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Types of Transportation
There are various types of transportation that keep the day to day operations of
American society up and running. We need roadways open and unobstructed to
get to work each day. Airplanes need to fly us to far away destinations to transact
business deals or just for vacation getaways. Subways and public transportation
are the center of major city operations. School buses transport thousands of
children to classes. Trucks deliver everyday items to distribution centers and
warehouses. Barges float down rivers and waterways carrying natural resources
like coal and steel. It is all a part of keeping our daily lives moving every day.
îistory of
Transportation
Transportation began with the invention of the wheel in about 3500 BC. Wheels
were placed first on carts and then chariots. Next came travel by riverboats
believed to have first been used by the Egyptians. Horses were added as a means
of transportation. It is believed Asians were the first to place some kind of
protector on the horse's hooves. The wheelbarrow was instrumental in transporting
heavy goods from one site to another. The submarine used to travel underwater
was invented in 1620 by Cornelis Drebbel. The first paddle wheel steamboat
began rolling down the river during the late 1700s and the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution. About 100 years later we saw the first cable car. The
Wright Brothers took off in the first airplane which they called a "flying machine"
in 1903. (They also made bicycles.) Henry Ford created the system to mass
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produce cars in 1908. Successful helicopter flights took off in the 1940's.
Jumbo jets began gracing the runways in 1970. And, the SpaceShuttle blasted off
in 1981.
In the United States, one key type of transportation is the use of interstate
highways. Federal officials refer to it as the National Highway System which
includes about 160,000 miles of paved roads and interstate that serves the purposes
of keeping residents mobile, keeping the country safe and keeping the economy
stable. Officially, the National Highway System is divided into several key
groups:
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It is hard to believe that some people thought the automobile would never be
widely received as a mode of transportation in America. Not only is it a main way
to get around in the United States, the availability and use of cars is the key to local
and regional travel worldwide. The United States is the number one market in the
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Meanwhile, if you have driven on the road at any point, you know you have to
share the road with an increasing population of freight trucks. Freight trucks that
transport goods from point A to point B on a 24/7 basis are the blood flow of the
American economy. And, as the American economy and population increases, so
will the need for transportation via freight trucks. According to the Federal
Highway Administration, about 53 million tons of freight is on the move daily
valued at $36 billion. Goods moved include everything you can think of from
consumer goods to industrial equipment to hazardous materials.
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Union Pacific was the first intercontinental railroad connecting the Eastern United
States to the new frontier of the West. The railroad was built in the mid-19th
century by hand with a workforce of about 20,000 men, many of whom were
immigrants. While England is credited with creating the first modern railroad in
the 1820s, many saw the expansion of the U.S. railway as the key to growing the
nation. As a result, traveling by train became the primary way to travel distances
and transport goods during the late 19th century.
Rail also became a viable option for local and regional transportation with the
advent of subways, rapid systems, monorails, commuter and light rail. The
London Underground or the Tube was the first to begin this method of local travel
in 1863. Since then it has transported over one billion people. The attraction of
mass transit rail systems is that they can quickly transport large numbers of people
within metropolitan areas which can take some of the stress off of roads and
highways.
Aviation
Ever since the Wright Brothers flew onto the scene with the success of the first
flight, we have looked to aviation as another viable type of transportation. Air
travel is used for military, commercial and pleasure travel. However, like other
modes of transportation, air travel is highly susceptible to changes in the economy
and oil prices. Recent increases in oil prices have left airline travelers to pay
additional fees and surcharges that help airline companies compensate for their
increasing overhead costs. Also, the tragedy of the 9/11 terrorist plots caused a
worldwide restructure of airline and airport safety measures that permanently
changed air travel.
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6ater
Travel by boats and ships date back to Biblical times and are still useful today as a
mode of transportation that is used in daily commerce worldwide. In fact, many
cities were established along river and seaports because of their access to
waterways that were a main hub of transportation of goods. Similar to freight
transportation, shipping is another primary way goods are transported from one
point to another. And, because waterways link cities, regions and countries, cargo
shipping is essential to transporting goods internationally. The Great Lakes St.
Lawrence Seaway System is an example. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to
Lake Superior in Minnesota and incorporates waterways in the U.S. and Canada.
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Passenger Ticket
Luggage Ticket
In India two nationalized airways operate which help in the conduct of air
transport. These airways are the Indian Air Lines and the Air India International.
The former is concerned for domestic operation whereas the later is concerned for
international operation.
Advantages
High Speed: Air transport is the fastest mode of transport and therefore suitable
carriage of goods over a long distance requiring less time. There is no substitute for
air transport when the transport of goods is required urgently.
Quick Service: Air transport provides comfortable, efficient and quick transport
service. It is regarded as best mode of transport for transporting perishable goods.
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Easy Access: Air transport is regarded as the only means of transport in those areas
which are not easily accessible to other modes of transport. It is therefore
accessible to all areas regardless the obstruction of land.
No Physical Barrier: Air transport is free from physical barriers because it follows
the shortest and direct routes where seas, mountains and forests do not obstruct.
Natural Route: Aircrafts travels to any place without any natural obstacles or
barriers. Because the custom formalities are compiled very quickly. It avoids delay
in obtaining clearance.
National Defence: It plays a significant role in the national defense of the country
because modern wars are conducted with the help of aero planes. Airways has a
upper hand a destroying the enemy in a short period.
Disadvantages
Risky: Air transport is the most risky form of transport because a minor accident
may put a substantial loss to the goods, passengers and the crew. The chances of
accidents are greater in comparison to other modes of transport.
Very Costly: Air transport is regarded as the costliest mode of transport. The
operating cost of aero-planes are higher and it involves a great deal of expenditure
on the construction of aerodromes and aircraft. Because of this reason the fare of
air transport are so high that it becomes beyond the reach the common people.
Small Carrying Capacity: The aircrafts have small carrying capacity and therefore
these are not suitable for carrying bulky and cheaper goods. the load capacity
cannot be increased as it is found in case of rails.
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Unreliable. Most of the air transport are uncertain and the unreliable because these
are controlled by weather condition. It is seriously affected by adverse weather
conditions. Fog, snow and heavy rain weather may cause cancellation of some
flights.
Huge Investment: Air transport requires huge investment for construction and
maintenance of aerodromes. It also requires trained, experienced and skilled
personnel which involves a substantial investment.
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The decisions a business owner must make regarding transportation of products are
closely related to a number of other distribution issues. For example, the
accessibility of suitable means of transportation factors into decisions regarding
where best to locate a business or facility. The means of transportation chosen will
also affect decisions regarding the form of packing used for products and the size
or frequency of shipments made. Although transportation costs may be reduced by
sending larger shipments less frequently, it is also necessary to consider the costs
of holding extra inventory. The interrelationship of these decisions means that
successful planning and scheduling can help business owners to save on
transportation costs.
There are five basic means of transporting products utilized by manufacturers and
distributors: air, motor carrier, train, marine, or pipeline. Many distribution
networks consist of a combination of these means of transportation. For example,
oil may be pumped through a pipeline to a waiting ship for transport to a refinery,
and from there transferred to trucks that transport gasoline to retailers or heating oil
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Air transport. Air transportation offers the advantage of speed and can be used for
long-distance transport. However, air is also the most expensive means of
transportation, so it is generally used only for smaller items of relatively high
value²such as electronic equipment²and items for which the speed of arrival is
important²such as perishable goods. Another disadvantage associated with air
transportation is its lack of accessibility; since a plane cannot ordinarily be pulled
up to a loading dock, it is necessary to bring products to and from the airport by
truck.
Railways. The rail transportation network in the United States included about
120,000 miles of major rail lines in the late 1990s, on which carriers transported an
estimated 1.3 million tons of freight annually. Trains are ideally suited for shipping
bulk products, and can be adapted to meet specific product needs through the use
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of specialized cars²i.e., tankers for liquids, refrigerated cars for perishables, and
cars fitted with ramps for automobiles.
Motor carriers. Accessible and ideally suited for transporting goods over short
distances, trucks are the dominant means of shipping in the United States. In fact,
motor carriers account for approximately $120 billion in annual revenue, much of
it due to local shipments (shipments to and from business enterprises in the same
community or local region). This industry sector underwent tremendous change in
the 1990s with the introduction of deregulation measures that removed most state
and federal regulations in the areas of pricing and operating authority. "With few
exceptions, motor carriers are now free to operate wherever they wish and to
charge any rates that are agreeable to the shipper and the carrier," wrote Hoch,
although he noted that trucks are still subject to federal laws on vehicle
specifications and the parameters of the sanctioned truck routes of the Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982.
Water transport. Water transportation is the least expensive and slowest mode of
freight transport. It is generally used to transport heavy products over long
distances when speed is not an issue. Although accessibility is a problem with
ships²because they are necessarily limited to coastal area or major inland
waterways²piggybacking is possible using either trucks or rail cars. However,
industry observers note that port terminal accessibility to land-based modes of
transportations is lacking in many regions. The main advantage of water
transportation is that it can move products all over the world.
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The movement of goods from one place to another is called transport. Transport
removes the hindrances of persons, place and time in exchange of goods and
commodities. Effective transport plays an important role in the economic progress
of the country. The various economic benefits/functions of transport are as follows:
Specialization and Division of Labour: Transport helps each region and country to
make optimum and efficient use of its national resources. Each region can
concentrate on production of those goods for which its resources are best suited.
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Thus, movement of goods and people from one place to another leads to
specialization and division of labour which results in minimum wastage of
resources and reduction in the cost of production.
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(1) the need to complete all ongoing works to derive the maximum benefits from
the earlier investments
(2) to make investments in transport sector keeping in view the long time frame
perspective.
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Significance of Transportation
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with low per capita had a mobility index for freight and passenger transport in
single digits, whereas this index was significantly high in countries with high per
capita income. Indeed, a more recent study finds out that every one-percentage
growth in the Indian economy presumes a growth of 1.2 to 1.4 per cent in the
transport sector.