Geography Project

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations. Transport is important since it enables trade between peoples, which in turn establishes civilizations. Roadways - India had a road network of over 4.42 million kilometres (2.059 million miles) in 2011, making it one of the three largest road networks in the world. The Indian Roadways play a crucial role in connecting the different
parts of India. Over the years after independence there has been an extensive development of the network of roads across the length and breadth of India. India's road network consists of national highways, state highways, district roads and village roads. Importance Roads are the vital lifelines of the economy making possible trade and commerce. Roads are most preferred modes of transportation and considered as one of the cost effective modes of transportation. Roads are easily accessible to each individual. Roads facilitate movement of both men and materials anywhere within a country. It helps in socio-economic development as well as brings national integration. It provides linkages to other modes of transportation like railways,airways, and shipping,

Cycle Rickshaw
From the early part of the century the bicycle rickshaws also became popular and are still used in rural India . Its more a bigger tri-cycle wherein two people can sit on a elavated seat at the back and a person will paddle (driver) from the front. In urban areas they have been mostly superseded by auto rickshaws.

Manually Pulled Rickshaw

This type of transport was prevalent until 2005 in Kolkata wherein a person pulls the rickshaw. The Government of West Bengal banned these rickshaw in 2005 describing them "inhuman". While this was lauded in general but questions about alternative means of livelihood of those who directly or indirectly depend on hand pulled rickshaws were not immediately addressed.

Trams
The advent of the British saw trams being introduced in many cities including Mumbai and Calcutta They are still in use in Calcutta and provide a pollution-free means of transportation. The nationalised Calcutta Tram Company has introduced buses on certain routes in order to generate more revenue and reduce losses.

Local transport
Local transportation is predominantly by road, with a small fraction (depending on the city) by trains. Most Indian cities are connected to surrounding towns by buses or trains. The vast national rail network

also enables farmers to transport their farm and agriculture produce to larger towns, where they get better prices. The roads in most cities are poorly maintained and full of potholes, while in villages they are frequently non-existent. Traffic generally moves slowly and erratically, and traffic jams and accidents are very common. AReader's Digest study of traffic congestion in Asian cities ranked several Indian cities within the Top Ten for worst traffic.

Buses
Buses are very cheap in most cities but also very crowded and have unpredictable timings, frequently necessitating long waits. In the big cities and towns of India, buses are the major mode of transport. Luxury and air-conditioned buses also service some cities. Most means of transportation within cities is run by the government. Buses are categorised, based upon the number of seats, the time it takes to travel from A to B, and general comfort. Express and limited buses are usually more expensive options compared to the normal ones, the latter being increasingly modern whilst cheap and easily accessible.

Vans
Vans or Mini-Buses is a more prevalent form of transportation especially in remote areas and common route with consistent yet small transportation needs. Not to mention it's presence in other cities,where it is often a traffice menace.

Autorickshaws
An auto rickshaw (auto or rickshaw or tempo in popular parlance) is a three-wheeler vehicle for hire. They typically have no doors or seatbelts. They are generally yellow or green in colour and have a black canopy on the top. An auto rickshaw is generally characterized by a tin/iron body resting on three small wheels (one in front, two on the rear), a small cabin for the driver in the front and seating for three in the rear. Their design varies considerably from place to place. In some locations, they have an extra plank on the seat to accommodate a fourth passenger. Hiring an auto often involves bargaining with the driver. In some cities like New Delhi, there are larger autos called Fat-fat, which is an onomatopoeic derivation of the phut-phut crackle of their exhausts. These run on fixed routes on fixed fares and are very fuel efficient. Only six passengers are allowed legally but they usually take as many as ten adults. These autos are the new incarnation of old Fat-fats, which were Harley-Davidson and similar powerful motorcycles modified by removing the rear wheel and bolting a two-wheeled platform with bench seats onto the rear.

Two-wheelers
Two wheelers are the most popular mode of transport in terms of number of vehicles. There are two main types of powered two-wheelers, themotor scooter and themotorcycle

The scooter was first built in post-war Italy as a two-wheeler with small wheels (supposedly to utilize war-surplus aircraft tail wheels). It differs from the motorcycle in having the driver seated with his legs together, and is thus favoured by women drivers (assari, a common Indian dress for women, doesn't permit separation of legs). The Italian Vespa scooter was built in India under license by Bajaj Auto, and together with the Italian Lambretta scooter dominated the two-wheeler scene. Much later came the hugely successful Bajaj Chetak scooter, but Bajaj has since lost the market to new entrants like Kinetic Motors. In the past decade, lightweight mini-scooters like the TVS Scooty and the Honda Activa have made it much easier for women to travel. The post-war years saw the predominance of foreign motorcycles, mainly British ones like Norton, BSA, Ariel etc. In the 1960s Indian-made bikes like Royal Enfield Bullet (a 350cc British design), Jawa (a 250cc Czech design) and Rajdoot (a 175cc Polish design) predominated. After the beginning of liberalization Indian versions of popular Japanese bikes such as Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha hit the roads, leading to motorcycles outstripping scooters in popularity. The overwhelmingly large number of bikes sold have engines 175cc or less.

Cars
The demand for cars in India is one of the highest in the world. In2002 more than 50,000 new cars were brought in Delhi alone. Compact cars predominate due to low cost.Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors and Ford are the most popular brands in the order of their market share. The clunky Ambassador once had a monopoly but is now an icon of pre-liberalization India, and is still used by politicians.Maruti 800 launched in1984 created the first revolution in the Indian auto sector because of its low pricing. It had the highest market share until 2004, when it was overtaken by other low cost models of Maruti and those of foreign entrants like Hyundai. Over the 20 year period since its introduction about 2.4 milion units of Maruti 800 have been sold.Click here to check out the price details of the used cars and new cars in India.

Utility Vehicles
The first utility vehicle in India was manufactured by Mahindra and Mahindra. The vehicle was an instant hit and made Mahindra Corp one of the top companies in India. The Indian Army and police extensively used Mahindra vehicles for transporting personnel and equipments.Tata Motors, the automobile manufacturing leg of the Tata Group. launched its first utility vehicle,Tata Sumo in mid-1990s. Sumo was the first utility vehicle which captured the urban market. Many people used them as avenues of employment and till today they are lent on hire for personal purposes.Tempo trax ofBajaj Auto till recently was ruling the rural areas. Mahindra and Mahindra's Scorpio is the market leader in the utility vehicle segment. However with the advent ofToyota's Qualis and General Motors' Tavera, Mahindra Corp and Tata Motors are losing their share. Advantages

There are numerous advantages of road transport in comparison to other modes of transport. 1. Less capital quality:- Road transport required much less capital investment as compared to other modes of transport such as railways and air transport. 2. Door to door services: - The outstanding advantage of road transport is that it provides door to door or warehouse to warehouse services. 3. Services in rural areas:- Road transport is most suited for carrying goods and people to and from rural areas which are not served by rail, water or air transport. 4. Flexible services:- Road transport has a great advantage over other modes of transport for its flexible services. Its routes and timings can be adjusted and changed to individual requirements without much inconvenience. 5. Suitable for short distance:- Delays in transit of gods on account of intermediate loading and handling are avoided. Goods can be loaded direct into a road vehicle and transported straight to their place of destination. 6. Lesser risk of damage in transmit: - Road transport is most suited for transporting delicate goods like chinaware and glassware, which are likely to be damaged in the process of loading and unloading. 7. Rapid speed:- If the goods are to be sent immediately are quickly, motor transport is more suited than the railways or water transport. Water transport is very slow. 8. Saving in packing cost: - As compared to other modes of transport, the process of packing in motor transport is less complicated. Goods transported by motor transport require less packing or no packing in several cases. 9. Private owned vehicles: - Another advantage of road transport is that big businessmen can afford to have their own motor vehicles and initiate their own road services to market their products without causing any delay. 10. Feeder to other modes of transport: - The movement of goods beings and ultimately ends by making use of roads. Road and motor transport act as a feeder to the other modes of transport such as railway, ships and airways. Disadvantages In spite of various merits road/motor has some serious limitations: 1. Seasonal nature: - Motor transport is not as reliable as rail transport. During rainy or flood season, roads become unfit and unsafe for use. 2. Accidents and breakdown: - There are more chances of accidents and breakdown in case of motor transport. Thus, motor transport is not as safe as rail transport. 3. Unsuitable for long distance and bulky traffic: - This mode of transport is unsuitable and costly for transporting cheap and bulky gods over long distances. 4. Slow speed: - The speed of motor transport is comparatively slow and limited. 5. Lack of organization: - The road transport is comparatively less organized. More often, it is irregular and undependable. The rates charged for transportation are also unsuitable and unequal. 6 Even the roads made in india are of cheap quality and oftenly get into worst condition which badly affects the vehicles used by the people

Problems of Indian roads

1. Inadequate Roads: Roads are bad and inadequate in India. There are 34 km long roads per 100 sq. km area in India while in Japan 270 km and in West Germany 167 km long roads per 100 sq. km area are there. Government should spend more on the development of roads. 2. Heavy Taxes: There is heavy tax burden on motor transport in India. Tax burden per motor vehicle in India is Rs. 3500 while in America it is Rs. 860 and in Britain Rs. 470. This tax burden should be lowered. 3. No proper Maintenance: Roads are not maintained properly in India. Less than 0.1 percent of the national income is spent on the maintenance of roads in India, while in Japan it is 3 percent of the national income. 4. Lack of Co-ordination: There is little co-operation and co- ordination among different states with regard to motor transport. As such, motor transport faces lot of difficulties. The states should pursue a coordinate policy in this matter. 9. Undisciplined Driving and Accidents: Most of the drivers on the roads are unskilled and untrained. They also drink alcohol while driving. As such, road accidents are more frequent in India. 10. Bad Conditions of Road: In India, roads are not well-maintained as there are no timely repairs. It causes discomfort and quick depreciation of vehicles. 5. Less Roads in Rural Areas: Sixty percent of villages are without roads in India. It adversely affects our agriculture and rural economy. Government should develop roads speedily in rural areas.

Railways

Indian Railways is an Indian state-owned railway company headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is owned and operated by Government of India through Ministry of Railways. Indian Railways has 114,500 kilometres (71,147 mi).[4] of total track over a route of 65,000 kilometres (40,389 mi)[4] and 7,500 stations. It has the world's fourth largest railway network after those of the United States, Russia and China.[5] The Indian railways is also pursuing to build the highest railway track in the world The railways carry over 30 million passengers and 2.8 million tons of freight daily.[4] [8] It is the world's fourth largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with over 1.4 million employees.[4] As for rolling stock, IR owns over 240,000 (freight) wagons, 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives.[4]