This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2012) |
Atransit districtortransit authorityis agovernment agencyor apublic-benefit corporationcreated for the purpose of providingpublic transportationwithin a specific region.
A transit district may operatebus,railor other types of transport includingferryservice, or may operate other facilities. In some cases, the transit district may be part of a larger organization such as a state Department of Transportation.
Australia
edit- Translinkwhich manages buses, trains and ferries inSouth East Queensland,Australia.
Austria
editWith seven transport associations responsible for the nine federal states of Austria, it is the only country in the world that has transport associations for each federal state except for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland which are organised in one association (Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region).
Canada
editIn Canada, transit (or transport or transportation) is mostly of the domain oflocal government,with some coordination by the provinces. MostCanadian citieshave a transit authority.
France
editÎle-de-France Mobilitéssupervises transport in theÎle de Franceregion.
Germany
editAs part of the big deregulation package passed by theBundestagin 1993, which mainly merged the two state railways of West and East Germany into one single company governed by private law instead of public law, regional transport and transit had been assigned to theBundesländer (federal states),who had each to pass their own individual law regulating public transit, whereby "regional" was defined as journeys "typically not over distances more than 50 km (30 mi), and not taking longer than one hour".
Sweden
editProviding public transit is the joint responsibility of the local county and municipal governments per The Public Transportation Act (2010:1065). Transit is most often organised on the county level, but in the sparsely populated north, some municipalities opt to run a city bus network separated from the county network.
Some counties opt to run joint commuter train networks In the north, this is also done with coaches which run on lines, sometimes hundreds of kilometres long.
United Kingdom
editTransport for London,which operates theLondon Underground,London Overgroundand theDLR,an extensivebus network,tram services,riverboat services,thePublic Carriage Office(responsible forblack cabs),London Dial-a-Ride,streets in London,theLondon congestion chargeand alimited coach service.TheOyster cardelectronic ticketing scheme is also operated by Transport for London, and can be used on the underground, overground, buses, trams and the DLR.
United States
editIn the United States, a transit district is aspecial-purpose districtorganized either as a corporation chartered bystatuteor as a government agency. A district is usually contained within one state, but in rare circumstances may cover two or more states. The term used depends on which part of the country the agency is created in. Typically, western states will create a "transit district" and eastern states create a "transit authority" but the type of agency is generally the same.
A transit district is created to give it the power of the government in dealing with solving problems related totransitissues. This includes the powers ofeminent domainto obtain space forrights-of-way(e.g. forrailwaysorbusways), the ability to imposeexcise,income,property,and/orsalestaxesto fund subsidies of operating costs of local transportation, and the ability to operate independently of the cities and counties that the transit district operates within. A transit district may also have its owntransit policeforce, although in some areas the local police provide a special bureau for this purpose.
Some of the more famous transit districts in the U.S. include:
- TheMetropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA),serving 12 counties in southeasternNew York stateincludingNew York City,along with two counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to theConnecticut Department of Transportation;
- TheNew York City Transit Authoritywhich operatesNew York City's subway trains and municipal buses;[1]
- ThePort Authority of New York and New Jerseywhich operatesNew York City'sPort Authority Bus Terminaland thePort Authority Trans-Hudson(PATH) trains, and was the owner of theWorld Trade Centercomplex;
- TheWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,which operates the bus andMetrorailsystem inWashington, D.C.,and suburbanMarylandandVirginia;
- The formerSouthern California Rapid Transit District,which operated most of the bus systems inLos Angeles County, Californiaas well as parts ofOrange,RiversideandSan Bernardinocounties from August 18, 1964, until April 1, 1993, when it was converted into theLos Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority;
- TheChicago Transit Authority,which operates all bus routes which run within the boundaries of Chicago, as well as theChicago 'L';
- TheCentral Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority,shortened to Sound Transit (ST), which operatesSounder(commuter rail),Link(light rail), andST Expressbus service in theSeattle metropolitan area;
- TheUtah Transit Authority(UTA), which operates theFrontRunner(commuter rail),TRAX(light rail), and bus service along theWasatch Front(Salt Lake-Odgen-Provometropolitan area);