Mass Transit

mass transit, also called mass transportation, or public transportation, the movement of people within urban areas using group travel technologies such as buses and trains. The essential feature of mass transportation is that many people are carried in the same vehicle (e.g., buses) or collection of attached vehicles (trains). This makes it possible to move people in the same travel corridor with greater efficiency, which can lead to lower costs to carry each person or—because the costs are shared by many people—the opportunity to spend more money to provide better service, or both.

Mass transit systems may be owned by private, profit-making companies or by governments or quasi-government agencies that may not operate for profit. Whether public or private, many mass transportation services are subsidized because they cannot cover all their costs from fares charged to their riders. Such subsidies assure the availability of mass transit, which contributes to making cities efficient and desirable places in which to live. The importance of mass transportation in supporting urban life differs among cities, depending largely on the role played by its chief competitor, the private automobile.

People travel to meet their needs for subsistence (to go to work, to acquire food and essential services), for personal development (to go to school and cultural facilities), and for entertainment (to participate in or watch sporting events, to visit friends). The need for travel is a derived need, because people rarely travel for the sake of travel itself; they travel to meet the primary needs of daily life. Mobility is an essential feature of urban life, for it defines the ability to participate in modern society.

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Travelers make rational choices of the modes they use, each choosing the one that serves him or her best, although best may be viewed differently by each traveler. Transportation services in a city define the alternatives from which travelers must choose, the activities available to them, and the places to which they can go. The transportation available to an individual is the collective result of government policies, the overall demand for travel in the region, competition among different modes, and the resources available to each individual to buy services. Urban transportation services directly affect the character and quality of urban life, which can differ among individuals who have access to different kinds and amounts of transportation services.