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I've googled it but the antonym of mass-transit (or public transportation) are not amongst the hits I've got.

I can explain the meaning using a sentence but I'd like the correct term, a noun if possible.

"Going by car" doesn't suffice because buses are, technically speaking, cars too. "Private transportation" seems to be wrong, because it could be publicly available. "Individual-transit" excludes co-commuting, so it's not right, neither...

The context of my question is getting oneself to work, so commuting scope. Taxis, planes, helicopters, submarines and such are very rarely used for said purpose, so they can be excluded. Bicycles, skateboards, pogo sticks etc. are muscles driven and can be equated to walking which isn't within the scope of getting to work by other means than by "one's own machine".

Konrad Viltersten
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  • I'm confused by your question. Maybe some context would help. Where do taxis, limousines, and bicycles fit into your classification? Busses are usually classified as mass transit, unless they're busses hired for a special purpose (and that doesn't seem consistent with your comment on co-commuting). – Peter Shor Oct 11 '14 at 18:48
  • Awesome point. Please see the edit. – Konrad Viltersten Oct 11 '14 at 19:04
  • Give us a sample sentence and we will fill-in-the-blank. – Gary's Student Oct 11 '14 at 19:04
  • @Gary'sStudent There's no example sentence as such. We could construct something along the lines of "mass transit is commonly used here but over there, it's rather XXX that's the primary thing". – Konrad Viltersten Oct 11 '14 at 19:09
  • Then how about "private vehicle" as the opposite of mass transit? – Peter Shor Oct 11 '14 at 19:19
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    And buses are not cars. – Drew Oct 11 '14 at 19:25
  • @PeterShor What if the car is not privately owned but provided to you by your employer? – Konrad Viltersten Oct 11 '14 at 19:50
  • @Drew Really? Must be my Swedification that's spooking here. In Swedish we use the term cargo-car for truck, individual-car for car-car, locker-car for van etc. They're all cars because it's the same principle involved - you burn a dead dino and small explosions turn the rubber roundies backwards, which moves you and/or your stuff somewhere. – Konrad Viltersten Oct 11 '14 at 19:56
  • @KonradViltersten: Really. No one would say bus-car in AmE. But we do say train car. (In French, on the other hand, the term for a bus that is not an omnibus is "car".) And I think you have the wrong idea about why "they're all cars", at least in terms of etymology. A car is apparently a "wheeled vehicle", and the word comes from Latin (via French). Online Etymology Dictionary. – Drew Oct 11 '14 at 20:03
  • If you don't want to use the word car (because it means something different in Sweden), how about automobile? – Peter Shor Oct 11 '14 at 20:37
  • The term mass transit or mass transport is not much used in the UK. We talk of public transport - air, rail, bus, taxi etc., and private transport - private car, motor bike, bicycle etc. – WS2 Oct 11 '14 at 21:45
  • @Drew Well, would you know! I always assumed that car was an abbreviation of carriage... Thanks. – Konrad Viltersten Oct 11 '14 at 22:55
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    Hmmmm, commuting by submarine. "Get in, Wiggins, or it's the sack for you!" "But sir! I forgot my lunch at my house!" "So cry me a river--you're a half hour late! It's not like we can just honk or something. The closest thing we have are the tubes--and I doubt very much you'd appreciate a wakeup call from a cruise missile." – geometrian Oct 12 '14 at 03:18
  • @Konrad - note that "mass transport" is often called "public transport". So, public transport V private transport. – Fattie Oct 12 '14 at 10:19
  • Why would you choose the answer you eliminated in the question? Private transport doesn't cover what you want actually, you were right in your question. – ermanen Oct 12 '14 at 15:28
  • @ermanen Because it's been suggested that my eliminating that option was wrongly based on my ignorance. It was either private transport or own transport and since there were more voices advocating the former, I went with that. I'll take you disagree. Care to elaborate? Nothing's been etched in stone yet. – Konrad Viltersten Oct 12 '14 at 21:11
  • @KonradViltersten: Superficially, private transport is the opposite but your question has details in it and you excluded some of the transportation options. I elaborated in my answer under "note" section also. For example, taxis are considered private transport. – ermanen Oct 12 '14 at 22:48
  • @ermanen I excluded e.g. taxis because those are very rarely used for commuting to work. However, in the case that they were frequently used, I'd add them to the opposite of mass-transit, hence classifying them as private but still not own transportation. Just to be clear - are you suggesting that the marked answer isn't the best one? Would you like me to reconsider? – Konrad Viltersten Oct 13 '14 at 21:59
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    @KonradViltersten: As I said, private transport includes options that you excluded in your question. I don't think it is the right answer for your specific situation though it is the opposite of public transit in general. You can think of "own transportation" as a sub-type of it. You can even see this usage in job specifications or ads, as in "must have own transportation". – ermanen Oct 16 '14 at 04:23
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    Opposite' has lots of possibilities, and you've touched on some of them. What is the superset? Transportation in general? Commuting to work (just people, not goods)? By engine prpulsion? Mechanical propulsion? (I think it is #2). So your question might be more easily answerable if it were "What do you call all the alternatives together that are not called mass transit or public transportation?" (no need to exclude all the items you are referring to like walking or bicycles or taxis). – Mitch Oct 20 '14 at 13:30
  • @Mitch Very keen observation. Just to be clear - some of these need to be excluded because they can't be included in the super set you mentioned. I need to express "not an element belonging to the collective means of daily commute". The unusual means shouldn't be in the super set. Walking/bikecycling collides with both the collective means and not-collective ones. Hence the exclusion. But in principle, you've got it right. – Konrad Viltersten Oct 20 '14 at 14:29
  • Well, there I have a meaning disagreement with you. As far as conveyances for commuting to work goes I think the possibilities are, cars/trucks, motorcycles, mopeds/scooters, ferries/boats, buses, trains, streetcars/subway, biking, walking. Of those only buses, trains. streetcar/subway, ferries fall under mass transit (for my use of the term 'mass transit'). – Mitch Oct 20 '14 at 16:26
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    Walking and bikes you do by yourself. They are conveyances. You may walk or bike next to someone, but it is still a conveyance that is by yourself. A car may go on a publicly funded system (the road system) but it is not what I put in the category of mass transit. If at some point in the future, we have a publicly funded tube system with personal tube vehicles all supplied by the state, then it becomes fuzzier, and you have to say does your set mean publicly funded or does it mean conveyance occupancy more than 1 (or 2 or whatever your threshold is). – Mitch Oct 20 '14 at 16:37
  • @Mitch Walking/biking is excluded from the super set because both compete with cars (and such) but also with busses (and such). One can bike/drive as well as bike/bussify. However, you hit the nail on the other thing - I'm thinking of the funding method, not the occupancy (although, I didn't realize that until now, because contemporarily those happen to coincide). Very well thought and deep analysis of the question. Hats off to you. – Konrad Viltersten Oct 20 '14 at 19:45

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I think private transport is the best term here.

I guess you're right, private transport doesn't explicitly mean just cars (it also includes motorbikes and pushbikes). But by the same token, 'mass transit' doesn't mean just buses and trains, it can include trams, minibuses, ferries etc.

In Megacity, most workers use private transport to get to work.

Private transport leads to congestion and smog.

Mass transit is very popular in Utopolis, but citizens still use private transport for picnicing on Sundays.

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dwjohnston
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In my state, high-occupancy vehicles, holding two or more passengers, are permitted in a faster lane. "Single occupancy vehicles" crowd into the other lanes. The terminology is awkward. We have a sign HOV lane to distinguish for high-occupancy, but no corresponding singular.

Theresa
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If the context is to use mass transit as a noun rather than an adjective, then consider:

In Washington DC, people can use mass transit to commute to work. In Turtle Point Pennsylvania, people use private transportation.

I don't know if there is any difference between using mass transit and mass trasnportation.

Gary's Student
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Opposite of mass transit (public transit) is driving your own vehicle. Or in short, you can say own transportation. (and in case if you are not the driver and the driver is not a chauffeur)

For example, official website of British Columbia lists "driving your own vehicle" and "public transit" along with other transportation options for seniors under transportation section:

  • Driving Your Own Vehicle
  • Public Transit
  • Carpooling and Car Sharing
  • Taxis
  • Walking and Cycling
  • Ferries
  • Volunteer Driver Programs
  • Medical Travel Assistance

Though, it is simply mentioned as driving also in official transportation websites. It makes sense when it is listed along with other options including public transit.

Note: I didn't mention "private transport" because you eliminated it in your question. Also you were right that private transportation can be open to public but maybe not to everyone. For example, taxi is considered a private transportation.

The inquiry considers that taxis are not public transport. Taxis are a mode of private commercial transport that plays two key roles in the transport system: they are a complement to public transport and also an alternative to public transport.

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2012/06/04/what-is-public-transport/

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ermanen
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