Even less common holiday travel options benefit from voluntary consensus standards, including funiculars, a type of inclined railway that allow passengers to travel up and down hills, cliffs, and other obstacles. There are currently only a small number of funiculars operating in the U.S., among them the Monongahela Incline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Fenelon Place Elevator in Dubuque, Iowa, and the newly built Strand Beach Funicular in Dana Point, California. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) has developed an American National Standard (ANS), ANSI B77.2-2004, Funiculars - Safety Requirements, intended to ensure the safety of people who use funiculars to move about. The standard provides guidelines for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of single or multi-carrier funiculars that run on a fixed guideway.
Whatever form of transit you choose to get you where you're going this holiday season, standards help minimize the dangers posed by winter weather, making your trip as safe as possible.