mass transit

noun

chiefly US

: the transportation of large numbers of people by means of buses, subway trains, etc., especially within urban areas

also : the system, vehicles, or facilities engaged in such transportation

I rode mass transit—first the bus, then Metro—for nearly two decades.

—Fred Barnes

Examples of mass transit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some bills proposed in the Legislature called for licensing, monitoring and fees that would go to mass transit, infrastructure and volunteer fire companies. — CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

The legislation is expected to raise more than $1 billion for the region’s mass transit systems annually with the help of a sales tax hike and a diversion of the state’s sales tax on motor fuel to public transit. — Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

If not, the critics say, the nearly 10 miles of Kendall Drive covered by the transit-zoning measures could be radically transformed by new, high-density development long before any mass transit arrives to provide relief. — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026

Being in a busy location like Warner Center with growing access to mass transit offers tenants more opportunities to engage with the city. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mass transit

• paratransit