French
National Police use several modes of transport, each with their distinct advantages
or
transportation is the movement of
people and
goods from one location to another. Transport is performed by
modes, such as
air,
rail,
road,
water,
cable,
pipeline and
space. The field can be divided into
infrastructure,
vehicles, and
operations.
Infrastructure consists of the fixed installations necessary for transport, and may be
roads,
railways,
airways,
waterways,
canals and
pipelines, and
terminals such as
airports,
railway stations,
bus stations,
warehouses,
trucking terminals, refueling depots (including fueling docks and
fuel stations), and
seaports. Terminals may both be used for interchange of passengers and cargo, and for maintenance.
Vehicles traveling on these networks may include
automobiles,
bicycles,
buses,
trains,
trucks,
people,
helicopters, and
aircraft. Operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country and mode.
Passenger transport may be
public, where operators provide scheduled services, or
private. Freight transport has become focused on
containerization, although bulk transport is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part in economic growth and globalization, but most types cause
air pollution and
use large amounts of land. While it is heavily subsidized by governments, good planning of transport is essential to make traffic flow, and restrain
urban sprawl.
Mode
A mode of transport is a solution that makes use of a particular type of vehicle, infrastructure and operation. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one mode or several modes, with the latter case being called intermodal or multimodal transport. Each mode has its advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen for a trip on the basis of cost, capability, route, and speed.
Human-powered
Human-powered transport is the transport of people and/or goods using
human muscle-power, in the form of
walking,
running and
swimming. Modern
technology has allowed
machines to enhance human-power. Human-powered transport remains popular for reasons of cost-saving,
leisure,
physical exercise and
environmentalism. Human-powered transport is sometimes the only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions. It is considered an ideal form of
sustainable transportation.
Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the transport can be enhanced through the use of roads, especially when enforcing the human power with vehicles, such as
bicycles and
inline skates. Human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by
watercraft, rowing and
skiing; even the air can be entered with
human-powered aircraft.
Animal-powered
Animal-powered transport is the use of
working animals for the movement of people and goods. Humans may ride some of the animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them, alone or in
teams, to pull
sleds or wheeled
vehicles. Animals are superior to people in their speed, endurance and carrying capacity; prior to the Industrial Revolution they were used for all land transport impracticable for people, and they remain an important mode of transport in less developed areas of the world.
Air
A
fixed-wing aircraft, commonly called airplane, is a heavier-than-air craft where movement of the air in relation to the wings is used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish from
rotary-wing aircraft, where the movement of the lift surfaces relative to the air generates lift. A
gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large
airliners and military cargo aircraft.
Two necessities for aircraft are air flow over the wings for
lift, and an area for
landing. The majority of aircraft also need an
airport with the infrastructure to receive maintenance, restocking, refueling and for the loading and unloading of crew, cargo and passengers. While the vast majority of aircraft land and take off on land, some are capable of take off and landing on ice, snow and calm water.
The aircraft is the second fastest method of transport, after the
rocket. Commercial jets can reach up to , single-engine aircraft . Aviation is able to quickly transport people and limited amounts of cargo over longer distances, but incur high costs and energy use; for short distances or in inaccessible places
helicopters can be used. WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on planes at any time.
Rail
Rail transport is where a
train runs along a set of two parallel
steel rails, known as a railway or railroad. The rails are anchored
perpendicular to
ties (or sleepers) of timber, concrete or steel, to maintain a consistent distance apart, or
gauge. The rails and perpendicular beams are placed on a foundation made of concrete, or compressed
earth and
gravel in a bed of ballast. Alternative methods include
monorail and
maglev.
A train consists of one or more connected vehicles that run on the rails. Propulsion is commonly provided by a
locomotive, that hauls a series of unpowered cars, that can carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by
steam,
diesel or by
electricity supplied by
trackside systems. Alternatively, some or all the cars can be powered, known as a
multiple unit. Also, a train can be powered by
horses,
cables,
gravity,
pneumatics and
gas turbines. Railed vehicles move with much less friction than rubber tires on paved roads, making trains more
energy efficient, though not as efficient as ships.
Intercity trains are long-haul services connecting cities; modern
high-speed rail is capable of speeds up to , but this requires specially-built track.
Regional and
commuter trains feed cities from suburbs and surrounding areas, while intra-urban transport is performed by high-capacity
tramways and
rapid transits, often making up the backbone of a city's public transport. Freight trains traditionally used
box cars, requiring manual loading and unloading of the
cargo. Since the 1960s, container trains have become the dominant solution for general freight, while large quantities of bulk are transported by dedicated trains.
Road
A road is an identifiable
route, way or
path between two or more
places.
Roads are typically smoothed,
paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel;
though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal
construction or
maintenance. In
urban areas, roads may pass through a
city or
village and be named as
streets, serving a dual function as urban space
easement and route.
The most common road vehicle is the automobile; a
wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own
motor. Other users of roads include
buses,
trucks,
motorcycles,
bicycles and
pedestrians. As of 2002, there were 590 million automobiles worldwide.
Automobiles offer high flexibility and with low capacity, but are deemed with high energy and area use, and the main source of
noise and
air pollution in cities; buses allow for more efficient travel at the cost of reduced flexibility. Road transport by truck is often the initial and final stage of freight transport.
Water
Automobile ferry in Croatia
Water transport is the process of transport a
watercraft, such as a
barge,
boat,
ship or
sailboat, makes over a body of water, such as a
sea,
ocean,
lake,
canal or
river. The need for buoyancy unites watercraft, and makes the
hull a dominant aspect of its construction, maintenance and appearance.
In the 1800s the first
steam ships were developed, using a
steam engine to drive a
paddle wheel or
propeller to move the ship. The
steam was produced using wood or
coal. Now most ships have an
engine using a slightly refined type of
petroleum called
bunker fuel. Some specialized ships, such as
submarines, use
nuclear power to produce the steam.
Recreational or
educational craft still use wind power, while some smaller craft use
internal combustion engines to drive one or more
propellers, or in the case of jet boats, an inboard water jet. In shallow draft areas,
hovercraft are propelled by large pusher-prop fans.
Although slow, modern sea transport is a highly effective method of transporting large quantities of non-perishable goods. Transport by water is significantly less costly than air transport for trans-continental
shipping;
short sea shipping and
ferries remain viable in coastal areas.
Other
Pipeline transport sends goods through a
pipe, most commonly liquid and gases are sent, but
pneumatic tubes can send solid capsules using compressed air. Any chemically stable liquid or gas can be sent through a pipeline. Short-distance systems exist for
sewage,
slurry,
water and
beer, while long-distance networks are used for
petroleum and
natural gas.
Cable transport is a broad mode where vehicles are pulled by
cables instead of an internal power source. It is most commonly used at steep
gradient. Typical solutions include
aerial tramway,
elevators,
escalator and
ski lifts; some of these are also categorized as
conveyor transport.
Spaceflight is transport out of Earth's atmosphere into
outer space by means of a
spacecraft. While large amounts of research have gone into technology, it is rarely used except to put satellites into orbit, and conduct scientific experiments. However, man has landed on the moon, and probes have been sent to all the planets of the Solar System.
Elements
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is the fixed installations that allow a vehicle to operate. It consists of both a way, terminal and facilities for parking and maintenance. For rail, pipeline, road and cable transport, the entire way the vehicle travels must be built up. Air and water craft are able to avoid this, since the
airway and
seaway do not need to be built up. However, they require fixed infrastructure at terminals.
Terminals such as airports, ports and stations, are locations were passengers and freight can be transferred from one vehicle or mode to another. For passenger transport, terminals are integrating different modes to allow riders to interchange to take advantage of each mode's advantages. For instance,
airport rail links connect airports to the city centers and suburbs. The terminals for automobiles are
parking lots, while buses and coaches can operates from simple stops. For freight, terminals act as
transshipment points, though some cargo is transported directly from the point of production to the point of use.
The
financing of infrastructure can either be
public or
private. Transport is often a
natural monopoly and a necessity for the public; roads, and in some countries railways and airports are funded through
taxation. New infrastructure projects can involve large spendings, and are often financed through
debt. Many infrastructure owners therefore impose usage fees, such as landing fees at airports, or
toll plazas on roads. Independent of this, authorities may impose
taxes on the purchase or use of vehicles.
Vehicles
A vehicle is any non-living device that is used to move people and goods. Unlike the infrastructure, the vehicle moves along with the cargo and riders. Vehicles that do not operate on land, are usually called
crafts. Unless being pulled by a cable or muscle-power, the vehicle must provide its own propulsion; this is most commonly done through a
steam engine,
combustion engine,
electric motor, a
jet engine or a
rocket, though other means of propulsion also exist. Vehicles also need a system of converting the energy into movement; this is most commonly done through
wheels,
propellers and
pressure.
Vehicles are most commonly staffed by a
driver. However, some systems, such as
people movers and some rapid transits, are fully
automated. For
passenger transport, the vehicle must have a compartment for the passengers. Simple vehicles, such as automobiles, bicycles or simple aircraft, may have one of the passengers as a driver.
Operation
Private transport is only subject to the owner of the vehicle, who operates the vehicle themselves. For public transport and freight transport, operations are done through
private enterprise or by
governments. The infrastructure and vehicles may be owned and operated by the same company, or they may be operated by different entities. Traditionally, many countries have had a
national airline and
national railway. Since the 1980s, many of these have been
privatized. International shipping remains a highly competitive industry with little regulation, but ports can be public owned.
Function
Relocation of travelers and cargo are the most common uses of transport. However, other uses exist, such as the strategic and tactical
relocation of
armed forces during
warfare, or the civilian mobility construction or emergency equipment.
thumb|Borivali station platform numbers 3 and 4 during peak hours(8-9 a.m.). Note the crowd waiting on the left platform. From this platform trains depart for Churchgate, where the offices are located. Location: Borivali Station, Mumbai, IndiaPassenger
Passenger transport, or travel, is divided into
public and
private transport. Public is scheduled services on fixed routes, while private is vehicles that provide ad hoc services at the riders desire. The latter offers better flexibility, but has lower capacity, and a higher environmental impact. Travel may be as part of daily
commuting, for
business,
leisure or
migration.
Short-haul transport is dominated by the automobile and mass transit. The latter consists of
buses in rural and small cities, supplemented with commuter rail, trams and rapid transit in larger cities. Long-haul transport involves the use of the automobile, trains,
coaches and aircraft, the last of which have become predominantly used for the longest, including intercontinental, travel.
Intermodal passenger transport is where a journey is performed through the use of several modes of transport; since all human transport normally starts and ends with walking, all passenger transport can be considered intermodal. Public transport may also involve the intermediate change of vehicle, within or across modes, at a
transport hub, such as a
bus or
railway station.
Taxis and Buses can be found on both ends of Public Transport spectrum, whereas Buses remain the cheaper mode of transport but are not necessarily flexible, and Taxis being very flexible but more expensive. In the middle is
Demand responsive transport offering flexibility whilst remaining affordable.
International travel may be restricted for some individuals due to legislation and
visa requirements.
Freight
Freight transport, or shipping, is a key in the
value chain in manufacturing. With increased specialization and
globalization, production is being located further away from consumption, rapidly increasing the demand for transport. While all modes of transport are used for cargo transport, there is high differentiation between the nature of the cargo transport, in which mode is chosen.
Logistics refers to the entire process of transferring products from producer to consumer, including storage, transport, transshipment, warehousing, material-handling and packaging, with associated exchange of information.
Incoterm deals with the handling of payment and responsibility of
risk during transport.
Containerization, with the standardization of
ISO containers on all vehicles and at all ports, has revolutionized international and domestic trade, offering huge reduction in
transshipment costs. Traditionally, all cargo had to be manually loaded and unloaded into the haul of any ship or car; containerization allows for automated handling and transfer between modes, and the standardized sizes allow for gains in
economy of scale in vehicle operation. This has been one of the key driving factors in
international trade and globalization since the 1950s.
is common with cargo that can be handled roughly without deterioration; typical examples are
ore, coal, cereals and petroleum. Because of the uniformity of the product, mechanical handling can allow enormous quantities to be handled quickly and efficiently. The low value of the cargo combined with high volume also means that economies of scale become essential in transport, and gigantic ships and whole trains are commonly used to transport bulk. Liquid products with sufficient volume may also be transported by pipeline.
Air freight has become more common for products of high value; while less than one percent of world transport by volume is by airline, it amounts to forty percent of the value. Time has become especially important in regards to principles such as
postponement and
just-in-time within the value chain, resulting in a high willingness to pay for quick delivery of key components or items of high value-to-weight ratio. In addition to mail, common items send by air include electronics and fashion clothing.
History
Bullock team hauling wool in Australia
Humans' first means of transport were walking and swimming. The
domestication of animals introduces a new way to lay the burden of transport on more powerful creatures, allowing heavier loads to be hauled, or humans to ride the animals for higher speed and duration. Inventions such as the wheel and sled helped make animal transport more efficient through the introduction of vehicles. Also water transport, including rowed and sailed vessels, dates back to
time immemorial, and was the only efficient way to transport large quantities or over large distances prior to the
Industrial Revolution.
The first forms of road transport were
horses,
oxen or even humans carrying goods over
dirt tracks that often followed
game trails. Paved roads were first built by the
Roman Empire, to allow armies to travel quicky; they built deep roadbeds of crushed stone as an underlying layer to ensure that they kept dry, as the water would flow out from the crushed stone, instead of becoming mud in clay soils. The first watercraft were
canoes cut out from
tree trunks. Early water transport was accomplished with ships that were either rowed or used the
wind for propulsion, or a combination of the two. The importance of water has led to most cities, that grew up as sites for trading, being located on rivers or at sea, ofter at the intersection of two bodies of water. Until the Industrial Revolution, transport remained slow and costly, and production and consumption were located as close to each other as feasible.
thumb|The Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw a number of inventions fundamentally change transport. With
telegraphy, communication became instant and independent of transport. The invention of the
steam engine, closely followed by its application in rail transport, made land transport independent of human or animal muscles. Both speed and capacity increased rapidly, allowing specialization through manufacturing being located independent of natural resources. The 19th century also saw the development of the
steam ship, that sped up global transport.
The development of the
combustion engine and the automobile at the turn into the 20th century, road transport became more viable, allowing the introduction of mechanical private transport. The first highways were constructed during the 19th century with
macadam. Later,
tarmac and
concrete became the dominant paving material. In 1903, the first controllable
airplane was invented, and after World War I, it became a fast way to transport people and express goods over long distances.
After World War II, the automobile and airlines took higher shares of transport, reducing rail and water to freight and short-haul passenger.
[Cooper et al., 1998: 277] Spaceflight was launched in the 1950s, with rapid growth until the 1970s, when interest dwindled. In the 1950s, the introduction of
containerization gave massive efficiency gains in freight transport, permitting
globalization.
[Bardi, Coyle and Novack, 2006: 211–14] International air travel became must more accessible in the 1960s, with the commercialization of the
jet engine. Along with the growth in automobiles and motorways, this introduced a decline for rail and water transport. After the introduction of the
Shinkansen in 1964, high-speed rail in Asia and Europe started taking passengers on long-haul routes from airlines.
Impact
Economic
Transport is a key component of growth and globalization, such as in
Seattle, United States
Transport is a key necessity for
specialization—allowing production and consumption of products to occur at different locations. Transport has throughout history been a spur to expansion; better transport allows more
trade and a greater spread of people.
Economic growth has always been dependent on increasing the capacity and rationality of transport. But the infrastructure and operation of transport has a great impact on the land and is the largest drainer of energy, making
transport sustainability a major issue.
Modern society dictates a physical distinction between home and work, forcing people to transport themselves to places of work or study, as well as to temporarily relocate for other daily activities. Passenger transport is also the essence of
tourism, a major part of
recreational transport. Commerce requires the transport of people to conduct business, either to allow face-to-face communication for important decisions or to move specialists from their regular place of work to sites where they are needed.
Planning
Transport planning allows for high utilization and less impact regarding new infrastructure. Using models of
transport forecasting, planners are able to predict future transport patterns. On the operative level, logistics allows owners of cargo to plan transport as part of the
supply chain. Transport as a field is studied through
transport economics, the backbone for the creation of regulation policy by authorities.
Transport engineering, a sub-discipline of
civil engineering, and must take into account
trip generation,
trip distribution,
mode choice and
route assignment, while the operative level is handles through
traffic engineering.
The engineering of this
roundabout in
Bristol, United Kingdom, attempts to make traffic flow free-moving
Because of the negative impacts made, transport often becomes the subject of controversy related to choice of mode, as well as increased capacity. Automotive transport can be seen as a
tragedy of the commons, where the flexibility and comfort for the individual deteriorate the natural and urban environment for all.
Density of development depends on mode of transport, with public transport allowing for better spacial utilization. Good land use keeps common activities close to peoples homes and places higher-density development closer to transport lines and hubs; minimize the need for transport. There are
economies of agglomeration. Beyond transportation some land uses are more efficient when clustered. Transportation facilities consume land, and in cities, pavement (devoted to streets and parking) can easily exceed 20 percent of the total land use. An efficient transport system can reduce land waste.
Too much infrastructure and too much smoothing for maximum vehicle throughput means that in many cities there is too much traffic and many—if not all—of the negative impacts that come with it. It is only in recent years that traditional practices have started to be questioned in many places, and as a result of new types of analysis which bring in a much broader range of skills than those traditionally relied on—spanning such areas as environmental impact analysis, public health, sociologists as well as economists who increasingly are questioning the viability of the old mobility solutions. European cities are leading this transition.
Environment
Transport is a major use of
energy, and burns most of the world's
petroleum. This creates
air pollution, including
nitrous oxides and
particulates, and is a significant contributor to
global warming through emission of
carbon dioxide,
for which transport is the fastest-growing emission sector. By subsector, road transport is the largest contributor to global warming.
Environmental regulations in developed countries have reduced the individual vehicles emission; however, this has been offset by an increase in the number of vehicles, and more use of each vehicle.
Some pathways to reduced the carbon emissions of road vehicles considerably have been studied. Energy use and emissions vary largely between modes, causing
environmentalists to call for a transition from air and road to rail and human-powered transport, and increase
transport electrification and
energy efficiency.
Other environmental impacts of transport systems include
traffic congestion and automobile-oriented
urban sprawl, which can consume natural habitat and agricultural lands. By reducing transportation emissions globally, it is predicted that there will be significant positive effects on Earth's
air quality,
acid rain,
smog and climate change.
See also
