 2-person household equivalent in 2022 was $88,250.