Section 653.30  Definitions

The following words and phrases as used in this Part shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section.

"Act" means the Downstate Public Transportation Act [30 ILCS 740/Arts. I and II].

            "AICPA" means the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

"Applicant" means any eligible participant who applies for an operating assistance grant under the Act and this Part.

"Application" means those materials and forms required by the Department to be submitted by an applicant in support of its request for operating assistance. (See Sections 2-5 and 2-5.1 of the Act.)

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Public and Intermodal Transportation. (Section 2-2.01 of the Act)

"Demand Response Service" means a non-fixed route shared use service operating in response to pre-arranged time and location requests from passengers, or their agents, to the transit operator.

"Deviated Fixed Route Service" means transit service that operates along a fixed alignment or path at generally fixed times but may deviate from the route alignment to collect or drop off passengers who have requested the deviation.

"Eligible Operating Expenses" means all expenses required for public transportation, as defined in Section 2-2.04 of the Act and Section 653.111 of this Part.

"Fiscal Year" means the fiscal year of the State of Illinois that begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. (Section 2-2.06 of the Act)

"Fixed Route Service" means public transportation service provided on a repetitive, fixed-schedule basis along a specific route, stopping to pick up and deliver passengers to specific locations.

"FTA" means the Federal Transit Administration of the United States Department of Transportation, or its successor.

"Grant Contract" means the written agreement between the applicant and the Department defining the program, funding limits and terms of the grant.

"Ineligible Operating Expenses" means those expenses ineligible for State operating assistance, as defined in Section 2-2.04 of the Act and Section 653.112 of this Part.

"OMB" means the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

"Operating Deficit" means operating deficits as defined in Section 2-2.03 of the Act.

"Participant" means any eligible participant as defined in Section 2-2.02 of the Act who has received an appropriation from the Illinois General Assembly for downstate operating assistance.

"Preliminary Application" means those materials and forms prescribed by the Department to be submitted by an applicant in support of its projected request for operating assistance in the next fiscal year.

"Program of Proposed Expenditures" or "POPE" means those activities, services and proposed eligible operating expenditures to be provided by the applicant that directly relate to the operation, maintenance or improvement of general public transportation service benefiting the residents of the applicant.

"Public Transportation" means the transportation or conveyance of persons by means available to the general public including groups of the general public with special needs:

within the urbanized area; or

in the nonurbanized areas within the service area of each participant as approved by the Department, except for transportation by automobiles not used for conveyance of the general public as passengers.  (Section 2-2.05 of the Act) 

Service in a participant's service area may be provided by either:

     another eligible participant through an intergovernmental agreement; or

a private for-profit operator through a third party contract or a private non-profit operator through a pass through agreement or third party contract.

"Purchased Transportation" means those public transportation activities procured by a participant and provided by a third party through contracts.

"Service Area" means a participant's territorial boundaries plus service extensions or contiguous service areas approved by the Department.

"State" means the State of Illinois.

"Territorial boundaries" means:

the municipal boundaries of a municipal participant plus the boundaries of any contiguous city, village, incorporated town, and/or county that has agreed by intergovernmental agreement to be included in the territorial boundaries of the municipal participant;

the county boundaries of a county participant plus the boundaries of any contiguous city, village, incorporated town, and/or county that has agreed by intergovernmental agreement to be included in the territorial boundaries of the county participant;

the boundaries of the municipalities, villages, incorporated towns, counties, and/or participating areas having created a mass transit district, plus the boundaries of any contiguous city, village, incorporated town, and/or county that has agreed by intergovernmental agreement to be included in the territorial boundaries of the mass transit district participant.

Any boundary established by intergovernmental agreement must be approved by ordinance and/or resolution by the appropriate and requisite governing bodies.  Establishment of the boundary shall not be in conflict with the Act and/or the Local Mass Transit District Act [70 ILCS 3610].  Additionally, a participant cannot establish as part of its territorial boundary any area that is already included in another participant's territorial boundary.

(Source:  Amended at 34 Ill. Reg. 13142, effective August 24, 2010)