Outline of public transport

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to public transport:

Public transport – transport of passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public, typically managed on a schedule, operated on established routes, and that charge a posted fee for each trip. Public transport modes 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.

What type of thing is public transport?

Public transport can be described as all of the following:

Technology – making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures.
- Transport – the movement of humans, animals and goods from one location to another.

Types of public transport

Types of public transport, by mode

Airline
Bush airplane
Bus
Rail transport – means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks consisting of steel rails installed on sleepers/ties and ballast.
Aerial tramway
Gondola lift
Passenger ship

Other forms of publicly available transport

Free public transport
Personal public transport
- Personal rapid transit - Proposed form of public transport featuring small automated vehicles operating on a network of specially built guideways.

Vehicles for hire

Auto rickshaw - A motorized development of the traditional rickshaw.
Boda-boda - Bicycle & motorcycle taxis commonly found in East Africa.
Cycle rickshaw - A local means of transport that are human-powered by pedaling
Gondola - A traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon.
Hackney carriage - A carriage or automobile for hire.
Limousine - A luxury sedan or saloon car driven by a chauffeur and with a partition between the driver and the passenger compartment.
Motorcycle taxi - A taxi that typically carries one passenger, who rides as the pillion behind the motorcycle operator.
Paratransit - Special transportation services for people with disabilities, often provided as a supplement to fixed-route bus and rail systems by public transit agencies.
Pulled rickshaw - A mode of human-powered transport by which a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two people.
Share taxi - Vehicles for hire that are typically smaller than buses and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, but instead departing when all seats are filled.
Taxicab - A car used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride.
Car jockey
Flexible carpooling
Ridesharing company
Slugging
Vanpool

History of public transport

General public transport concepts

Public transport organizations

Persons influential in public transport

Harry Beck (4 June 1902 - 18 September 1974), was the creator of the topological London Underground map that has been emulated for many railway and metro maps around the world.
Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 - 22 April 1833), was the engineer who built the first railway steam locomotive that was demonstrated at Penydarren ironworks in South Wales on 21 February 1804. The steam locomotive went on to reduce travel times between towns and cities and was one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
George Bradshaw (29 July 1800 - 6 September 1853), was the producer of the first compilation of railway timetables in Bradshaw's Guide in 1839.
John Stephenson (1809 -1893), was the inventor of the first streetcar (named "John Mason") to run on rails in the USA. It was pulled by horses and opened on the 26 November 1832.
Robert Davidson (1804 - 1894), was a Scottish inventor and builder of the first known electric locomotive. Named Galvani, it was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September 1842 and had a top speed of 4 mph.
Werner von Siemens (13 December 1816 - 6 December 1892), was the father of the trolleybus and the creator of the world's first electric tram line, the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway.
Hideo Shima (20 May 1901 - 18 March 1998), was the engineer of the Shinkansen bullet train.

v t e Public transport
Bus service	Bus driver list Bus rapid transit Express bus Guided bus Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit Intercity bus Open top bus Charabanc Public light bus Rail replacement bus Share taxi/Taxibus Marshrutka Pesero Shuttle bus Transit bus Trolleybus
Rail	Passenger rail terminology glossary Airport rail link Commuter rail Elevated railway Funicular Heritage railway Heritage streetcar High-speed rail Higher-speed rail Inter-city rail Interurban Maglev Monorail Narrow-gauge railway People mover Railbus Metro/Rapid Transit Medium-capacity rail system Rubber-tyred metro Regional rail Street running Suspension railway Tram Cable car Horsecar Light rail Tram-train
Vehicles for hire	Auto rickshaw taxi Boda boda Combination bus Cycle rickshaw Demand-responsive transport Microtransit Paratransit Dollar van Dolmuş Hackney carriage Jeepney Limousine Motorcycle taxi Marshrutka Nanny van Personal rapid transit Pesero Public light bus Pulled rickshaw Share taxi Songthaew Taxi Tuk tuk
Carpooling	Car jockey Flexible carpooling Real-time ridesharing Slugging Vanpool
Ship	Cable ferry Ferry Gondola Hovercraft Hydrofoil Ocean liner Vaporetto Water taxi
Cable	Aerial tramway Cable ferry Cable railway Elevator Funicular Gondola lift bicable tricable Inclined elevator
Other transport	Airline Airliner Carsharing Bicycle-sharing Scooter-sharing Elevator Escalator Horse-drawn vehicle Hyperloop Inclined elevator Moving walkway Personal transporter Robotaxi Shweeb Slope car Trackless train Vactrain
Locations	Airport Bus bulb Bus garage Bus lane Bus stand Bus station Bus stop Bus turnout (bus bay) Dry dock Ferry terminal Hangar Harbor Interchange station Kassel kerb Layover Metro station Park and ride Port Queue jump Taxicab stand Train station Tram stop Transit mall Transport hub
Ticketing and fares	Automated fare collection Bus advertising Contract of carriage Dead mileage Exit fare Fare avoidance Fare capping Fare evasion Free public transport Free travel pass Integrated ticketing Manual fare collection Money train Paid area Penalty fare Proof-of-payment Reduced fare program Transfer Transit pass
Routing	Circle route Cross-city route Network length Non-revenue track Radial route Transport network
Facilities	Checked baggage First class Sleeper Standing passenger Travel class
Scheduling	Bus bunching Clock-face scheduling Headway Night (owl) service On-time performance Public transport timetable Short turn
Politics	Airport security Complete streets Green transport hierarchy Farebox recovery ratio Rail subsidies Security Street hierarchy Transit district Transit police Transportation authority Transportation demand management Transportation planning Transit-oriented development (TOD)
Technology and signage	Destination sign Passenger information system Platform display Platform screen doors Smart cards CIPURSE Calypso Ticket machine Timetable Transit map
Other topics	Boarding Bus rapid transit creep Crush load Dwell time Hail and ride Land transport Outline of transport Passenger load factor Public good Request stop Service Sustainable transport Timing point Transport economics Micromobility
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