When do we use 'in' and 'on' for different forms of transportation?

Why is it 'on the bus' and 'in the car'?  What is the difference?  Well, let's take a short look:

on the bus, on the train, on the ship, on the plane - These are all forms of public transportation.

in the car, in the boat, in the canoe - These are forms of private transportation.

It appears that 'on' is used with public forms of transportation whereas 'in' is used with private forms of transportation.  But, be careful there are some exceptions to this rule.  We have things that we 'ride on'.  For example, on a bike, on a horse, on an elephant, etc...  We also have at least one form of semi-private transportation, in a taxi.  I guess taxis are cars so we say 'in a taxi'.

Let's review!

Let's say I need to catch a plane in Tokyo, but I live in Osaka.  So, I rode on my bicycle to get to my friends house.  He drove me, so I rode in a car to get to Osaka station.  Then, I rode on a train to Tokyo.  Finally, I rode in a taxi to Narita airport.  (I was in a hurry.)

How about for streets?

Is the following sentence correct?

I live in 4th St.

Well, in British English (BE), yes.  In American English (AE), no.  This is one of those odd differences between AE and BE.

In BE, if you want to talk about only the street name for someone, you must use 'in':

I live in Rodeo Drive.  (This sounds very strange to American ears)

In AE, if you want to talk about only the street name for someone, you must use 'on':

I live on Rodeo Drive.  (I'm sure this sounds really strange to British ears)

If you want to know more about 'in', 'on' and 'at' please follow this link to a wonderful article with pictures about the differences:

http://owl.english.purdue.org/handouts/esl/eslprep2.html

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Thanks go to David, who emailed us this question.  Thanks for your input!