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How can one decide which preposition to use? Is memorization the only way or is there a better way?
Note: People generally explain this by either distinguishing between open and closed vehicles or between large and small vehicles. However, the examples I've given defeat both explanations.
In case of large vehicle where we can freely move or walk, we use the preposition 'on' :
on a bus / train / large boat/ plane etc.
In case of small vehicle where we can't freely walk, we use the preposition 'in' :
in a car / taxi etc.
In case of open vehicle on which we ride, we use the preposition 'on' :
on a bicycle / a motorcycle / a horse.
But to denote mode of transport, we never use 'on a bicycle'. In that case, we use the preposition 'by':
'I am coming by bicycle'.
People will laugh at you if you say 'I am coming on a bicycle'.
The only way to be sure is to memorize. However, you can use guidelines to make the right choice 90% of the time or more.
If there is no compartment involved, you get ON it. (bicycle, motorcycle, skateboard, etc.) (Note: partial compartments, such as those of convertible cars or open-topped boats, count as compartments; pretty much anything where the vehicle at least partially surrounds you.)
Oddly enough, if the transportation is large enough to allow you to move around freely, you also get ON it. (Bus, train, large boat, passenger plane, etc; anything with an aisle or walkway.)
Otherwise, you almost certainly get IN it. (Car, personal aircraft, canoe, etc.)
Thus, you would get IN a speedboat, but get ON a cruise ship, even though both are boats and both are enclosed, because the speedboat is small enough that although you can probably change seats without difficulty, you can't really move around freely inside it.
As a counterexample, even though a van may be large enough that it does have an aisle and you can move around freely inside it, if you call it a van, you get IN it.
Besides the great @Hellion's answer, there is another consideration (#3 in the list below).
This article suggests there are three relevant factors:
Here's the quote:
Consider "She left that morning on a van." Suppose there were a scheduled van service between a central location and some factory on the outskirts of the city. Now it sounds a bit better, doesn't it?
As you mentioned, you can use in for getting inside a vehicle (e.g., get in the van), and you can use on for getting atop a vehicle (e.g. get on the bike).
The one exception to this seems to be when you use on as a shortened form of on board, hence: get on the train, get on the plane, get on the bus, get on the ship. Anytime someone can reasonably ask, "Is everybody on board?" – or if there is a boarding process – then you can use on instead of in.
In gives a sense of being enclosed. On is more open.
I don't think the current answers are sufficient.
The word "on" implies a service that is being used. "I am on the bus." But the word "in" is appropriate for the bus driver, who is not making use of this service:
"Where were you the night of the murder?" "It couldn't have been me, I was in the (driver's seat of the/my) bus. "
On the bus and in the bus:
On the bus is more appropriate. We use "on the bus/plane/train" - because we can WALK while we are inside the compartment.
Just as we can say "In the car/helicopter" but not "on the car/helicopter" as long as you are inside.
I read that if you can't stand up, you are IN. In a car, in a cab, ON the bus, on the plane. But that's not right, because you are in the elevator and you are standing up...
This works for most cases:
If you can stand up it is "on", otherwise "in".
How I explain it to my students: "On" works for communal transport because future passengers wait for their means of transportation on a platform (train), or in a line (bus, plane) before going on (board). The passengers' goal is to join a specific route/circuit to reach destination, rather than getting into the vehicle itself. They're not in the circuit but on it, hence, on the bus, tram, train, plane, cruise ship, etc. It's much clearer with a drawing of a circle with Xs for stops.
Doesn't apply to the metro, subway, and the underground. Even a cable car would be in. I think the visuals are very important here...
