Passenger

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Passengers on a boat in the Danube Delta, 2008 Passengers on a Boat.JPG
Passengers on a boat in the Danube Delta, 2008
Passengers in the lounge car of an Amtrak San Joaquin train Passengers in Amtrak lounge car of San Joaquin (train) 2014.jpg
Passengers in the lounge car of an Amtrak San Joaquin train
Passenger on a bicycle Bicycle in The Hague 50.JPG
Passenger on a bicycle

A passenger (also abbreviated as pax [1] ) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. [2] The vehicles may be bicycles, buses, passenger trains, airliners, ships, ferryboats, and other methods of transportation.

Contents

Crew members (if any), as well as the driver or pilot of the vehicle, are usually not considered to be passengers. For example, a flight attendant on an airline would not be considered a passenger while on duty and the same with those working in the kitchen or restaurant on board a ship as well as cleaning staff, but an employee riding in a company car being driven by another person would be considered a passenger, even if the car was being driven on company business.

In most jurisdictions, laws have been enacted that dictate the legal obligations of the owner of a vehicle or vessel, or of the driver or pilot of the same, towards the passengers. With respect to passengers riding in cars and vans, the driver may owe a duty of care to passengers, particularly where the passenger's presence in the vehicle can be seen to "confer some benefit on the driver other than the benefit of his or her company or the mere sharing of expenses". [3] In other situations, however, guest statutes may limit the ability of passengers to sue the driver of the vehicle over an accident. Many places require cars to be outfitted with measures specifically for the protection of passengers, such as passenger-side air bags. With respect to passengers on commercial vehicles or vessels, both national laws and international treaties require that the carrier act with a certain standard of care. The number of passengers that a vehicle or vessel may legally carry is defined as its seating capacity. [4]

Terms

Revenue passenger

A revenue passenger is someone who has paid a transport operator for her or his trip. That excludes non-paying passengers such as airline employees flying on free or nearly-free passes, babies and children who do not have a seat of their own, etc. However, passengers who paid for their trip with a frequent-flyer program mileage award are usually included.

This term is used in the transportation industry, in particular in traffic measures such as revenue passenger kilometer (RPK) and revenue passenger mile (RPM).

Revenue passenger kilometres

Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) and revenue passenger miles (RPMs) are measures of traffic for an airline flight, bus, or train calculated by multiplying the number of revenue-paying passengers aboard the vehicle by the distance traveled. [5] On long-distance buses and trains (and some planes), passengers may board and disembark at intermediate stops, in which case RPMs/RPKs have to be calculated for each segment if a careful total is needed.

Revenue passenger miles can be considered the basic amount of "production" that an airline creates. The revenue passenger miles can be compared to the available seat miles over an airline's system to determine the overall passenger load factor. [6] These measurements can further be used to measure unit revenues and unit costs. [7]

No pax

PATH train with "NO PAX" on its destination sign PATH Train with No Pax.jpg
PATH train with "NO PAX" on its destination sign

In transportation, a "no pax" trip is a trip without passengers. [8] For example, no-pax flights are Air cargo, ferry and positioning flights. [9] Similarly, with a public transit bus it can be used at the beginning and end of a driver’s work shift to/from the bus terminal, or in the non-commute leg of a commuter bus service.

In such cases, the main display signs on the front and curbside of the bus typically display a message such as “no pax” or “out of service” (sometimes abbreviated as “O/S”).

British railway passenger train categories

In British railway parlance, passenger, as well as being the end user of a service, is also a categorisation of the type of rolling stock used. [10] In the British case, there are several categories of passenger train, [10] which include:

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light rail</span> Form of passenger urban rail transit

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercity bus service</span> Public transport service using coaches to carry passengers significant distances between locations

An intercity bus service or intercity coach service, also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public transport service using coaches to carry passengers significant distances between different cities, towns, or other populated areas. Unlike a transit bus service, which has frequent stops throughout a city or town, an intercity bus service generally has a single stop at one location in or near a city, and travels long distances without stopping at all. Intercity bus services may be operated by government agencies or private industry, for profit and not for profit. Intercity coach travel can serve areas or countries with no train services, or may be set up to compete with trains by providing a more flexible or cheaper alternative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chunyun</span> Period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the Chinese New Year

Chunyun, also referred to as the Spring Festival travel rush or the Chunyun period, is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. The travel season in China usually begins 15 days before New Year's Day and lasts for around 40 days. In 2016 it was predicted that there would be 2.9 billion passenger journeys during that year's Chunyun season. It has been called the largest annual human migration in the world. Rail transport experiences the biggest challenge during the period, and several problems have emerged. This phenomenon is also seen in parts of Asia such as Japan, Vietnam and South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Request stop</span> Type of transport stop

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport hub</span> Place where passengers and cargo are exchanged

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport in Karnataka</span>

Karnataka, a state in South India has a well-developed transport system. Its capital city, Bengaluru is well-connected by air to domestic and international destinations and the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in the city is one of the busiest airports in India. It was also the headquarters of the airlines Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines. The road transport is also well developed in the state with many National and State highways providing means for fast transportation. The headquarters of the South-Western Railway division of Indian Railways is located at Hubballi and this division governs most of the railway network in the state. Konkan Railway which passes along the coastal region of the state is considered one of the toughest engineering projects being undertaken in India till date. Buses, cars and trains are the means of transport for moving across distant places in Karnataka. For transportation within the city or town limits; motorbikes, cars, autorickshaws and buses are used. With the advent of low-cost airlines, many people are choosing to travel via air as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Layover</span> Pause during scheduled transportation

In scheduled transportation, a layover is a point where a vehicle stops, with passengers possibly changing vehicles. In public transit, this typically takes a few minutes at a trip terminal. For air travel, where layovers are longer, passengers will exit the vehicle and wait in the terminal, often to board another vehicle traveling elsewhere.

In public transportation, schedule adherence or on-time performance refers to the level of success of the service remaining on the published schedule. On time performance, sometimes referred to as on time running, is normally expressed as a percentage, with a higher percentage meaning more vehicles are on time. The level of on time performance for many transport systems is a very important measure of the effectiveness of the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead mileage</span> Public transport vehicle non-commercial movement

Dead mileage, dead running, light running, empty cars or deadheading in public transport and empty leg in air charter is when a revenue-gaining vehicle operates without carrying or accepting passengers, such as when coming from a garage to begin its first trip of the day. Similar terms in the UK include empty coaching stock (ECS) move and dead in tow (DIT).

A fare is the fee paid by a passenger for use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used. Fare structure is the system set up to determine how much is to be paid by various passengers using a transit vehicle at any given time. A linked trip is a trip from the origin to the destination on the transit system. Even if a passenger must make several transfers during a journey, the trip is counted as one linked trip on the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public transportation in the United States</span> Publicly financed transit services in the country

The United States is serviced by a wide array of public transportation, including various forms of bus, rail, ferry, and sometimes, airline services. Most established public transit systems are located in central, urban areas where there is enough density and public demand to require public transportation. In more auto-centric suburban localities, public transit is normally, but not always, less frequent and less common. Most public transit services in the United States are either national, regional/commuter, or local, depending on the type of service. Sometimes "public transportation" in the United States is an umbrella term used synonymously with "alternative transportation", meaning any form of mobility that excludes driving alone by automobile. This can sometimes include carpooling, vanpooling, on-demand mobility, infrastructure that is oriented toward bicycles, and paratransit service. There is public transit service in most US cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental effects of transport</span>

The environmental effects of transport are significant because transport is a major user of energy, and burns most of the world's petroleum. This creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant contributor to global warming through emission of carbon dioxide. Within the transport sector, road transport is the largest contributor to global warming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public transport</span> Shared transportation service for use by the general public

Public transport is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typically managed on a schedule, operated on established routes, and that may charge a posted fee for each trip. There is no rigid definition of which kinds of transport are included, and air travel is often not thought of when discussing public transport—dictionaries use wording like "buses, trains, etc." Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail. High-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world.

References

  1. "Define Pax". Travel Industry dictionary. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  2. "PASSENGER Definition & Legal Meaning". Black's Law Dictionary (2nd ed.). Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. William Statsky, Essentials of Torts (2011), p. 339.
  4. Lee Jr., Lawrence: Railway economics and passenger sociology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992).
  5. "Airline Data Project: Glossary". Massachusetts Institute of Technology Global Airline Industry Program. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  6. "Basic Measurements in the Airline Business". American Airlines. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  7. "Airline Data Project: Traffic and Capacity by Operating Region". Massachusetts Institute of Technology Global Airline Industry Program. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  8. "Lady Slipper Aviation Safety Plan". BLM and USFS. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  9. Burin, Jim (2011). Approach and Landing Accident Reduction. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original (PPT) on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Simmons, J; Biddle, G, eds. (1997). The Oxford Companion to British Railway History: From 1603 to the 1990s. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-211697-5.

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