Public transport Crossword Puzzle for Kids

Public transport (public transportation in the United States) is the transport of passengers. Passengers don't need their own cars or other vehicles. Most public transport lets many people travel at the same time.

History

Ships have carried passengers since prehistoric times. That is the first kind of public transport. From the 17th century boats carried people along the canals.

Stagecoaches traveled a fixed route between coaching inns. There were buses in Paris in 1662. Around 1826 horsedrawn omnibuses operated in Nantes, France. They started in London in July 1829. Omnibuses were carts with seats for passengers to sit. The first passenger horse-drawn rail vehicle opened in 1806. It ran along the Swansea and Mumbles Railway. From 1825 steam railroads began carrying passengers between towns in England. Ferries (public boats) also became bigger and more numerous then.

Types of public transport

The main vehicles for public transport are buses, trolleybuses, trams and trains. Trams were first used in the late 1860s and used to be pulled by horses. Now trams are electric and run on a line of cable. Buses drive on the road, like cars do. Trolleybuses are like buses, but they use electricity from two wires above the road. Trains run on a track and are very fast. Many places use trams and trains as a form of public transport.

Using public transport

Many people who do not have cars use buses, trolleybuses, trams to go places near their house, and they use trains to go places far away. Long-distance transport is usually by airline or train or other public transport. Local transport is more often private.

When using public transport people may need a ticket or card to be able to get on. A timetable tells them when they come, since they can only go when and where the transport is going.

Public transport is good for the environment. When many people use the same vehicle, fewer cars are on the road. Fewer cars make less pollution. Cost is low, because it is very cheap to catch public transport every day, which is why even people who own a car often use public transport.

Modern public transport

Light rail a tram-like system with no significant sections of the route shared with cars or pedestrians, such as the San Diego Trolley or the St. Louis Metrolink

Cable car on rails, used in cities, a streetcar (tram) pulled by a cable

Aerial tramway or the more basic Aerial lift are vehicles suspended from aerial cables

Conveyor transport (term includes escalators and horizontal or slightly inclined moving sidewalk - "Travolator")

Funicular, used in mountains, tram-like vehicle on rails pulled by a cable up and down a very steep slope.

Stations

Stations are an important aspect of any public transportation system. Specific types include:

In addition one can get on or off 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.

Financing

Money is needed to build and operate a public transit system. The money comes from ticket revenue, government subsidies and advertisements. If ticket prices are too high, people will not use it. So, most systems charge passengers less than the full cost of building and operating the system. The percentage of total revenue that passengers pay is known as the farebox recovery ratio. Sometimes income comes from land development and rental from stores and vendors, and parking fees. Some subway systems get money from telecommunication companies by leasing tunnels and rights-of-way to carry fiber optic communication lines.

For many public transport systems, passengers must buy a ticket. Tickets may either be bought before the ride, at the time of the ride, or both. Tickets can be paper ticket, metal or plastic tokens, or an electronic card (smart card, contactless smart card). Sometimes, a ticket has to be validated (marking the time of the ticket's use). A paper ticket is stamped when it is validated. An electronic ticket is checked in.

Tickets may be valid for a single (or return) trip, or valid within a certain area for a period of time. The fare (price of the ticket) is based on the travel class, either based on the traveled distance, or on a zone pricing.

The tickets may have to be shown or checked automatically at the station platform or when going onto the system, or during the ride by a conductor. Operators may choose to control all passengers, allowing sale of the ticket at the time of ride. Alternatively, a proof-of-payment system allows passengers to enter the vehicles without showing the ticket. Riders may or may not be controlled by a ticket controller. If the rider does not show proof of payment, the operator may fine the rider.

Multi-use tickets allow a passenger to travel more than once. These include "return tickets" where the passenger pay for two trips at one time. It also includes period cards allowing travel within a certain area (for instance month cards), or during a given number of days that can be chosen within a longer period of time (for instance eight days within a month). Some transit systems sell tickets (passes) aimed at tourists that allow free or discounted entry at many tourist attractions, typically include zero-fare public transport within a city. Period tickets may be for a particular journey (in both directions), or for a whole network.

Cultural importance

Some rail-based public transport are also tourist attractions and/or well known landmarks in their own right. These include San Francisco's famous cable cars, the Molli steam powered train in Bad Doberan, the kusttram along the whole Flemish coast, the Schwebebahn Wuppertal, the Seattle Monorail, and the Christchurch Tram

Public Transport Users Association – a lobby group for Victoria (Australia)

Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Public transport” (revision 10834522, 2026-04-26), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.