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If I'm in a bus or a train and I'm on the phone, would it be correct to say my interlocutor that "I'm in transports" with the meaning that "I'm in a public transport".

In French, saying "Je suis dans les transports" (direct translation of I'm in transports) would be understood as "in public transports" by everyone, but I'm really unsure it's the same in English.

Google didn't help much on that, results for "I'm in transports" are not convincing.

And if it's not correct, how could I say that the proper way ?

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  • My first thought was that you work in a transport/freight forwarding company, a "transport", like my dictionary says, too. My second was that you are being shipped by a freight forwarder :P
    – phresnel
    Commented Dec 19, 2014 at 7:48

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The correct preposition here is on.

However, you would not usually say "I'm on public transport" but instead specify the type of public transport:

I'm on the (a) bus.

I'm on the (a) train.

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  • I agree. But note that it's not uncommon to say "I took public transportation/public transit to get downtown", especially when this involved taking multiple forms in the same trip, like a bus or train or subway. However "I took public transport" is uncommon at best.
    – pabo
    Commented Aug 8, 2014 at 22:22
  • Yes. I would tend to agree with both David and Pabo. You'd say "I'm on the bus" or "I'm on the bus to Victoria Station". Examples of when you'd say you're "on a bus": 1. You don't know what bus you're on. All you know is that you're on a bus. 2. You're explaining to the person on the other end of the phone why he can't hear you well. "'Cause you're on a bus and there are loads of people around you talking loudly."
    – Adam
    Commented Aug 9, 2014 at 0:08

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