The story
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Today it means: Privately-operated services providing an alternative to public transport, somewhat more tailored to the individual passenger (but not to the extent of a private taxicab); for example, passengers might be expected to join the vehicle at certain computer-generated pick-up points based on desired routes. Full definition →
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.