All terms defined in 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53 are incorporated into this part by reference. The following terms also apply to this part:

Accountable Executive means a single, identifiable person who has ultimate responsibility for carrying out the safety management system of a public transportation agency; responsibility for carrying out transit asset management practices; and control or direction over the human and capital resources needed to develop and maintain both the agency's public transportation agency safety plan, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5329(d), and the agency's transit asset management plan in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 5326.

Asset category means a grouping of asset classes, including a grouping of equipment, a grouping of rolling stock, a grouping of infrastructure, and a grouping of facilities. See Appendix A to this part.

Asset class means a subgroup of capital assets within an asset category. For example, buses, trolleys, and cutaway vans are all asset classes within the rolling stock asset category. See Appendix A to this part.

Asset inventory means a register of capital assets, and information about those assets.

Capital asset means a unit of rolling stock, a facility, a unit of equipment, or an element of infrastructure used for providing public transportation.

Decision support tool means an analytic process or methodology:

(1) To help prioritize projects to improve and maintain the state of good repair of capital assets within a public transportation system, based on available condition data and objective criteria; or

(2) To assess financial needs for asset investments over time.

Direct recipient means an entity that receives Federal financial assistance directly from the Federal Transit Administration.

Equipment means an article of nonexpendable, tangible property having a useful life of at least one year.

Exclusive-use maintenance facility means a maintenance facility that is not commercial and either owned by a transit provider or used for servicing their vehicles.

Facility means a building or structure that is used in providing public transportation.

Full level of performance means the objective standard established by FTA for determining whether a capital asset is in a state of good repair.

Group TAM plan means a single TAM plan that is developed by a sponsor on behalf of at least one tier II provider.

Horizon period means the fixed period of time within which a transit provider will evaluate the performance of its TAM plan.

Implementation strategy means a transit provider's approach to carrying out TAM practices, including establishing a schedule, accountabilities, tasks, dependencies, and roles and responsibilities.

Infrastructure means the underlying framework or structures that support a public transportation system.

Investment prioritization means a transit provider's ranking of capital projects or programs to achieve or maintain a state of good repair. An investment prioritization is based on financial resources from all sources that a transit provider reasonably anticipates will be available over the TAM plan horizon period.

Key asset management activities means a list of activities that a transit provider determines are critical to achieving its TAM goals.

Life-cycle cost means the cost of managing an asset over its whole life.

Participant means a tier II provider that participates in a group TAM plan.

Performance Measure means an expression based on a quantifiable indicator of performance or condition that is used to establish targets and to assess progress toward meeting the established targets (e.g., a measure for on-time performance is the percent of trains that arrive on time, and a corresponding quantifiable indicator of performance or condition is an arithmetic difference between scheduled and actual arrival time for each train).

Performance target means a quantifiable level of performance or condition, expressed as a value for the measure, to be achieved within a time period required by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Public transportation system means the entirety of a transit provider's operations, including the services provided through contractors.

Public transportation agency safety plan means a transit provider's documented comprehensive agency safety plan that is required by 49 U.S.C. 5329.

Recipient means an entity that receives Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 53, either directly from FTA or as a subrecipient.

Rolling stock means a revenue vehicle used in providing public transportation, including vehicles used for carrying passengers on fare-free services.

Service vehicle means a unit of equipment that is used primarily either to support maintenance and repair work for a public transportation system or for delivery of materials, equipment, or tools.

Sponsor means a State, a designated recipient, or a direct recipient that develops a group TAM for at least one tier II provider.

State of good repair (SGR) means the condition in which a capital asset is able to operate at a full level of performance.

Subrecipient means an entity that receives Federal transit grant funds indirectly through a State or a direct recipient.

TERM scale means the five (5) category rating system used in the Federal Transit Administration's Transit Economic Requirements Model (TERM) to describe the condition of an asset: 5.0—Excellent, 4.0—Good; 3.0—Adequate, 2.0—Marginal, and 1.0—Poor.

Tier I provider means a recipient that owns, operates, or manages either (1) one hundred and one (101) or more vehicles in revenue service during peak regular service across all fixed route modes or in any one non-fixed route mode, or (2) rail transit.

Tier II provider means a recipient that owns, operates, or manages (1) one hundred (100) or fewer vehicles in revenue service during peak regular service across all non-rail fixed route modes or in any one non-fixed route mode, (2) a subrecipient under the 5311 Rural Area Formula Program, (3) or any American Indian tribe.

Transit asset management (TAM) means the strategic and systematic practice of procuring, operating, inspecting, maintaining, rehabilitating, and replacing transit capital assets to manage their performance, risks, and costs over their life cycles, for the purpose of providing safe, cost-effective, and reliable public transportation.

Transit asset management (TAM) plan means a plan that includes an inventory of capital assets, a condition assessment of inventoried assets, a decision support tool, and a prioritization of investments.

Transit asset management (TAM) policy means a transit provider's documented commitment to achieving and maintaining a state of good repair for all of its capital assets. The TAM policy defines the transit provider's TAM objectives and defines and assigns roles and responsibilities for meeting those objectives.

Transit asset management (TAM) strategy means the approach a transit provider takes to carry out its policy for TAM, including its objectives and performance targets.

Transit asset management system means a strategic and systematic process of operating, maintaining, and improving public transportation capital assets effectively, throughout the life cycles of those assets.

Transit provider (provider) means a recipient or subrecipient of Federal financial assistance under 49 U.S.C. chapter 53 that owns, operates, or manages capital assets used in providing public transportation.

Useful life means either the expected life cycle of a capital asset or the acceptable period of use in service determined by FTA.

Useful life benchmark (ULB) means the expected life cycle or the acceptable period of use in service for a capital asset, as determined by a transit provider, or the default benchmark provided by FTA.