When do we use ‘in’ and ‘on’ when talking about transport?

Why do we say ‘on a bus’ but ‘in a car’?

In English, choosing between on and in is important, and knowing which one to use when talking about transportation can be tricky – but it doesn’t have to be.

In this blog I hope to make this clearer for you so that you can express yourself in English well without making this common mistake. 

The basic difference between on and in for transportation is this:

On:

On is typically used for larger forms of transport, such as buses, planes, trains, subways or metros, cruise ships, and big boats.

 If you can stand up and walk around a form of transportation in order to find a place to sit, you are on that form of transportation.

Here are some examples:

• They were on the bus for over an hour in traffic.
• You can eat all you want on a cruise ship.
• Have you ever been on a plane before?
• She’s never been on a train.
• Sorry about the connection. I’m on the subway / tube.

In:

In is typically used with smaller vehicles that you have to enter and sit in, such as cars, taxis, trucks, carriages, rickshaws, canoes, kayaks, paddle boats, or smaller boats in general. 

If you don’t have a lot of room to move and you can’t really stand up and comfortably walk around to find a place to sit, you are in that form of transportation.

Note these examples:

• I’m in a taxi right now. I’ll see you in 15 or 20 minutes.
• How many people can fit in your car?
• I’ve never been in a rickshaw.
• Don’t stand in the canoe! It’s going to tip over!

Basically, for most modes of transportation, on equals more freedom of movement, and in equals less freedom of movement.

But wait, what about bikes and skateboards?

In short, if you can stand on or sit on a (usually) single-person or two-person vehicle or piece of sports equipment, use on.

This includes vehicles which require you to place your legs on either side of the seat (and which have handlebars) such as bikes and motorcycles and vehicles which you stand on and partially control with your body weight, such as skateboards, Segways, hoverboards, and scooters. 

For example:

• I came on my scooter.
• He goes everywhere on his bike. 
• She is always on her skateboard.

Now can you answer these questions? 

• When was the last time you were on a bus?
• Have you ever been on a cruise ship?
• What’s the longest amount of time that you have ever spent in a car? How about in a taxi?
• Have you ever been on a motorcycle?
• What about a Segway?

Example answers:

• The last time I was on a bus was yesterday.
• I have never been on a cruise ship sadly.
• The longest I have been in a car was travelling from Southern France to Paris , which took most of the day. I’ve only been in a taxi for maximum 1.5 hours.
• Yes I have been on a motorcycle in Vietnam.
• No I have never tried to go on a Segway.

Check out my Youtube video to review again when to use on and in for modes of transport:

I go live on YouTube every Friday to answer your English language questions, so if you have a question about English grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, idioms, or anything else, leave a comment below and I will answer in an upcoming live video lesson!