transit, transport

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I feel "transit" and "transport" quite confusing. Does "transit" refers to a particular kind of transportation while "transport" is used to refer to a broad sense of sending people from one place to another?


Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Horsa]

Not quite.

Transit is a noun and refers to the movement or passage itself. So an example might be - "The transit of Venus across the Sun is a very rare event."

It is countable - "There have been only two other such transits recorded."

Transit is often used with "in" - "The goods are in transit at present."

Transport can be a noun or a verb. As a noun it refers to a system or means of transport. So it refers to buses, ships, etc.

As a verb transport means "take to a different place". So - "The goods were transported by sea."

[jiang]

Dear Horsa,

Thank you very much for your explanation. I understand you explanation.
I don't mean to offend you. But I do get confused by the two words. The following is from the dictionary:
transit:
the movement of goods or people from one place to another
transport (UStransportation):
to take goods or people from one place to another
There is an expression BRT(Bus Rapid Transit). Could you please explain why it is "transit" instead of "transportation"?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.


Jiang

Not quite.

Transit is a noun and refers to the movement or passage itself. So an example might be - "The transit of Venus across the Sun is a very rare event."

It is countable - "There have been only two other such transits recorded."

Transit is often used with "in" - "The goods are in transit at present."

Transport can be a noun or a verb. As a noun it refers to a system or means of transport. So it refers to buses, ships, etc.

As a verb transport means "take to a different place". So - "The goods were transported by sea."

[Horsa]

I'm not offended that easily. I have not heard of BRT possibly because I am British not American. There are many differences between British and American English. This seems to be one of them - judging by your dictionary definition. For me though, the term BRT would still seem to be talking about the movement and not the form of transport - rapid transit by bus.

[jiang]

Dear Horsa,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.
Last time when a teacher explained something that I didn't understand I asked further about the question. But it turned out he/she was not happy about it. That why now when I ask the second time about the same question I begin with "I don't mean to offend you" to avoid misunderstanding.

Jiang

I'm not offended that easily. I have not heard of BRT possibly because I am British not American. There are many differences between British and American English. This seems to be one of them - judging by your dictionary definition. For me though, the term BRT would still seem to be talking about the movement and not the form of transport - rapid transit by bus.

[vil]

Hi jiang,


If you spare to the following link a few minutes you will ferret out doubtless the information you need:


transit: Definition, Synonyms and Much More from Answers.com


Regards.

V.

[jiang]

Hi vil,

Thank you very much for giving me the website. I have read the definitions and seen the meanings of it.

Jiang

Hi jiang,


If you spare to the following link a few minutes you will ferret out doubtless the information you need:


transit: Definition, Synonyms and Much More from Answers.com


Regards.

V.