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Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the
passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. It is called public transit or mass transit in
the U.S.A. and Canada. While it
is generally taken to mean rail and bus services, wider definitions would include scheduled airline services, ferries, taxicab services etc. — any system that transports members of the general public.
The term rapid transit refers to fast public transport in and around
cities, such as metro systems.
Public transport can be faster than other modes of travel; prime examples are in cities where road congestion can be avoided,
and for long distance travel where much higher speeds are possible than are permitted on roads.
Forms of public transport (in the broad sense)
- Aerial tramway also called cable car or cableway,
vehicle suspended on aerial cables
- Airliner
- Automated guideway transit (AGT), also
called Peoplemover
- Auto rickshaw
- Bus normally serving a regular fixed route but could include a variable route,
divert-on-demand service, see Bus rapid transit
- Cable car on rails, used in cities, tram-like vehicle on
rails pulled by a cable
- Cable car on rails, used in mountains, see Funicular
- Cable car not on rails, suspended on a cable, see Aerial
tramway
- Chairlift
- Coach
- Cog railway (or rack and pinion railway)
- Conveyor transport (term includes escalators and horizontal
or slightly inclined moving sidewalk - "Travolator")
- Electric trolleybus
- Elevator
- Escalator
- Ferry, including hydrofoil and
air-cushion ship
(Hovercraft)
- Funicular, used in mountains, tram-like vehicle on rails pulled by a cable up
and down a very steep slope.
- Gondola lift
- Helicopter
- Jitney
- Light rail a tram-like system with no significant sections of the route
shared with cars or pedestrians
- Limousine
- Maglev
- Metro
- Monorail
- Rickshaw
- Taxicab
- Train, including commuter
train and high-speed rail
- Tram (or tramway, trolley, streetcar)
- Vehicle for hire
- Velotaxi
- Water taxi
Some of these types are often not for use by the general public, e.g. elevators in offices and apartment buildings, buses for
personnel or school children, freight trains, etc.
- Emerging transportation technologies
Nodes and stops
In addition one can alight from and usually board a taxi at any road where stopping is allowed. Some fixed route buses allow
getting on and off at suitable unmarked locations along that route, typically called a hail-and-ride section.
(See also fare).
- must be bought in advance, one can not physically enter the railway
platform etc. without, due to a turnstile or guard (usually found in metro)
- must be bought in advance as a voucher for a user-determined amount of money, which is encoded on the ticket by electronic,
magnetic, or optical means. A fare is deducted automatically each time the ticket is used upon system entry, or both entry and
exit where the fare is variable by distance (newer installations)
- must be bought in advance, one can not physically enter the vehicle etc. without, due to a turnstile or guard (usually found
in metro)
- must be bought in advance, one is checked by a conductor, etc., upon entry (usually found on buses in North America and Western Europe. and on
commuter rail systems)
- must be bought in advance, one is checked randomly by a ticket controller; Honor System (usually found in Eastern Europe)
- can be bought on entering the vehicle or during the ride
- sometimes the ticket can be bought both in advance and during the ride, then the fare may be higher in the latter case, see
also Conductor (transportation); in this
case buying in advance is often possible at the point of departure, but usually not at a tram or bus stop
Special tickets include:
- passes for unlimited travel within a period of time
- passes for unlimited travel during a given number of days that can be chosen within a longer period of time (e.g. 8 days
within a month)
- multi-ride tickets
- discount tickets valid for someone with a discount pass, etc.
- Smartcard
- SMS tickets
Sometimes public transport is free, and thus no tickets are needed, such as in Hasselt in Belgium.
Funding
Funding for public transport systems differ widely, from systems which are run as unsubsidised commercial enterprises to
systems that are free of charge:
- Hasselt, Belgium - free bus
services
- Gent - free night bus services (weekends only)
- Renesse (mun. Schouwen-Duiveland), Netherlands - free bus services in the area (in summer only)
- Dordrecht - bus and ferry, some saturdays at the end of each year
- Noordwijk/Oegstgeest -
Leiden Transferium - The Hague, express
bus, running on weekdays during daytime, free of charge as a test during 2004; it is intended for commuters working in The Hague
and living in Leiden or beyond who would otherwise travel by car to the Hague, to promote parking the car at the Transferium and
continuing the journey by bus; the aim is to reduce road traffic
congestion between Leiden and The Hague. The test is paid by the province of South Holland.
- Washington, D.C. - Congressional Subway - small free metro system
- some ferries, such as the Staten Island
Ferry.
- short-distance 'public transport' such as elevator, escalator, moving sidewalk (horizontal and inclined); these are often
part of a larger public transport system or business (e.g. shop) of which the products and services are not free.
- free bicycle services have been run in some places.
Other transportation services may be commercial, but receive benefits from the government compared to a normal company,
e.g.,
- direct payments to run unprofitable services.
- government bailouts it the company is likely to collapse (often applied to airlines).
- tax advantages, e.g., aviation fuel is typically not taxed.
- reduction of competition through licensing schemes (often applied to taxi and airline services.)
- allowing use of state-owned infrastructure without payment or for less than cost-price (may apply for railways).
One reason many cities spend large sums on their public transport systems is that heavy automobile traffic congests city streets and causes air pollution. It
is believed that well maintained, high volume public transport systems alleviate this. Many complex factors affect the outcome of
spendings in public transport, so success in reducing car traffic is not always assured.
Another reason for subsidies for public transit are the provision of mobility to those who cannot afford or are physically
incapable of using an automobile and those who reject its use on environmental or safety grounds.
Public transport as a sleeping place
Public transport and its terminal buildings are sometimes used by homeless people and budget tourists as a sleeping place. This can vary from the tourist who travels on purpose at night in order to sleep
while travelling and dispense with the cost of a hotel, to people for whom the 'sleeping
accommodation' is the purpose, and the displacement of the vehicle a somewhat inconvenient irrelevance.
For the latter a key requirement is that travelling through the night costs less than a nearby hotel. This may especially be
the case with a rail or bus pass.
One example is the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) bus route 22 [1] , dubbed 'Hotel 22', between Palo Alto, California and San Jose, California, (Silicon Valley), in the United States. A pass for 24
hours costs 4 dollars and one for a month 45 dollars, much less than a hotel, house or apartment.
Another example are the Interurban rail services operated by CityRail out of
Sydney, Australia. Fairly comfortable trains operate as moving accommodation between Sydney and Lithgow or Newcastle during the
night, trips of approximately 2½ hours. Age, Disability and Sole Parent pensioner excursion fares are $3.30 and $2.20 (Australian Dollars) for an all day ticket.
Wealthier commuters from the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and South Coast also commute to well paying jobs in Sydney on CityRail Interurban rail services, and
are often known for sleeping on services during the morning peak to compensate for the early rise. It is customary not to speak
on such services, to give evil stares to people who (knowingly or otherwise) use their voice above the slightest whisper without
moving into the vestibule, and to give even filthier looks to any train guard who dares to use the public address system when disembarking from such services.
History
Some historic forms of public transport are the horse-drawn boat
and the stagecoach.
See also
External link
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