Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) 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.[1][2] 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."[3] Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams (or light rail) and passenger trains, rapid transit (metro/subway/underground, etc.) 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.
Most public transport systems run along fixed routes with set embarkation/disembarkation points to a prearranged timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway (e.g.: "every 15 minutes" as opposed to being scheduled for any specific time of the day). However, most public transport trips include other modes of travel, such as passengers walking or catching bus services to access train stations.[4]Share taxis offer on-demand services in many parts of the world, which may compete with fixed public transport lines, or complement them, by bringing passengers to interchanges. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service.[5]
Urban public transit differs distinctly among Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, profit-driven, privately owned and publicly traded mass transit and real estate conglomerates predominantly operate public transit systems.[6][7] In North America, municipal transit authorities most commonly run mass transit operations. In Europe, both state-owned and private companies predominantly operate mass transit systems.
For geographical, historical and economic reasons, differences exist internationally regarding the use and extent of public transport. The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) is the international network for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry. It has over 1,900 members from more than 100 countries from all over the globe.
In recent years, some high-wealth cities have seen a decline in public transport usage. A number of sources attribute this trend to the rise in popularity of remote work, ride-sharing services, and car loans being relatively cheap across many countries. Major cities such as Toronto, Paris, Chicago, and London have seen this decline and have attempted to intervene by cutting fares and encouraging new modes of transportation, such as e-scooters and e-bikes.[8] Because of the reduced emissions and other environmental impacts of using public transportation over private transportation, many experts have pointed to an increased investment in public transit as an important climate change mitigation tactic.[9]
History
A coach, private or hired, for several passengersEarly trolley car in Newton, Massachusetts
Conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferry service. The earliest public transport was water transport.[10] Ferries appear in Greek mythology writings. The mystical ferryman Charon had to be paid and would only then take passengers to Hades.[11]
Some historical forms of public transport include the stagecoaches traveling a fixed route between coaching inns, and the horse-drawn boat carrying paying passengers, which was a feature of European canals from the 17th century onwards. The canal itself as a form of infrastructure dates back to antiquity. In ancient Egypt canals were used for freight transportation to bypass the Aswan cataract. The Chinese also built canals for water transportation as far back as the warring States period[12] which began in the 5th century BCE. Whether or not those canals were used for for-hire public transport remains unknown; the Grand Canal in China (begun in 486 BCE) served primarily the grain trade.
The bus, the first organized public transit system within a city, appears to have originated in Paris in 1662,[13] although the service in question, Carrosses à cinq sols (English: five-sol coaches), which have been developed by mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, lasted only fifteen years until 1677.[14] Buses are known to have operated in Nantes in 1826. The public bus transport system was introduced to London in July 1829.[15]
The first successful electric streetcar was built for 11 miles of track for the Union Passenger Railway in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1888. Electric streetcars could carry heavier passenger loads than predecessors, which reduced fares and stimulated greater transit use. Two years after the Richmond success, over thirty two thousand electric streetcars were operating in America. Electric streetcars also paved the way for the first subway system in America. Before electric streetcars, steam powered subways were considered. However, most people believed that riders would avoid the smoke filled subway tunnels from the steam engines. In 1894, Boston built the first subway in the United States, an electric streetcar line in a 1.5-mile tunnel under Tremont Street's retail district. Other cities quickly followed, constructing thousands of miles of subway in the following decades.[18]
In March 2020, Luxembourg abolished fares for trains, trams and buses and became the first country in the world to make all public transport free.[19]
The Encyclopædia Britannica specifies that public transportation is within urban areas, but does not limit its discussion of the topic to urban areas.[20]
Types of public transport
Comparing modes
Passenger Capacity of different Transport Modes
Seven criteria estimate the usability of different types of public transport and its overall appeal. The criteria are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, timeliness and directness.[21] Speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers must walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey and how close it leaves them to their desired destination. Timeliness is how long they must wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from a passenger's ideal route.
In selecting between competing modes of transport, many individuals are strongly motivated by direct cost (travel fare/ ticket price to them) and convenience, as well as being informed by habit. The same individual may accept the lost time and statistically higher risk of accident in private transport, together with the initial, running and parking costs. Loss of control, spatial constriction, overcrowding, high speeds/accelerations, height and other phobias may discourage use of public transport.
Actual travel time on public transport becomes a lesser consideration when predictable and when travel itself is reasonably comfortable (seats, toilets, services), and can thus be scheduled and used pleasurably, productively or for (overnight) rest. Chauffeured movement is enjoyed by many people when it is relaxing, safe, but not too monotonous. Waiting, interchanging, stops and holdups, for example due to traffic or for security, are discomforting. Jet lag is a human constraint discouraging frequent rapid long-distance east–west commuting, favoring modern telecommunications and VR technologies.
An airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports. Air travel has high speeds, but incurs large waiting times before and after travel, and is therefore often only feasible over longer distances or in areas where a lack of surface infrastructure makes other modes of transport impossible. Bush airlines work more similarly to bus stops; an aircraft waits for passengers and takes off when the aircraft is full.
Bus services use buses on conventional roads to carry numerous passengers on shorter journeys. Buses operate with low capacity (compared with trams or trains), and can operate on conventional roads, with relatively inexpensive bus stops to serve passengers. Therefore, buses are commonly used in smaller cities, towns, and rural areas, and for shuttle services supplementing other means of transit in large cities.
Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a term used for buses operating on dedicated right-of-way, much like a light rail.
Coach services use coaches (long-distance buses) for suburb-to-CBD or longer-distance transportation. The vehicles are normally equipped with more comfortable seating, a separate luggage compartment, video and possibly also a toilet. They have higher standards than city buses, but a limited stopping pattern.
Certain types of buses, styled after old-style streetcars, are also called trackless trolleys, but are built on the same platforms as a typical diesel, CNG, or hybrid bus; these are more often used for tourist rides than commuting and tend to be privately owned.
Passenger rail transport is the conveyance of passengers by means of wheeled vehicles specially designed to run on railways. Trains allow high capacity at most distance scales, but require track, signalling, infrastructure and stations to be built and maintained resulting in high upfront costs.
Intercity rail is long-haul passenger services that connect multiple urban areas. They have few stops, and aim at high average speeds, typically only making one of a few stops per city. These services may also be international.
High-speed rail is passenger trains operating significantly faster than conventional rail—typically defined as at least 200 kilometres per hour (120mph). The most predominant systems have been built in Europe and East Asia, and compared with air travel, offer long-distance rail journeys as quick as air services, have lower prices to compete more effectively and use electricity instead of combustion.[23]
Commuter rail is part of an urban area's public transport. It provides faster services to outer suburbs and neighboring satellite cities. Trains stop at train stations that are located to serve a smaller suburban or town center. The stations are often combined with shuttle bus or park and ride systems. Frequency may be up to several times per hour, and commuter rail systems may either be part of the national railway or operated by local transit agencies.
A rapid transit railway system (also called a metro, underground, heavy rail, or subway) operates in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic.[25][26] Heavy rail is a high-capacity form of rail transit, with 4 to 10 units forming a train, and can be the most expensive form of transit to build. Modern heavy rail systems are mostly driverless, which allows for higher frequencies and less maintenance cost.[24]
Systems are able to transport large numbers of people quickly over short distances with little land use. Variations of rapid transit include people movers, small-scale light metro and the commuter rail hybrid S-Bahn. More than 160 cities have rapid transit systems, totalling more than 8,000km (4,971mi) of track and 7,000 stations. Twenty-five cities have systems under construction.
People movers are a special term for grade-separated rail which uses vehicles that are smaller and shorter in size.[24] These systems are generally used only in a small area such as a theme park or an airport.
Trams (also known as streetcars or trolleys) are railborne vehicles that originally ran in city streets, though over decades more and more dedicated tracks are used. They have higher capacity than buses, but must follow dedicated infrastructure with rails and wires either above or below the track, limiting their flexibility.
In the United States, trams were commonly used prior to the 1930s, before being superseded by the bus. In modern public transport systems, they have been reintroduced in the form of the light rail.[24]
Light rail is a term coined in 1972 and uses mainly tram technology. Light rail has mostly dedicated right-of-ways and less sections shared with other traffic and usually step-free access. Light rails line are generally traversed with increased speed compared to a tram line. Light rail lines are, thus, essentially modernized interurbans. Unlike trams, light rail trains are often longer and have one to four cars per train.[24]
Somewhere between light and heavy rail in terms of carbon footprint, monorail systems usually use overhead single tracks, either mounted directly on the track supports or put in an overhead design with the train suspended.
Monorail systems are used throughout the world (especially in Europe and east Asia, particularly Japan), but apart from public transit installations in Las Vegas and Seattle, most North American monorails are either short shuttle services or privately owned services (With 150,000 daily riders, the Disney monorail systems used at their parks may be the most famous in the world).[27]
Personal rapid transit is an automated cab service that runs on rails or a guideway. This is an uncommon mode of transportation (excluding elevators) due to the complexity of automation. A fully implemented system might provide most of the convenience of individual automobiles with the efficiency of public transit. The crucial innovation is that the automated vehicles carry just a few passengers, turn off the guideway to pick up passengers (permitting other PRT vehicles to continue at full speed), and drop them off to the location of their choice (rather than at a stop). Conventional transit simulations show that PRT might attract many auto users in problematic medium-density urban areas. A number of experimental systems are in progress. One might compare personal rapid transit to the more labor-intensive taxi or paratransit modes of transportation, or to the (by now automated) elevators common in many publicly accessible areas.
Cable-propelled transit (CPT) is a transit technology that moves people in motor-less, engine-less vehicles that are propelled by a steel cable.[28] There are two sub-groups of CPT—gondola lifts and cable cars (railway). Gondola lifts are supported and propelled from above by cables, whereas cable cars are supported and propelled from below by cables.
A ferry is a boat used to carry (or ferry) passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, across a body of water. A foot-passenger ferry with many stops is sometimes called a water bus. Ferries form a part of the public transport systems of many waterside cities and islands, allowing direct transit between points at a capital cost much lower than bridges or tunnels, though at a lower speed. Ship connections of much larger distances (such as over long distances in water bodies like the Mediterranean Sea) may also be called ferry services.
Cycle Superhighway CS6 is part of Central London's Cycle Network mass transit infrastructure.
A report published by the UK National Infrastructure Commission in 2018 states that "cycling is mass transit and must be treated as such." Cycling infrastructure is normally provided without charge to users because it is cheaper to operate than mechanised transit systems that use sophisticated equipment and do not use human power.[30]
Many cities around the world have introduced electric bikes and scooters to their public transport infrastructure. For example, in the Netherlands many individuals use e-bikes to replace their car commutes. In major American cities, start-up companies such as Uber and Lyft have implemented e-scooters as a way for people to take short trips around the city.[31]
All public transport runs on infrastructure, either on roads, rail, airways or seaways. The infrastructure can be shared with other modes, freight and private transport, or it can be dedicated to public transport. The latter is especially valuable in cases where there are capacity problems for private transport. Investments in infrastructure are expensive and make up a substantial part of the total costs in systems that are new or expanding. Once built, the infrastructure will require operating and maintenance costs, adding to the total cost of public transport. Sometimes governments subsidize infrastructure by providing it free of charge, just as is common with roads for automobiles.
Interchanges are locations where passengers can switch from one public transport route to another. This may be between vehicles of the same mode (like a bus interchange), or e.g. between bus and train. It can be between local and intercity transport (such as at a central station or airport).
Timetables (or 'schedules' in North American English) are provided by the transport operator to allow users to plan their journeys. They are often supplemented by maps and fare schemes to help travelers coordinate their travel. Online public transport route planners help make planning easier. Mobile apps are available for multiple transit systems that provide timetables and other service information and, in some cases, allow ticket purchase, some allowing to plan your journey, with time fares zones e.g.
Services are often arranged to operate at regular intervals throughout the day or part of the day (known as clock-face scheduling). Often, more frequent services or even extra routes are operated during the morning and evening rush hours. Coordination between services at interchange points is important to reduce the total travel time for passengers. This can be done by coordinating shuttle services with main routes, or by creating a fixed time (for instance twice per hour) when all bus and rail routes meet at a station and exchange passengers. There is often a potential conflict between this objective and optimising the utilisation of vehicles and drivers.
Financing
The main sources of financing are ticket revenue, government subsidies and advertising. The percentage of revenue from passenger charges is known as the farebox recovery ratio. A limited amount of income may come from land development and rental income from stores and vendors, parking fees, and leasing tunnels and rights-of-way to carry fiber optic communication lines.
Fare and ticketing
A contactless validator in BrnoSmart fare cards for public transportation tickets in the four biggest cities in Canada.
Most—but not all—public transport requires the purchase of a ticket to generate revenue for the operators. Tickets may be bought either in advance, or at the time of the journey, or the carrier may allow both methods. Passengers may be issued with a paper ticket, a metal or plastic token, or a magnetic or electronic card (smart card, contactless smart card). Sometimes a ticket has to be validated, e.g. a paper ticket has to be stamped, or an electronic ticket has to be checked in.
Tickets may be valid for a single (or return) trip, or valid within a certain area for a period of time (see transit pass). The fare is based on the travel class, either depending on the traveled distance, or based on zone pricing.
The tickets may have to be shown or checked automatically at the station platform or when boarding, or during the ride by a conductor. Operators may choose to control all riders, allowing sale of the ticket at the time of ride. Alternatively, a proof-of-payment system allows riders to enter the vehicles without showing the ticket, but riders may or may not be controlled by a ticket controller; if the rider fails to show proof of payment, the operator may fine the rider at the magnitude of the fare.
Multi-use tickets allow travel more than once. In addition to return tickets, this includes period cards allowing travel within a certain area (for instance month cards), or to travel a specified number of trips or number of days that can be chosen within a longer period of time (called carnet ticket). Passes aimed at tourists, allowing free or discounted entry at many tourist attractions, typically include zero-fare public transport within the city. Period tickets may be for a particular route (in both directions), or for a whole network. A free travel pass allowing free and unlimited travel within a system is sometimes granted to particular social sectors, for example students, elderly, children, employees (job ticket) and the physically or mentally disabled.
Zero-fare public transport services are funded in full by means other than collecting a fare from passengers, normally through heavy subsidy or commercial sponsorship by businesses. Several mid-size European cities and many smaller towns around the world have converted their entire bus networks to zero-fare. The only European capitals with free public transport are Tallinn and Luxembourg. Local zero-fare shuttles or inner-city loops are far more common than city-wide systems. There are also zero-fare airport circulators and university transportation systems.
Governments frequently opt to subsidize public transport for social, environmental or economic reasons. Common motivations include the desire to provide transport to people who are unable to use an automobile[32] and to reduce congestion, land use and automobile emissions.[32]
Subsidies may take the form of direct payments for financially unprofitable services, but support may also include indirect subsidies. For example, the government may allow free or reduced-cost use of state-owned infrastructure such as railways and roads, to stimulate public transport's economic competitiveness over private transport, that normally also has free infrastructure (subsidized through such things as gas taxes). Other subsidies include tax advantages (for instance aviation fuel is typically not taxed), bailouts if companies that are likely to collapse (often applied to airlines) and reduction of competition through licensing schemes (often applied to taxis and airlines). Private transport is normally subsidized indirectly through free roads and infrastructure,[33] as well as incentives to build car factories[34] and, on occasion, directly via bailouts of automakers.[35][36] Subsidies also may take the form of initial or increased tolls for drivers, such as the San Francisco Bay Area raising tolls on numerous bridges and proposing more hikes to fund the Bay Area Rapid Transit system.[37]
Land development schemes may be initialized, where operators are given the rights to use lands near stations, depots, or tracks for property development. For instance, in Hong Kong, MTR Corporation Limited and KCR Corporation generate additional profits from land development to partially cover the cost of the construction of the urban rail system.[38]
Some supporters of mass transit believe that use of taxpayer capital to fund mass transit will ultimately save taxpayer money in other ways, and therefore, state-funded mass transit is a benefit to the taxpayer. Some research has supported this position,[39] but the measurement of benefits and costs is a complex and controversial issue.[40] A lack of mass transit results in more traffic, pollution,[41][42][43] and road construction[44] to accommodate more vehicles, all costly to taxpayers;[45] providing mass transit will therefore alleviate these costs.[46]
A study found that support for public transport spending is much higher among conservatives who have high levels of trust in government officials than those who do not.[47]
Relative to other forms of transportation, public transit is safe (with a low crash risk) and secure (with low rates of crime).[48] The injury and death rate for public transit is roughly one-tenth that of automobile travel.[48] A 2014 study noted that "residents of transit-oriented communities have about one-fifth the per capita crash casualty rate as in automobile-oriented communities" and that "Transit also tends to have lower overall crime rates than automobile travel, and transit improvements can help reduce overall crime risk by improving surveillance and economic opportunities for at-risk populations."[48]
Although relatively safe and secure, public perceptions that transit systems are dangerous endure.[48] A 2014 study stated that "Various factors contribute to the under-appreciation of transit safety benefits, including the nature of transit travel, dramatic news coverage of transit crashes and crimes, transit agency messages that unintentionally emphasize risks without providing information on its overall safety, and biased traffic safety analysis."[48]
Some systems attract vagrants who use the stations or trains as sleeping shelters, though most operators have practices that discourage this.[49]
Public transport is means of independent transport for individuals (without walking or bicycling) such as children too young to drive, the elderly without access to cars, those who do not hold a drivers license, and the infirm such as wheelchair users. Kneeling buses, low-floor access boarding on buses and light rail has also enabled greater access for the disabled in mobility. In recent decades low-floor access has been incorporated into modern designs for vehicles. In economically deprived areas, public transport increases individual accessibility to transport where private means are unaffordable.
Although there is continuing debate as to the true efficiency of different modes of transportation, mass transit is generally regarded as significantly more energy efficient than other forms of travel. A 2002 study by the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute found that public transportation in the U.S. uses approximately half the fuel required by cars, SUVs and light trucks. In addition, the study noted that "private vehicles emit about 95 percent more carbon monoxide, 92 percent more volatile organic compounds and about twice as much carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide than public vehicles for every passenger mile traveled".[51]
Studies have shown that there is a strong inverse correlation between urban population density and energy consumption per capita, and that public transport could facilitate increased urban population densities, and thus reduce travel distances and fossil fuel consumption.[52]
Supporters of the green movement usually advocate public transportation, because it offers decreased airborne pollution compared to automobiles. A study conducted in Milan, Italy, in 2004 during and after a transportation strike serves to illustrate the impact that mass transportation has on the environment. Air samples were taken between 2 and 9 January, and then tested for methane, carbon monoxide, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), and other gases identified as harmful to the environment. The figure below is a computer simulation showing the results of the study "with 2 January showing the lowest concentrations as a result of decreased activity in the city during the holiday season. 9 January showed the highest NMHC concentrations because of increased vehicular activity in the city due to a public transportation strike."[53]
Based on the benefits of public transport, the green movement has affected public policy. For example, the state of New Jersey released Getting to Work: Reconnecting Jobs with Transit.[54] This initiative attempts to relocate new jobs into areas with higher public transportation accessibility. The initiative cites the use of public transportation as being a means of reducing traffic congestion, providing an economic boost to the areas of job relocation, and most importantly, contributing to a green environment by reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
A survey by the European Development Bank found that a majority of Europeans wanted to prioritize public transit in Climate change mitigation policies.
Using public transportation can result in a reduction of an individual's carbon footprint. A single person, 20-mile (32km) round trip by car can be replaced using public transportation and result in a net CO2 emissions reduction of 4,800 pounds (2,200kg) per year.[55] Using public transportation saves CO2 emissions in more ways than simply travel as public transportation can help to alleviate traffic congestion as well as promote more efficient land use. When all three of these are considered, it is estimated that 37 million metric tons of CO2 will be saved annually.[55] Another study claims that using public transit instead of private in the U.S. in 2005 would have reduced CO2 emissions by 3.9million metric tons and that the resulting traffic congestion reduction accounts for an additional 3.0million metric tons of CO2 saved.[56] This is a total savings of about 6.9million metric tons per year given the 2005 values.
In order to compare energy impact of public transportation to private transportation, the amount of energy per passenger mile must be calculated. The reason that comparing the energy expenditure per person is necessary is to normalize the data for easy comparison. Here, the units are in per 100 p-km (read as person kilometer or passenger kilometer). In terms of energy consumption, public transportation is better than individual transport in a personal vehicle.[57] In England, bus and rail are popular methods of public transportation, especially in London. Rail provides rapid movement into and out of the city of London while busing helps to provide transport within the city itself. As of 2006–2007, the total energy cost of London's trains was 15 kWh per 100 p-km, about 5 times better than a personal car.[58]
For busing in London, it was 32 kWh per 100 p-km, or about 2.5 times that of a personal car.[58] This includes lighting, depots, inefficiencies due to capacity (i.e., the train or bus may not be operating at full capacity at all times), and other inefficiencies. Efficiencies of transport in Japan in 1999 were 68 kWh per 100 p-km for a personal car, 19 kWh per 100 p-km for a bus, 6 kWh per 100 p-km for rail, 51 kWh per 100 p-km for air, and 57 kWh per 100 p-km for sea.[58] These numbers from either country can be used in energy comparison calculations or life-cycle assessment calculations.
Public transportation also provides an arena to test environmentally friendly fuel alternatives, such as hydrogen-powered vehicles. Swapping out materials to create lighter public transportation vehicles with the same or better performance will increase environmental friendliness of public transportation vehicles while maintaining current standards or improving them. Informing the public about the positive environmental effects of using public transportation in addition to pointing out the potential economic benefit is an important first step towards making a difference.
In the 2023 study titled "Subways and CO₂ Emissions: A Global Analysis with Satellite Data," research reveals that subway systems significantly reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 50% in the cities they serve, contributing to an 11% global reduction. The study also explores potential expansion in 1,214 urban areas lacking subways, suggesting a potential emission cut by up to 77%. Economically, subways are viable in 794 cities under optimistic financial conditions (SCC at US$150/ton and SIC at US$140 million/km), but this figure drops to 294 cities with more pessimistic assumptions. Despite high costs—about US$200 million per kilometer for construction—subways offer substantial co-benefits, such as reduced traffic congestion and improved public health, making them a strategic investment for urban sustainability and climate mitigation.[59][60]
Dense areas with mixed-land uses promote daily public transport use while urban sprawl is associated with sporadic public transport use. A recent European multi-city survey found that dense urban environments, reliable and affordable public transport services, and limiting motorized vehicles in high density areas of the cities will help achieve much needed promotion of public transport use.[61]
Urban space is a precious commodity and public transport utilises it more efficiently than a car dominant society, allowing cities to be built more compactly than if they were dependent on automobile transport.[62] If public transport planning is at the core of urban planning, it will also force cities to be built more compactly to create efficient feeds into the stations and stops of transport.[4][63] This will at the same time allow the creation of centers around the hubs, serving passengers' daily commercial needs and public services. This approach significantly reduces urban sprawl. Public land planning for public transportation can be difficult but it is the State and Regional organizations that are responsible to planning and improving public transportation roads and routes. With public land prices booming, there must be a plan to using the land most efficiently for public transportation in order to create better transportation systems. Inefficient land use and poor planning leads to a decrease in accessibility to jobs, education, and health care.[64]
A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars; it's where the rich use public transport —Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá[65]
The consequences for wider society and civic life, is public transport breaks down social and cultural barriers between people in public life. An important social role played by public transport is to ensure that all members of society are able to travel without walking or cycling, not just those with a driving license and access to an automobile—which include groups such as the young, the old, the poor, those with medical conditions, and people banned from driving. Automobile dependency is a name given by policy makers to places where those without access to a private vehicle do not have access to independent mobility.[66] This dependency contributes to the transport divide. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management concluded that expanded access to public transit has no meaningful impact on automobile volume in the long term.[67]
Above that, public transportation opens to its users the possibility of meeting other people, as no concentration is diverted from interacting with fellow-travelers due to any steering activities. Adding to the above-said, public transport becomes a location of inter-social encounters across all boundaries of social, ethnic and other types of affiliation.
Social issues
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial effect on public transport systems, infrastructures and revenues in various cities across the world.[68] The pandemic negatively impacted public transport usage by imposing social distancing, remote work, or unemployment in the United States. It caused a 79% drop in public transport riders at the beginning of 2020. This trend continued throughout the year with a 65% reduced ridership as compared to previous years.[69] Similarly in London, at the beginning of 2020, ridership in the London Underground and buses declined by 95% and 85% respectively.[70] A 55% drop in public transport ridership as compared to 2019 was reported in Cairo, Egypt after a period of mandatory halt. To reduce COVID-spread through cash contact, in Nairobi, Kenya, cashless payment systems were enforced by National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). Public transport was halted for three months in 2020 in Kampala, Uganda with people resorting to walking or cycling. Post-quarantine, upon renovating public transport infrastructure, public transport such as minibus taxis were assigned specific routes. The situation was difficult in cities where people are heavily dependent on the public transport system. In Kigali, Rwanda social distancing requirements led to fifty percent occupancy restrictions, but as the pandemic situation improved, the occupancy limit was increased to meet popular demands. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia also had inadequate bus services relative to demand and longer wait times due to social distancing restrictions and planned to deploy more buses. Both Addis Ababa and Kampala aim to improve walking and cycling infrastructures in the future as means of commuting complementary to buses.[71]
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network includes the MBTA subway with three metro lines, two light rail lines, and a five-line bus rapid transit system ; MBTA bus local and express service; the twelve-line MBTA Commuter Rail system, and several ferry routes. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 239,981,700, or about 796,300 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024, of which the rapid transit lines averaged 265,900 and the light rail lines 95,900, making it the fourth-busiest rapid transit system and the third-busiest light rail system in the United States. As of the second quarter of 2024, average weekday ridership of the commuter rail system was 107,500, making it the fifth-busiest commuter rail system in the U.S.
Transportation in Boston includes roadway, subway, regional rail, air, and sea options for passenger and freight transit in Boston, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operates the Port of Boston, which includes a container shipping facility in South Boston, and Logan International Airport, in East Boston. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) operates bus, subway, short-distance rail, and water ferry passenger services throughout the city and region. Amtrak operates passenger rail service to and from major Northeastern cities, and a major bus terminal at South Station is served by varied intercity bus companies. The city is bisected by major highways I-90 and I-93, the intersection of which has undergone a major renovation, nicknamed the Big Dig.
Light rail is a form of passenger urban rail transit using rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit.
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening, the times during which most people commute. The term is often used for a period of peak congestion that may last for more than one hour.
Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths of various transportation options. A major goal of modern intermodal passenger transport is to reduce dependence on the automobile as the major mode of ground transportation and increase use of public transport. To assist the traveller, various intermodal journey planners such as Rome2rio and Google Transit have been devised to help travellers plan and schedule their journey.
Urban rail transit is a wide term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories, which sometimes overlap because some systems or lines have aspects of multiple types.
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rail transport in Japan is a major means of passenger transport, especially for mass and high-speed travel between major cities and for commuter transport in urban areas. It is used relatively little for freight transport, accounting for just 0.84% of goods movement. The privatised network is highly efficient, requiring few subsidies and running with extreme punctuality, though since privatisation several unprofitable but socially valuable lines have been closed by private operators.
The transport network in Greater Tokyo includes public and private rail and highway networks; airports for international, domestic, and general aviation; buses; motorcycle delivery services, walking, bicycling, and commercial shipping. While the nexus is in the central part of Tokyo, every part of the Greater Tokyo Area has rail or road transport services. There are also a number of ports offering sea and air transport to the general public.
Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) is a public transport operator in the Swiss city of Zurich, and is wholly owned by the city. Previously known as the Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich (StStZ), the organisation was founded in 1896 and adopted its current name in 1950.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transport:
Fare evasion or fare dodging is the act of travel without payment on public transit. When considered problematic, it is mitigated by revenue protection officers and ticket barriers, staffed or automatic, are in place to ensure only those with valid tickets may access the transport. The term fare avoidance is sometimes used as a euphemistic synonym and sometimes used to refer to the lawful use of much cheaper tickets.
Free public transport, often called fare-free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is public transport which is fully funded by means other than collecting fares from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local government through taxation, and/or by commercial sponsorship by businesses. Alternatively, the concept of "free-ness" may take other forms, such as no-fare access via a card which may or may not be paid for in its entirety by the user.
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars. Passenger trains stop at stations or depots, where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on a fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains.
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separated rapid transit line below ground surface through a tunnel can be regionally called a subway, tube, metro or underground. They are sometimes grade-separated on elevated railways, in which case some are referred to as el trains – short for "elevated" – or skytrains. Rapid transit systems are railways, usually electric, that unlike buses or trams operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles.
Transport in Shanghai is provided by an extensive network of modes including metro, cycling, bus and taxis, as well as an expansive network of roadways, and airports. Shanghai has invested heavily in public transportation before and after the 2010 World Expo, including the construction of the Hongqiao transportation hub of high-speed rail, air, metro and bus routes.
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.
The United States is served by a wide array of public transportation, including various forms of bus, rail, ferry, and sometimes, airline services. Most public transit systems are in urban areas with enough density and public demand to require public transportation; most US cities have some form of public transit. In more auto-centric suburban localities, public transit is generally less frequent and less common. Most public transit services in the United States are either national, regional/commuter, or local.
An automated fare collection (AFC) system is the collection of components that automate the ticketing system of a public transportation network – an automated version of manual fare collection. An AFC system is usually the basis for integrated ticketing.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to public transport:
References
↑ "public transport". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018. Buses, trains, and other forms of transport that are available to the public, charge set fares, and run on fixed routes.
↑ "public transport in British". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018. a system of buses, trains, etc., running on fixed routes, on which the public may travel
↑ Joseph L. Schofer. "Mass transit". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
↑ Humphreys, Pat (17 December 2016). "City Transport in the 2020s". Transport and Travel. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
↑ Andrew Gilligan. "Running out of road". National Infrastructure Commission. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018. cycling is mass transit and must be treated as such.
↑ Lim, Jae Young; Moon, Kuk-Kyoung (January 2022). "The Implications of Political Trust for Supporting Public Transport". Journal of Social Policy. 51 (1): 77–95. doi:10.1017/S0047279420000707. S2CID234005857.
↑ Kulyk, Walter (2002). Urban Public Transportation Systems: Ensuring Sustainability Through Mass Transit. American Society of Civil Engineers. pp.408–409. ISBN978-0-7844-0717-2.
Bloom, Nicholas Dagen, The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-centric Planning, and White Flight, University of Chicago Press, 2023 ISBN978-0-226-82440-6
Hess, D. 2007. "What is a clean bus? Object conflicts in the greening of urban transit." Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy 3(1):45–58.
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