Mixed-mode commuting

Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportation options. A major goal of modern intermodal passenger transport is to reduce dependence on the automobile as the major mode of ground transportation and increase use of public transport. To assist the traveller various intermodal journey planners such as Rome2rio and Google Transit have been devised to help travellers to plan and schedule their journey.

Mixed-mode commuting often centers on one type of rapid transit, such as regional rail, to which low-speed options (i.e. bus, tram, or bicycle) are appended at the beginning or end of the journey. Trains offer quick transit from a suburb into an urban area, where passengers can choose a way to complete the trip. Most transportation modes have always been used intermodally; for example, people have used road or urban railway to an airport or inter-regional railway station.

Passenger transport has always been intermodal. People switched from carriages to ferries at the edge of a river too deep to ford. In the 19th century, people who lived inland switched from train to ship for overseas voyages. Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey was built to let commuters to New York City from New Jersey switch to ferries to cross the Hudson River in order to get to Manhattan. A massive ferry slip, now in ruins, was incorporated into the terminal building. Later, when a subway was built through tunnels under the Hudson, now called the PATH, a station stop was added to Hoboken Terminal. More recently, the New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system has included a stop there, but it is a relatively long walk from the terminal building. Ferry service has recently been revived, but passengers must exit the terminal and walk across the pier to the more modest ferry slip.

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