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Public transport

Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. 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." Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams (or light rail), rapid transit (metro/subway/underground, etc.) and passenger trains 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 a 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. 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.

Urban public transit differs distinctly among Asia, North America, and Europe. In Japan, profit-driven, privately owned and publicly traded mass transit and real estate conglomerates predominantly operate public transit systems.[better source needed] In North America, municipal transit authorities most commonly run mass transit operations. In Europe, both state-owned and private companies 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. 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.

Conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferry service. The earliest public transport was water transport. Ferries appear in Greek mythology writings. The mystical ferryman Charon had to be paid and would only then take passengers to Hades.

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 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, 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. Buses are known to have operated in Nantes in 1826. The public bus transport system was introduced to London in July 1829.

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