Public transport
Encyclopedia
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.
Public transport modes include buses
Public transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
, trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es, trams and trains, rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
(metro/subways/undergrounds etc) and ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches
Coach (scheduled transport)
Coach scheduled transport is a mode of public transport by motor coach which is used in many countries around the world for longer distance journeys...
, and intercity rail. High-speed rail
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
networks are being developed in many parts of the world.
Most public transport runs to a scheduled timetable with the most frequent services running to a headway
Headway
Headway is a measurement of the distance/time between vehicles in a transit system. The precise definition varies depending on the application, but it is most commonly measured as the distance from the tip of one vehicle to the tip of the next one behind it, expressed as the time it will take for...
. Share taxi
Share taxi
A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
offers on-demand services in many parts of the world and some services will wait until the vehicle is full before it starts. Paratransit
Paratransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
is sometimes used in areas of low-demand and for people who need a door-to-door service.
Urban public transport may be provided by one or more private transport operators or by a transit authority. Public transport services are usually funded by government subsidies and fares charged to each passenger. Services are normally regulated and possibly subsidized
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
from local or national tax revenue. Fully subsidized, zero-fare (free) services operate in some towns and cities.
For historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. While countries in Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
tend to have extensive and frequent systems serving their old and dense cities, many cities of the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
have more sprawl and much less comprehensive public transport.
History
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
, and the earliest public transport was water transport: on land people walked (sometimes in groups and on pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
s, as noted in sources such as the Bible and Canterbury Tales) or (at least in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
) rode an animal
Animal-powered transport
Animal-powered transport is a broad category of the human use of non-human working animals for the movement of people and goods....
. Ferries are part of Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
– corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon
Charon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on...
to take them to Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
.
Some historical forms of public transport are the stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
, traveling a fixed route from coaching inn
Coaching inn
In Europe, from approximately the mid-17th century for a period of about 200 years, the coaching inn, sometimes called a coaching house or staging inn, was a vital part of the inland transport infrastructure, as an inn serving coach travelers...
to coaching inn, and the horse-drawn boat
Horse-drawn boat
A horse-drawn boat or tow-boat is a historic boat operating on a canal, pulled by a horse walking on a special road along the canal, the towpath.-United Kingdom:...
carrying paying passengers, which was a feature of European canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s from their 17th-century origins. (The canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
itself is a form of infrastructure dating back to antiquity – it was used at least for freight transportation in ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
to bypass the Aswan
Aswan
Aswan , formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist centre...
cataract – and the Chinese also built canals for transportation as far back as the Warring States period. Whether or not those canals were used for for-hire public transport is unknown; the Grand Canal was primarily used for shipping grain.)
The omnibus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
, the first organized public transit system within a city, appears to have originated in Paris, France, in 1662, although the service in question failed a few months after its founder
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
died; omnibuses are next known to have appeared in Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, France, in 1826. The omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829.
The first passenger horse-drawn railway was opened in 1806 between Swansea and Mumbles
Mumbles
Mumbles or The Mumbles is an area and community in Swansea, Wales which takes its name from the adjacent headland stretching into Swansea Bay...
. In 1825, George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
built the Locomotion
Locomotion No 1
Locomotion No. 1 is an early British steam locomotive. Built by George and Robert Stephenson's company Robert Stephenson and Company in 1825, it hauled the first train on the Stockton and Darlington Railway on 27 September 1825....
for the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
, north east England, which was the first public steam railway in the world.
Airline
An airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports. Air travel has high up to very high speeds, but incurs large waiting times prior and after travel, and is therefore often only feasible over longer distances or in areas where lack of ground infrastructure makes other modes of transport impossible. Bush airlines work more similar to bus stops; an aircraft waits for passengers and takes off when the aircraft is full.Bus and coach
Bus servicesPublic transport bus service
Bus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
use bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es on conventional roads to carrying numerous passengers on shorter journeys. Buses operate with low capacity (i.e. 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 and towns, in rural areas as well for shuttle
Share taxi
A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
services supplementing in large cities. Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
is an ambiguous term used for buses operating on dedicated right-of-way, much like a light rail. Trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es are electric bus
Electric bus
An electric bus is a bus powered by electricity.There are two main electric bus categories:* Non-autonomous electric buses:**The trolleybus is a type of electric bus powered by two overhead electric wires, with electricity being drawn from one wire and returned via the other wire, using two...
es that employ overhead wires to get power for traction. Online Electric Vehicle
Online Electric Vehicle
Online Electric Vehicle is an electric vehicle using electromagnetic induction. On Tuesday, 9 March 2010 researchers from The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology launched a public transport system using a "recharging road". Electric power strips have been buried 30 cm deep...
s are buses that run on a conventional battery, but are recharged frequently at certain points via underground wires.
Coach services
Coach (scheduled transport)
Coach scheduled transport is a mode of public transport by motor coach which is used in many countries around the world for longer distance journeys...
use coaches
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
(long-distance buses) for suburb-to-CBD or longer distance transportation. The vehicle 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.
Train
Passenger rail transport is the conveyance of passengers by means of wheeled vehicles specially designed to run on railways. Trains allow high capacity on short or long distance, but require track, signallingSignalling control
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
, infrastructure and stations
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
to be built and maintained. Urban rail transit
Urban rail transit
Urban rail transit is an all-encompassing term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas...
consists of trams, light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
, rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
, people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
s, commuter rail, monorail
Monorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
suspension railway
Suspension railway
A suspension railway is a form of elevated monorail where the vehicle is suspended from a fixed track , which is built above street level, over a river or canal, or an existing railway track.-Palmer System:...
s and funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
s.
Commuter, intercity, and high-speed rail
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
systems at each station. 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.
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
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
is passenger trains operating significantly faster than conventional rail—typically defined as at least 200 kilometres per hour (124.3 mph). The most predominant systems have been built in Europe and Japan
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
, and compared with air travel, offer long-distance rail journeys as quick as air services, have lower prices to compete more effectively and uses electricity instead of combustion.
Tram and light rail
Light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
is a modern development (and use) of the tram, with dedicated right-of-way not shared with other traffic, step-free access and increased speed. Light rail lines are, thus, essentially modernized interurban
Interurban
An interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
s.
Rapid transit
A rapid transit railway system (also called a metro, underground, or subway) operates in an urban area with high capacity and frequency, and grade separationGrade separation
Grade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...
from other traffic.
Systems are able to transport large amounts of people quickly over short distances with little land use. Variations of rapid transit include people mover
People mover
A people mover or automated people mover is a fully automated, grade-separated mass transit system.The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks, but is sometimes applied to considerably more complex automated...
s, small-scale light metro and the commuter rail hybrid S-Bahn
S-Bahn
S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
. More than 160 cities have rapid transit systems, totalling more than 8000 km (4,971 mi) of track and 7,000 stations. Twenty-five cities have systems under construction.
Personal rapid transit
Personal rapid transit
Personal rapid transit
Personal rapid transit , also called podcar, is a public transportation mode featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guide ways...
is an automated cab service that runs on rails or a guideway. This is an uncommon mode of transportation (excluding elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s) 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
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
or paratransit
Paratransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
modes of transportation, or to the (by now automated) elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s common in many publicly accessible areas.
Cable-propelled transit
Gondola lift
A gondola lift is a type of aerial lift, normally called a cable car, which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel cable that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate supporting towers. The cable is driven by a bullwheel in a terminal,...
s and Cable car (railway)
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
. Gondola lifts are supported and propelled from above by cables whereas cable cars are supported and propelled from below by cables.
While historically associated with usage in ski resorts, gondola lifts are now finding increased consumption and utilization in many urban areas – built specifically for the purposes of mass transit. Many, if not all, of these systems are implemented and fully integrated within existing public transportation networks. Examples include Metrocable (Medellín), Metrocable (Caracas)
Metrocable (Caracas)
Metrocable is a gondola lift system integrated with the city's public transport network, which provides quick and safe transportation for those who live in the neighbourhoods situated on Caracas' mountainous regions...
, Portland Aerial Tram
Portland Aerial Tram
The Portland Aerial Tram is an aerial tramway in Portland, Oregon, carrying commuters between the city's South Waterfront district and the main Oregon Health & Science University campus, located in the Marquam Hill neighborhood. It is the second commuter aerial tramway in the United States...
, and Roosevelt Island Tramway
Roosevelt Island Tramway
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway in New York City that spans the East River and connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. Prior to the completion of the Mississippi Aerial River Transit in May 1984 and the Portland Aerial Tram in December 2006, it was the only commuter aerial tramway...
.
London will soon see a gondola lift system implemented in the city as the proposed Thames Gateway Cable Car was approved by council in January 2011.
Ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship, 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.Motorcycle
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and elsewhere, motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s are used as public transportation. The motorcycles can be used singly or with a sidecar
Sidecar
A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, producing a three-wheeled vehicle.-History:A sidecar appeared in a cartoon by George Moore in the January 7, 1903, issue of the British newspaper Motor Cycling. Three weeks later, a provisional patent was...
attached, the latter often referred to as "tricycles". They can either be hired for personal trips, like a taxi, or used for shared trips, with set routes, like a bus.
Pedicabs
Pedicabs are common in poorer or more crowded places and can take various shapes and sizes. In the Philippines, they are called trisikads and are just a regular bike with a sidecar attached.Operation
Infrastructure
All public transport runs on infrastructure, either on roads, rail, airways or seaways; all consists of interchanges and way. The infrastructure can be shared with other modes of transport, freight and private transport, or it can be dedicated to public transport. The latter is especially true in cases where there are capacity problems for private transport. Investments in infrastructure are high, and make up a substantial part of the total costs in systems that are expanding. Once built, the infrastructure will further require operating and maintenance costs, adding to the total costs of public transport. Sometimes governments subsidize infrastructure by providing it free of charge, just like is common with roads for automobiles.Interchanges
Interchanges are locations where passengers can switch mode. Most interchanges are predominantly for passenger to change from being pedestrians to passengers (such as a bus stop), while each system will have a few hubs that allow passengers to change between vehicles. This may be between vehicles of the same mode (like a bus interchange), or it can be between local and intercity transport (such as at a central stationCentral station
A central station usually designates the principal passenger railway station of cities which have multiple stations. The central station functions as the main transport hub for rail transport, normally with interchange with other modes of public transport...
or airport). Other interchange facilities include car parks and bicycle parking
Bicycle parking
Bicycle parking involves the infrastructure and equipment to enable secure and convenient parking of bicycles...
.
Timetables
TimetablesPublic transport timetable
A public transport timetable is a representation of public transport information to assist a passenger with planning a trip using public transport. A timetable details when vehicle will arrive and depart specified locations and may be organised for by route or for a particular stop...
(or 'schedules' North American English
North American English
North American English is the variety of the English language of North America, including that of the United States and Canada. Because of their shared histories and the similarities between the pronunciation, vocabulary and accent of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken languages...
) are provided by the transport operator to allow potential users to plan their journeys, often supplemented with maps and fare schemes to help travelers coordinate their travel. Online public transport route planner
Public transport route planner
A public transport route planner is a type of journey planner designed to provide information about available public transport journeys, nowadays often made available as a Web application...
s, sometimes combined with pre-sold tickets, help make planning easier. Services are often arranged to operate at regular intervals throughout the day (known as clock-face scheduling). In most locations, extra services or even extra routes are operated during the morning and evening rush hour
Rush hour
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 a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
s.
Coordination between services at intersections 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.
Financing
The main sources of financing are ticket revenue, government subsidies and advertisement. The percentage of revenue from passenger charges is known as the farebox recovery ratioFarebox recovery ratio
The farebox recovery ratio of a passenger transportation system is the proportion of the amount of revenue generated through fares by its paying customers as a fraction of the cost of its total operating expenses....
. 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
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
to generate revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
for the operators. Tickets may either be bought in advance, at the time of the ride, or the carrier may allow both methods. Passengers may be issued with a paper ticket, metal or plastic token, or an electronic card (smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
, contactless smart card
Contactless smart card
A contactless smart card is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits that can process and store data, and communicate with a terminal via radio waves. There are two broad categories of contactless smart cards. Memory cards contain non-volatile memory storage components, and perhaps...
). Sometimes a ticket has to be validated, e.g. a paper ticket that has to be stamped, or an electronic ticket
Electronic ticket
An electronic ticket is a digital ticket. It may be issued by an airline, in road, urban or rail public transport, and in entertainment.-Airline ticket:...
that 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. The fare
Fare
A fare is the fee paid by a passenger allowing him or her to make use of a public transport system: rail, bus, taxi, etc. In the case of air transport, the term airfare is often used.-Uses:...
is based on the travel class, either as a function of the traveled distance, or based on a 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
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...
. Operators may choose to control all riders, allowing sale of the ticket at the time of ride. Alternatively, a proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment
Proof-of-payment or POP is an honor-based fare collection approach used on many public transportation systems. Instead of checking each passenger as they enter a fare control zone, proof-of-payment requires that each passenger carry a ticket or pass proving that they have paid the fare. Ticket...
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 during a given number of days that can be chosen within a longer period of time (for instance eight days within a month). Passes aimed at tourists, allowing free or discounted entry at many tourist attractions, typically include zero-fare public transport
Zero-fare public transport
Free public transport, also often called free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is a single or network of transport services funded in full by means other than collecting a full fare from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local government through taxation or by...
within the city. Period tickets may be for a particular route (in both directions), or for a whole network. A free travel pass
Free travel pass
A free travel pass is the privilege of a certain class of passengers to use a public transport service without paying a fare or presenting a ticket...
allowing free and unlimited travel within a system is sometimes granted to particular social sectors, for example students, elderly, children, employees (job ticket
Job ticket
Job tickets are monthly or annual season tickets, purchased en block from a regional transport association by public or private organisations for use by their staff....
) and the physical or mentally disabled.
Zero-fare public transport
Zero-fare public transport
Free public transport, also often called free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is a single or network of transport services funded in full by means other than collecting a full fare from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local government through taxation or by...
services are funded in full by means other than collecting a fare from passengers, normally through heavy subsidy
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
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. 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.
Revenue, profit and subsidies
Governments, of any variety, may opt to subsidize public transport, for social, environmental or economic reasons. Key motivations are the need to provide transport to people those who cannot afford or are physically or legally incapable of using an automobile, and to reduce congestion, land use and emissions of local air pollution and greenhouse gasGreenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
es. Other motives may be related to promote business and economic growth, or urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
in formerly deprived areas of the city. Some systems are owned and operated by a government agency; other transportation services may be commercial, but receive greater benefits from the government compared to a normal company.
Subsidies may take the form of direct payments to financially unprofitable services, but also indirect subsidies are used. This may include allowing use of state-owned infrastructure without payment or for less than cost-price (may apply for 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
Aviation fuel
Aviation fuel is a specialized type of petroleum-based fuel used to power aircraft. It is generally of a higher quality than fuels used in less critical applications, such as heating or road transport, and often contains additives to reduce the risk of icing or explosion due to high temperatures,...
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, as well as incentives to build car factories and, on occasion, directly via bailouts of automakers.
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 profits from land development to cover the partial cost of construction, but not operation, of the urban rail systems.
Some government officials 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. (Such a belief has been backed up by research, although the measurement of benefits and costs is a complex and controversial issue.) A lack of mass transit results in more traffic, pollution, and road construction to accommodate more vehicles, all costly to taxpayers; providing mass transit will therefore alleviate these costs. (Perhaps, although right-wing think tanks disagree)
Safety and security
Expansion of public transportation systems is often opposed (particularly in North America) by critics who see them as vehicles for violent criminals and homeless persons to expand into new areas (to which they would otherwise have to walk). According to the Transportation Research BoardTransportation Research Board
The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves as an independent adviser to the President, the Congress and federal agencies on scientific and technical questions of national importance...
, "[v]iolent crime is perceived as pandemic .... Personal security affects many peoples' [sic] decisions to use public transportation." Despite the occasional highly publicized incident, the vast majority of modern public transport systems are well designed and patrolled and generally have low crime rates. Many systems are monitored by CCTV, mirrors, or patrol.
Nevertheless, some systems attract vagrants who use the stations or trains as sleeping shelters, though most operators have practices that discourage this.
Though public transit accidents attract far more publicity than car wrecks, public transport has much lower accident rates. Annually, public transit prevents 200,000 deaths, injuries, and accidents had equivalent trips been made by car. The National Safety Council
National Safety Council
The National Safety Council is a 501 nonprofit, nongovernmental public service organization dedicated to protecting life and promoting health. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congressional charter in 1953...
estimates riding the bus as over 170 times safer than private car.
Environmental
A 2002 study by the Brookings InstitutionBrookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
and the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
found that public transportation in the U.S uses approximately half the fuel required by cars, SUV's 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".
A 2004 study from Lancaster University
Lancaster University
Lancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a leading research-intensive British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established by Royal Charter in 1964 and initially based in St Leonard's Gate until moving to a purpose-built 300 acre campus at...
concluded that there was no environmental benefit to be gained from persuading car or plane travelers to switch to trains. Environmental group Friends of the Earth were skeptical of the findings, claiming the results are not in line with previous studies. The study showed that trains had failed to keep up with the advances that the automotive and aviation industries had made in improved fuel efficiency. Express trains travelling from London to Edinburgh consumed 11.5 litres more fuel per seat than a modern diesel car and Pendolino
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...
trains weigh more per seat than the Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
airliner. A representative from Modern Railways
Modern Railways
Modern Railways is a British monthly magazine covering the rail transport industry published by Ian Allan. It has been published since 1962....
magazine is reported as having said:
Studies have shown that there is a strong inverse correlation between urban population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
and energy consumption per capita
World energy resources and consumption
]World energy consumption in 2010: over 5% growthEnergy markets have combined crisis recovery and strong industry dynamism. Energy consumption in the G20 soared by more than 5% in 2010, after the slight decrease of 2009. This strong increase is the result of two converging trends...
, and that public transport could play a key role in increasing urban population densities, and thus reduce travel distances and fossil fuel consumption.
Going "green"
Public transportation allows for cars to be removed from the road. This lowers gas emissions and traffic congestions. Influenced by the previous, the state of New Jersey released Getting to Work: Reconnecting Jobs with Transit. This initiative, as suggested by its title, 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.
CO2 and energy impact
Using Public transportation can result in a reduction of an individual’s carbon footprint. A single person, 20-mile round trip by car can be replaced using public transportation and result in a net CO2 emissions reduction of 4,800 lbs/year. 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 tones of CO2 will be saved annually. Another study claims that using public transit instead of private in the U.S. in 2005 would have reduced CO2 emissions by 3.9 million metric tones and that the resulting traffic congestion reduction accounts for an additional 3.0 million metric tons of CO2 saved. This is a total savings of about 6.9 million metric tones 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. In England, bus and rail are popular methods of public transportation, especially 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. For busing in London, it was 32 kWh per 100 p-km, or about 2.5 times that of a personal car. 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. These numbers from either country can be used in energy comparison calculations and/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.
Area
Urban space is a precious commodity and public transport consumes it more efficiently than a car dominant society, allowing cities to be built more compactly than if they were dependent on automobile transport. If public transport planning is at the core of urban planningUrban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
, it will also force cities to be built more compactly to create efficient feeds into the stations and stops of transport. This will at the same time allow the creation of centers around the hubs, serving passengers' need for their daily commercial needs and public services. This approach significantly reduces urban sprawl
Urban sprawl
Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land, high segregation of uses Urban sprawl, also known as suburban sprawl, is a...
.
Social
An important social role played by public transport is to ensure that all members of society are able to travel, 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 dependencyAutomobile dependency
Automobile dependency is a term coined by Professors Peter Newman and Jeff Kenworthy to capture the predicament of most cities in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and to a lesser extent, large cities in Europe....
is a name given by policy makers to places where those without access to a private vehicle do not have access to independent mobility.
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.
Economic
Public transport allows transport at an economy of scale not available through private transport. Through stimulating public transport it is possible to reduce the total transport cost for the public. Time costs can also be reduced as cars removed from the road through public transit options translate to less congestion and faster speeds for remaining motorists. Transit-oriented developmentTransit-oriented development
A transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...
can both improve the usefulness and efficiency of the public transit system as well as result in increased business for commercial developments.
Well-designed transit systems can have a positive effect on real estate prices. The Hong Kong metro MTR
MTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
generates a profit by redeveloping land around its stations. Much public opposition to new transit construction can be based on the concern about the impact on neighborhoods of this new economic development. Few localities have the ability to seize and reassign development rights
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
to a private transit operator, as Hong Kong has done. Increased land desirability has resulted around stations in places such as Washington, D.C..
Investment in public transport also stimulates the economy locally, with between $4 and $9 of economic activity resulting from every dollar spent. Many businesses rely on access to a transit system, in particular in cities and countries where access to cars is less widespread, businesses which require large amounts of people going to a same place may not be able to accommodate a large number of cars (concert venues, sport stadia, airports, exhibitions centres,...), or businesses where people are not able to use a car (bars, hospitals, or industries in the tourism sector whose customers may not have their cars).
Transit systems also have an effect on derivated businesses: commercial websites have been founded, such as Hopstop.com
Hopstop.com
HopStop.com, Inc. , is an online city transit guide launched in 2005. HopStop.com provides door-to-door subway and bus directions and maps for New York City and several other major metropolitan areas, including Boston, Chicago, London, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C...
, that give directions through mass transit systems; in some cities, such as London, products themed on the local transport system are a popular tourist souvenir.
Conversely, the existence of a transit system can lower land values, either through influence on a region's demographics and crime rate (actual or perceived) or simply through the ambient noise and other discomforts the system creates.
Food and drink
Longer distance public transport sometimes sell food and drink on board, and/or have a dedicated buffet carBuffet car
A buffet car is a passenger car of a train, where snacks and beverages can be bought at a counter and consumed. Typically, passengers are not allowed to consume brought-along food and drinks in the car, and are therefore only able to eat in this area by buying their food in the car.- Further...
and/or dining car. However, some urban transport systems forbid the consumption of food, drink, or even chewing gum when riding on public transport. Sometimes only types of food are forbidden with more risk of making the vehicles dirty, e.g. ice creams and French fries, and sometimes potato chips.
Some systems prohibit carrying open food or beverage containers, even if the food or beverage is not being consumed during the ride.
Smoking
In the United States, India, Canada, most of the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand, smoking is prohibited in all or some parts of most public transportation systems due to safety and health issues. Generally smoking is not allowed on buses and trains, while rules concerning stations and waiting platforms differ from system to system. The situation in other countries varies widely.Noise
Many mass transit systems prohibit the use of audio devices, such as radios, CD players, and MP3 players unless used with an earphone through which only the user can hear the device.Some mass transit systems have restricted the use of mobile phones. Long distance train services, such as the Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
system in the US, have "quiet cars" where mobile phone usage is prohibited.
Some systems prohibit passengers from engaging in conversation with the operator. Others require that passengers who engage in any conversation must keep the noise level low enough that it not be audible to other passengers.
Some systems have regulations on the use of profanity. In the United States, this has been challenged as a free speech issue.
Banned items
Certain items considered to be problematic are prohibited or regulated on many mass transit systems. These include firearmFirearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s and other weapons (unless licensed to carry), explosives, flammable items, or hazardous chemicals and substances.
Many systems prohibit live animals, but allow those that are in carrying cases or other closed containers. Additionally, service animals for the blind or disabled are permitted.
Some systems prohibit items of a large size that may take up a lot of space, such as bicycles. But more systems in recent years have been permitting passengers to bring bikes.
In Sydney, it is illegal to carry spray cans or permanent markers on public transport, as they can be used to vandalise the vehicles and stations. This rule also applies to sharp instruments that could damage the train, such as screwdrivers that could be used to make "scratchitti", a form of vandalism where tags are carved into a window.
Other regulations
Many systems have regulations against behavior deemed to be unruly or otherwise disturbing to other passengers. In such cases, it is usually at the discretion of the operator, police officers, or other transit employees to determine what behaviors fit this description.Some systems have regulations against photography or videography
Videography
Videography refers to the process of capturing moving images on electronic media even streaming media). The term includes methods of video production and post-production...
of the system's vehicles, stations, or other property. Those seen holding a mobile phone in a manner consistent with photography are considered to be suspicious for breaking this rule. This is another issue that is challenged in the courts in the United States as a "Free Speech" issue.
Sleeping
In the era when long distance trips took several days, sleeping accommodationsLodging
Lodging is a type of residential accommodation. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions.Lodgings may be self catering in which case no...
were an essential part of transportation. (On land, the lodging involved was often part of the infrastructure: the inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
or ryokan, which did not move, sheltered travelers. People also slept on ships at sea.) Today, most airlines, inter-city trains and coaches offer reclining seats and many provide pillows and blankets for overnight travelers. Better sleeping arrangements are commonly offered for a premium fare and include sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
s on overnight trains, larger private cabins on ships and airplane seats that convert into beds. Budget-conscious tourists sometimes plan their trips using overnight train or bus trips in lieu of paying for a hotel. The ability to get additional sleep on the way to work is attractive to many commuters using public transport.
Because night trains or coaches can be cheaper than motels, homeless persons often use these as overnight shelters, as with the famous Line 22 ("Hotel 22") in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. Specifically, a local transit route with a long overnight segment and which accepts inexpensive multi-use passes will acquire a reputation as a "moving hotel" for people with limited funds. Most transportation agencies actively discourage this. For this and other reasons passengers are often required to exit the vehicle at the end of the line; they can board again in the same or another vehicle, after some waiting.Even a low fare in some cases often deters the poorest individuals, including homeless people.
See also
- International Association of Public Transport
- Load factor (transportation)Load factor (transportation)Passenger load factor or load factoris a measure of the amount of utilisation of the total available capacity of a transport vehicle. It is useful for calculating the average occupancy on various routes of airlines, railway trains or bus...
- Public transport bus servicePublic transport bus serviceBus services play a major role in the provision of public transport. These services can take many forms, varying in distance covered and types of vehicle used, and can operate with fixed or flexible routes and schedules...
- Public transport route plannerPublic transport route plannerA public transport route planner is a type of journey planner designed to provide information about available public transport journeys, nowadays often made available as a Web application...
- Public transport timetablePublic transport timetableA public transport timetable is a representation of public transport information to assist a passenger with planning a trip using public transport. A timetable details when vehicle will arrive and depart specified locations and may be organised for by route or for a particular stop...
- Ridership
- Straddling bus
- Sustainable transportSustainable transportSustainable transport refers to any means of transport with low impact on the environment, and includes walking and cycling, transit oriented development, green vehicles, CarSharing, and building or protecting urban transport systems that are fuel-efficient, space-saving and promote healthy...
- Transit policeTransit policeTransit police are a specialized police agency or unit employed by a common carrier, which could be a transit district, railroad, bus line, other transport carrier, or the state...
- Transit districtTransit districtA transit district or transit authority is a special-purpose district organized as either a corporation chartered by statute, or a government agency, created for the purpose of providing public transportation within a specific region....