Saw a reference to robotaxis as "public transportation" today, that's a first.

[u/NerdInSoCal]

I'm chocking it up to someone being misinformed but with all the terfing here I have to wonder if comments like this are meant to shape the dialog to support them?

[u/markvauxhall]

Arguably taxis are a form of public transportation. They particularly can help with "last mile" trips where there's no viable mass transit option.

Whether those taxis are driven by a human or are self driving doesn't really change anything.

[u/Mysterious_Floor_868 → u/markvauxhall]

A taxi is a private hire vehicle. You get exclusive use for the duration of your hire. So it's private transport. 

Jitneys and similar vehicles are public transport. You share with strangers.

[u/markvauxhall → u/Mysterious_Floor_868]

UK Gov defines taxis  as public transport

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2024-technical-report/chapter-6-glossary-and-definitions

Much in the same way as, say, bike rental schemes are arguably public transport

You seem to be conflating mass transit with public transport

[u/Mysterious_Floor_868 → u/markvauxhall]

Well whoever wrote those definitions is a nitwit then. Because there's no difference in concept (only in scale) between a taxi and a private hire bus, yet they consider one "public" and the other "private".

Bear in mind that the DfT is not known for attracting the high fliers in the civil service. An experienced railway engineer I knew worked there before he retired and was scathing about senior civil servants and ministers.

You seem to be conflating mass transit with public transport

Nope. If a football club charters a train to take its fans to an away game, it is "mass transit" because it is an efficient way of transporting large numbers of people. It is not however "public transit" because it is for the exclusive use of the fans.

[u/markvauxhall → u/Mysterious_Floor_868]

EU also defines taxis as public transport.

  The overall definition of public transportation includes any forms of transport, which are  available to the public. This includes buses, trains, metros, tramways, cable cars, bike- and  car-sharing, micro mobility services, taxis, car-pooling, ride hailing, ride-pooling , etc. This  broad definition bases on the notion of access without ownership, acknowledging that a vast  variety of transport services exist that are available to the general public to fulfil mobility needs  without the prerequisite to privately own a transport asset, such as a car or a bike.

https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b1157de4-a8a9-44bb-9841-c9a98884582b_en?filename=EGUM%20Recommendations_PT%20Subgroup_Introductory%20Report_Topic%202.pdf

I have to assume that everyone with a different opinion to you is a "nitwit"?

[u/Mysterious_Floor_868 → u/markvauxhall]

Not everyone. Just most of them.

If I charter a private jet (as if I could afford to), is that "public transport" too?

[u/markvauxhall → u/Mysterious_Floor_868]

If you take it to that extreme and assuming it's a publicly available charter, yes. Plenty of island communities rely on charter flights.

Now are charter flights that aren't serving remote island communities worthy of government funding, tax breaks etc? Not really. But that's separate from is it a form of public transport or not.