Probably because cars are personal and the rest are mass transit. It’s not yours, but you pay to get on board when needed.
I have to explain to non-English speakers why you get in a car or a taxi but get on a bus or train.
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2026
94 points (97.0% liked)
Showerthoughts
40410 readers
960 users here now
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
Rules
- All posts must be showerthoughts
- The entire showerthought must be in the title
- No politics
- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
- Posts must be original/unique
- Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS
If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
It seems to me that the preposition usage corresponds to the boarding language pretty closely. Where "on" sounds most natural is also where "boarding" seems most appropriate.
Here is one linguist's take, with proposed usage cases at the end: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005224.html
The schedule/route condition makes a lot of sense to me. Consider a bus converted to personal use as an rv:
"I boarded my bus and drove to the mountains" is a valid English sentence, but it sounds odd to me. But if it's still a regular bus and drove->rode it works.
"I drove to the mountains in my bus" sounds better. Same vehicle as a city/school bus, different context. Change to a regular bus and drove->rode doesn't sound right without also changing "in my" to "on the".
Interesting approach, but where does that leave taxis?
You board a coach, even if it's your own coach with them HOERSENS IN FRONTA DEM!!!
Because then it would be carboard
Not true. When you're in a car you're "onboard".
Evidenced by the "Baby on Board" stickers
but you can board (up) a house
(like boarding up the windows)
Sure you do. It's just not something people commonly say.
But boarding and disembarking a car is totally valid language.
I disembark the beamer babyeah-oh! I disembark the Bee Emm Double You!
You board a taxi, though.
You definitely board a taxi though
You also ride on a bus or on a ship but you ride in a car
Also motorcycles and bicycles.
Most of the time anyone who travels by care are or can be the driver of the conveyance. That is very rare for people who travel by train, bus, ship, plane.
Not with that attitude
I think it has to do with the fact that in the first three, you can (and do right after entering) stand up (like on a ship, probably where this was first used), while in a car you immediately sit down?
But ultimately this is a trait of the English language, in my first language (German) we "steigen ein" in all of these.
You board something you can move around in or on. You get in or on smaller methods of transport.
I'll agree that it comes down to the personal vs. group nature of the vehicle. Maybe also who is controlling the vehicle (professional vs. amateur)
You don't board a motorcycle or a horse. You don't board a unicycle or bicycle. You don't board a kayak or canoe or a jetski or a dingy.
You DO board a stagecoach, pulled by horses. You do board a trawler or a fishing vessel.
I don't board my own van. I do board the intercity bush taxi (the same van with staff and better paint).
Likely all related to use of "board" for ships and devolved from there.
Perhaps it has something to do with trains, buses, and ships being operated/driven by others? You also board an aircraft, a ferry (okay, that's a ship, but still), hot-air balloons...
Witness me!!
You can walk on board a bus, boat or train. You sit down into a car.
I'm guessing because it's a process in which you need to show a valid ticket of travel (or buy it) while 'boarding'. Like onboarding or something.
If you had seen my lemon yellow 1983 Cadillac you wouldn’t say that.
You used to need to cross a board or a plank to get on the ship or train but you don't need that for a car.
You also can't "squeeze into" a bus, ship or train, but you can into a car. It's a matter of scale.
You can absolutely squeeze into a train or bus ... they tend to be quite full sometimes.
Fair point...
Ever tried to get on a bus or the tram/tube/metro at rush hour?!
No, because I live in the US and have no concept of public transportation.
You have Greyhound