Transportation authority

Government agency responsible for transportation-related matters

This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Transportation authority" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation

Headquarters of the United States Department of Transportation

A transportation authority, transportation agency, or transportation department is a government agency that regulates, manages, or administers transportation-related matters, such as roads, transportation infrastructure, traffic management, or traffic code.^[1]^[2]

Transportation authorities go by a number of names, such as "department of transportation" or "ministry of transport", among others. They often manage other government agencies that oversee specific fields of transportation, such as civil aviation authorities, highway authorities, logistics regulators, rail transport regulators, maritime transport regulators, and transportation safety boards.

Some transportation authorities, such as Greater Vancouver's Translink, have the power to impose excise taxes (fuel taxes) on gasoline, diesel fuel, and other motor fuels.

In North America, the term "transportation authority" is often used to refer to public transport agencies operating buses and rapid transit in metropolitan areas, otherwise referred to as transit districts or passenger transport executives. Examples of such public transport authorities (or public transit authorities) include the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the Toronto Area Transportation Operating Authority.

v t e Public transport
Bus service	Bus driver list Bus rapid transit Express bus Guided bus Trackless Tram Intercity bus Open top bus Charabanc Public light bus Rail replacement bus Share taxi/Taxibus Marshrutka Pesero Shuttle bus Transit bus Trolleybus
Rail	Passenger rail terminology glossary Airport rail link Commuter rail Elevated railway Funicular Heritage railway Heritage streetcar High-speed rail Higher-speed rail Inter-city rail Interurban Maglev Monorail Narrow-gauge railway People mover Railbus Metro/Rapid Transit Medium-capacity rail system Rubber-tyred metro Regional rail Street running Suspension railway Tram Cable car Horsecar Light rail Tram-train
Vehicles for hire	Auto rickshaw taxi Boda boda Combination bus Cycle rickshaw Demand-responsive transport Microtransit Paratransit Dollar van Dolmuş Hackney carriage Jeepney Limousine Motorcycle taxi Marshrutka Nanny van Personal rapid transit Pesero Public light bus Pulled rickshaw Share taxi Songthaew Taxi Tuk tuk
Carpooling	Car jockey Flexible carpooling Real-time ridesharing Slugging Vanpool
Ship	Cable ferry Ferry Gondola Hovercraft Hydrofoil Ocean liner Vaporetto Water taxi
Cable	Aerial tramway Cable ferry Cable railway Elevator Funicular Gondola lift bicable tricable Inclined elevator
Other transport	Airline Airliner Carsharing Bicycle-sharing Scooter-sharing Elevator Escalator Horse-drawn vehicle Hyperloop Inclined elevator Moving walkway Personal transporter Robotaxi Shweeb Slope car Trackless train Vactrain
Locations	Airport Bus bulb Bus garage Bus lane Bus stand Bus station Bus stop Bus turnout (bus bay) Dry dock Ferry terminal Hangar Harbor Interchange station Kassel kerb Layover Metro station Park and ride Port Queue jump Taxicab stand Train station Tram stop Transit mall Transport hub
Ticketing and fares	Automated fare collection Bus advertising Contract of carriage Dead mileage Exit fare Fare avoidance Fare capping Fare evasion Free public transport Free travel pass Integrated ticketing Manual fare collection Money train Paid area Penalty fare Proof-of-payment Reduced fare program Transfer Transit pass
Routing	Circle route Cross-city route Network length Non-revenue track Radial route Transport network
Facilities	Checked baggage First class Sleeper Standing passenger Travel class
Scheduling	Bus bunching Clock-face scheduling Headway Night (owl) service On-time performance Public transport timetable Short turn
Politics	Airport security Complete streets Green transport hierarchy Farebox recovery ratio Rail subsidies Security Street hierarchy Transit district Transit police Transportation authority Transportation demand management Transportation planning Transit-oriented development (TOD)
Technology and signage	Destination sign Passenger information system Platform display Platform screen doors Smart cards CIPURSE Calypso Ticket machine Timetable Transit map
Other topics	Boarding Bus rapid transit creep Crush load Dwell time Hail and ride Land transport Outline of transport Passenger load factor Public good Request stop Service Sustainable transport Timing point Transport economics Micromobility
icon Transport portal

References

[edit ]

^ "Department of Transportation". merriam-webster.com. Merriam-Webster Inc. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
^ Black, Henry Campbell; Garner, Bryan Andrew (2009). Black's law dictionary (9th ed.). St. Paul, Minn: West. p. 502. ISBN 978-0314199492.