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Glossary of Terms

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Accessibility

The quality of being easy to obtain or use.

Autonomous vehicle

A vehicle capable of guide itself without human intervention.

B2B

Business to Business

B2C

Business to Customer.

B2G

Business to Government.

Back end

Part of the technology stack that is not accessible by the user. Typically for storing data and configuring a system that a user experiences.

Bikeshare

A fleet of pooled bikes available for public use for a fee.

C.A.S.E.

A reference that future transport will be Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electrified.

Capacity

The maximum amount that something can contain.

Carpooling

An arrangement between two or more people to share a privately owned vehicle going a similar direction.

Carsharing

A pooled fleet of vehicles that can be used by the general public for a fee. Bookings generally take place through a smartphone app or website.

Co-branded App

A smartphone app that will have common design elements across several clients or users.

Community Transport

A community led service that represents the only means of transportation for many vulnerable, isolated or elderly members of society.

Demand

A common or insistent request for a service.

Demand-Responsive Transport

(DRT) is any form of transport where the service can respond to variable demand within a specified timeframe.

Density (transport)

Represents the measurement of intensity or service load on specific transport services or infrastructure.

Dynamic Carpooling

A form of carpooling where matching, vehicle routing and scheduling is handled by an algorithm in real-time.

Dynamic fixed-route

A form of on-demand transport where a vehicle will save travel time and only stop when there are passengers to pickup.

Dynamic matching

A matching process to connect a vehicle with a trip request in real-time.

E-bike

Electric bike.

E-scooter

Electric scooter.

First-mile (shared mobility)

An initial leg of a journey that connects to another mode of transport - generally mass transit.

Fixed-route

A predefined path taken by a vehicle and repeated throughout its service hours.

Induced demand

Increasing the supply of a service or infrastructure only to result in capacity issues.

Infratech

The integration of digital technologies with physical infrastructure.

Intermodal

Involving two or modes of transport.

Labs

Liftango simulation and feasibility platform designed to test new on-demand service models.

Last-Mile

The final leg of a journey in regards to transportation, typically the final mode that connects to the destination.

Mass Transit

A form of public transport, typically in a urban setting that has a high capacity.

Merged Stops

A way to consolidate demand and optimise utilisation with on-demand transport technology.

Micromobility

Usually a form of transport provided by vehicles less than 500kg such as scooters, bikes or electric skateboards.

Microtransit

On-demand shared transport that offers flexible routing and scheduling for passengers in medium capacity vehicles.

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)

Described as a shift away from personally owned vehicles. Allowing the general public access to a network of transportation options by way of monthly subscription.

Mobility On Demand (MOD)

The ability for individuals to access various modes of public and privately owned transportation to make their journey more efficient and convenient.

Multimodal

Several different modes of activity or occurrence.

On-Demand Bus

A public or private transport service that can pickup and route passengers to their destination in a flexible manner (see Microtransit).

Operations Platform

The central administration platform specifically for organisations to run and manager their shared mobility initiatives.

P2P

Peer-to-peer.

Paratransit

A North American term to describe a flexible non-emergency medical and accessibility transport service (see Community Transport).

Park and Ride

A parking lot of area where cars can park and commuters can access convenient transport into the heart of a city.

Peak Demand

The period where a service is under the most stress to fulfill passenger requests or requirements.

Point to Hub

A form of transport that connects commuters to a mass transit hub or secondary mode of transport (see First-Mile).

Point to Point

A flexible form of transport where a passenger can specify pick up and drop off times and locations.

Private Public Partnerships (PPP)

A collaboration between a government agency and the private sector.

Proptech

Property technology. Integrating technology with the built environment (see Infratech).

Public Transportation

Taxpayer funded transportation.

Reject Rates

The rate at which an on-demand service cannot fulfill or cancels a passenger request within a given timeframe.

Ridehailing

A form of on-demand transport where a passenger can access a fleet of privately owned vehicles for personal transport for a fee.

Ridesharing

Participate in an arrangement in which a passenger travels in a private vehicle driven by its owner, for free or for a fee

Ridesourcing

Ridesourcing services use apps to connect passengers with drivers who typically drive part-time, use their own car and charge a fee for the service.

Ridesplitting

A type of ridesourcing that allow customers requesting a ride for one or two passengers to be paired in real time with others traveling along a similar route.
Source - Federal Transit Administration.

Routing Algorithm

An automated computational process that defines the best transit path between a set of origins and destinations.

Service Parameters

The constraints that dictate design and overall user experience of a transport service.

Setdown Time

The duration a vehicle is idle during passenger pickup.

Shared-Use Mobility (Shared Mobility)

Refers to the shared used of a vehicle, bicycle, or other transportation mode.

Slugging

An adhoc informal carpool for purposes of commuting.

Smart Parking

A vehicle parking system that helps drivers find a vacant spot.

Smart Parking Integration (Carpooling)

A vehicle parking system that prioritises carpool drivers for vacant parking spots.

Static Matching (Carpooling)

The process of manually matching two or more people traveling in the same direction with a single vehicle. Ususally facilitated by a website or forum where passengers or drivers can post their trip details.

Transit Operator

An organisation or agency responsible for managing buses, subways and other means of mass transportation.

Transit Tracker

A Liftango product capable of visualising vehicle movements in real-time for consumption by passengers or transit operators.

Transport Agency

A business or organisation providing a specific transport service on behalf of another business, group or government.

Trip Request (Shared Mobility)

The act of sourcing a specific transport mode to complete a leg or multiple legs of a journey.

Trip Validation

The confirmation of physical occupancy within a vehicle.

Trusted Network

A closed network model developed for carpooling by Liftango that removes the need for in-app cost-sharing transactions.

UI

User Interface.

Utilisation

The action of making practical and effective use of something, in this case, a vehicle.

UX

User Experience.

White-labelled App

A mobile application that can be modified and branded in accordance to the style guide of the client.