Mass Transportation

Mass transportation is any kind of transportation system in which large numbers of people are carried within a single vehicle or combination of vehicles. Airplanes, railways, buses, trolleys, light rail systems, and subways are examples of mass transportation systems. The term mass transit is commonly used as a synonym for mass transportation.

In many parts of the world, mass transit systems are an important component of a nation's transportation system. Where people are too poor to buy automobiles, they depend on bicycles or animals or mass transit systems such as bus lines to travel within a city and from city to city. During the twentieth century, however, the role of mass transit systems in developed nations such as the United States has declined dramatically. The primary means of transportation has become the private automobile, which typically carries only one or two passengers at a time.