meaning of transportation essay

Importance of Transportation Essay With 2 Samples

Transportation plays an important role in our lives. It provides us with the means to travel from one place to another, and it makes it possible for goods and services to be delivered quickly and efficiently. Without transportation, modern life as we know it would not exist.

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How to Write an Importance of Transportation Essay

You can write an effective importance of transportation essay by following these steps:

Step 1: Research the Topic

Knowing what you’re talking about will help you make a strong argument in your essay. You should also consider different types of transportation, such as cars, trains, aeroplanes, and other modes.

Step 2: Choose Your Argument

Is it its cost-effectiveness or its efficiency in getting goods from one place to another? Your essay should focus on one main point and use examples to support your argument.

Step 3: Write Your Essay

Finally, wrap up your essay with a conclusion that summarizes the key ideas in one or two sentences.

Step 4: Revise and Edit

Sample essay 1 – importance of transportation, introduction.

Transportation is an important part of our modern lives and it has a significant impact on the economic, environmental, and social aspects of life. It provides us with access to jobs, entertainment , education , health care services, goods and services that enable people to lead more productive and fulfilling lives. In addition , transportation enables countries to increase their productivity by allowing for faster movement of goods and services. Therefore, it is essential that we have a reliable and efficient transportation system in place to support our society’s needs.

In terms of environmental impact, transportation systems can play a vital role in reducing pollution by allowing for the efficient movement of goods

In conclusion, transportation is an essential part of modern life that has a significant impact on both the economic and environmental aspects of our lives. It provides access to markets, raw materials, jobs, and new experiences. Additionally, transportation systems reduce the need for people to use their own vehicles, thus reducing air pollution and carbon emissions. Therefore, it is important that we have efficient and reliable transportation systems in place so that we can continue to reap the benefits of our modern society .

Sample Essay 2 – Importance of Transportation

“Transportation is the centre of the world! It is the glue of our daily lives. When it goes well, we don’t see it. When it goes wrong, it negatively colours our day, makes us feel angry and impotent, curtails our possibilities.“

In addition to its economic benefits, transportation also has a significant environmental impact. It reduces the amount of land needed for development, meaning that there is less pressure on natural resources and habitats. Further, transportation creates pollution and increases carbon emissions, which have a negative effect on our environment. However, transportation systems reduce the need for people to use their own vehicles and thus contribute to a reduction in air pollution.

In conclusion, transportation is an essential part of modern life that has a significant impact on both the economic and environmental aspects of our lives. It provides access to markets, raw materials, jobs, and new experiences. Additionally, transportation systems reduce the need for people to use their own vehicles, thus reducing air pollution and carbon emissions. Therefore, it is important that we have efficient and reliable transportation systems in place so that we can continue to reap the benefits of our modern society.

Wrapping Up

It is also an important reminder of why having efficient and reliable transportation systems in place is so important for society. By understanding these benefits, we can ensure that our transportation systems are as effective and sustainable as possible.

Yusuf is interested in exploring the world around him and making meaningful connections with it. He then express these ideas with words for the world to enjoy. In his free time, Yusuf loves to spend time with books, nature & his family.

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• NCpedia - History of Transportation
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transportation , the movement of goods and persons from place to place and the various means by which such movement is accomplished. The growth of the ability—and the need—to transport large quantities of goods or numbers of people over long distances at high speeds in comfort and safety has been an index of civilization and in particular of technological progress.

Transportation is treated in a number of articles. For the major types of propulsion used in modern forms of transportation, see energy conversion . For forms of transportation for military applications, see military technology . For the engineering infrastructure on which transportation systems depend, see roads and highways ; bridge ; canals and inland waterways ; harbours and sea works ; lighthouse ; tunnels and underground excavations . For the place of transportation in law, see air law ; carriage of goods ; maritime law .

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Introduction

The movement of people and goods from place to place is known as transportation. Together with communication—the movement of ideas—transportation has been essential in bringing about the integration of regions and nations into a single world community. Transportation movements, combined into various systems and networks, are by way of land, water, and air and by such means as automobile, airplane, railroad, ship, and pipeline.

The Need for Transportation

Transportation is needed because few economic resources—raw materials, fuels, food, manufactured goods—are located where they are wanted. Each region or place on Earth produces more than it consumes of some goods and services and less than it consumes of others. Through transportation, goods are moved from where there are surpluses to where there are shortages. Improved transportation has extended the areas in which various goods can be profitably marketed and thus has helped make the goods widely available.

The moving of people to places of work, education, and recreation and for their other needs and wants also requires transportation. Like goods, people are moved to where they are needed. But as decision makers people also travel to where they want to be. In recreational activities, such as pleasure driving, transportation can be an end in itself.

The demand for transportation is derived from the need for people and goods to be at a particular place. In satisfying this need, transportation gives people and goods greater value and place utility. Sometimes, as in the aging of wine or the ripening of bananas while they are en route to their destinations, goods may acquire greater form utility. The in-transit storage of goods provided by a vehicle may reduce the need for warehouse space at the destination. This is an example of time utility—getting goods to a destination at the time of their greatest usefulness.

The demand for transportation—and the rate of actual traffic flow—tends to be proportional to the population of the destination area. Traffic flow between two areas also depends on their proximity—flow generally tends to be greater the closer the areas are to each other.

The concentration of transportation services in heavily urbanized and industrialized areas is a result of the great amount of traffic. However, political or military considerations or prospects for future economic growth may lead to the construction of transportation facilities even where they are not profitable. Economic development in nonindustrialized countries, for example, commonly requires extensive investment in roads, airfields, harbors, and other transport facilities long before there is much traffic.

In industrialized countries such as the United States, transportation routes traditionally have been provided for in advance of other economic development. The Cumberland Road, for example, was built early in the 1800s to open the Ohio Valley to settlement. The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, helped settle the Great Lakes region. Federal land grants to railroad companies in the 19th century helped settle the West. In Canada roads and railroads were being extended to the north in the 1960s and 1970s to facilitate settlement and the exploitation of natural resources. In the long run, transporting goods from one place to another is justified only if the goods can be produced cheaply enough at the first place so as to offset the transportation cost to the second.

Transportation Modes

The various means, or modes, of transportation consist of both the specific types of vehicles used and the facilities needed for their movement. The modes include people walking and carrying loads, human-powered machines such as bicycles, draft animals pulling wagons and coaches, and pack animals; motor-powered highway vehicles such as trucks, buses, automobiles, taxis, and motorcycles; water carriers such as ships, barges, hydrofoils, and hovercraft; railroad trains; aircraft; and devices such as chutes, conveyor belts, pipelines, and electric lines.

Transportation modes can be classified by whether they are by land, water, or air; by how they are powered; by whether they use continuous flow or not; by whether they carry passengers or freight or both; and by whether or not they use fixed routes. Such distinctions are blurred somewhat by the fact that several modes are typically used for the entire movement of persons or goods from initial origin to final destination.

For example, a woman traveling from Chicago, Ill., to New York City may take a bus and a subway train to get to Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, where she can board an airplane for New York’s La Guardia Airport. At La Guardia she may reverse the process, riding buses and subway trains until she reaches her destination. For the trips to and from the airports she might instead have used an automobile or a taxicab. She might have traveled cross-country by automobile, bus, or train instead of by airplane.

A transport vehicle such as an automobile, an airplane, or an ordinary ship has both its motive power and its facilities for carrying goods or people in the same unit. In other cases, such as a train of railroad cars pulled by a locomotive, the barges pushed or pulled by a towboat, or the highway trailer pulled by a truck tractor, the motive power and the cargo or passengers are in separate units. When power and payload units are separate the power vehicle can be utilized elsewhere while the carrier vehicles are being loaded or unloaded or are in storage. Separation of units also permits changes in the number of carrier vehicles, as with a railroad train or a barge tow, as the volume of traffic varies.

The power for moving a vehicle may be furnished by a natural process such as wind or gravity. The power may be generated in an engine by the burning of fuel such as wood, charcoal, coal, gasoline, kerosine, or fuel oil. Power may also be furnished by an electric motor operated from batteries, an overhead wire or third rail, or a diesel engine such as in a diesel-electric locomotive. Diesel engines have increasingly replaced steam engines in maritime and railroad transportation and are also used in buses and trucks. Gasoline engines are used in automobiles and also in many buses and trucks. Turbines—both jet and propjet—have replaced engines using reciprocating pistons in most airline transportation.

Freight Transportation

Heavy or bulky goods and those of low value in proportion to their weight or bulk generally tend to be moved by transportation modes that use large vehicles such as ships and barges, which travel at slow speeds. Compact, perishable, and high-value goods tend to be moved by transportation modes that use small vehicles such as trucks and especially aircraft, which travel at high speeds.

Goods being transported can be classified into general cargo, or package freight, on the one hand and bulk cargo on the other. General cargo usually consists of merchandise, including manufactured items such as machinery, that has a high value in proportion to its weight or to the space it occupies in a vehicle. Bulk cargo generally consists of goods that are of low value in proportion to their weight or bulk. They include ores, grains, coal, oil, petroleum products, and other raw materials and fuels.

General cargo may be transported in boxes, crates, bales, barrels, and other containers. Because of the great variety of shapes, sizes, and weights of general cargo, its handling is less easily mechanized and requires a larger labor force than the handling of bulk cargo. Bulk goods can be conveniently taken on and off ships, railroad cars, trucks, barges, and other carriers by means of gravity, suction, conveyor belts, pipes, or other continuous-flow devices. When being loaded, bulk goods also are able to flow around obstructions in a vehicle and thus fully occupy the available cargo space. Most of the world’s shipping is designed primarily for the movement of bulk goods.

Bulk cargoes can be classified into dry bulk and liquid bulk. Dry bulk goods can be packaged, such as in bags or bales, but more commonly they are not. Sugar, for example, formerly handled only in bags, is increasingly being transported in bulk. Dry bulk goods often are moved in specially designed vessels. They frequently are handled in ships as “bottoming cargo,” to fill any last-minute unused capacity. In some cases dry bulk goods are moved by overland pipeline. Even some solids, such as coal and ores, can be moved through pipes in a liquid suspension, or slurry. Electricity is transported by power lines, a continuous-flow device.

Liquid bulk goods are transported either by continuous flow in pipelines or by tankers, barges, trucks, or railroad cars. Tankers account for about half the tonnage capacity of all oceangoing merchant ships. Their average size is much larger than that of any other type of ship. Some supertankers have capacities of more than 300,000 tons. The principal cargo carried by tankers is crude oil, the leading commodity in international trade ( see petroleum, “Transportation and Distribution of Oil” ).

Many small tankers, uncompetitive with supertankers for moving oil on the longer voyages, are used for moving grain. Some vessels, known as oilbulk-ore vessels (OBOs), carry oil in one direction and ore on the return voyages. There also are specialized tanker ships that carry such chemicals as heated liquid sulfur or extremely cold liquefied natural gas. Specialized railroad tank cars and highway trucks also are designed to carry chemicals and other products under controlled temperatures and pressures.

Freight transportation in the United States is dominated by railroads. They carry about 40 percent of the total volume, measured in ton-miles. Railroad freight traffic, while chiefly bulk, is the most diversified of any transportation mode. Motor truck traffic between cities in the United States has been increasing rapidly since the 1920s when it first became a significant mode of transportation. Trucking accounts for about 20 percent of total freight volume. But because trucks carry general merchandise with a high average value per ton, they account for more than half the revenues from all domestic freight. Even when cargo is moved between major terminals by rail, air, or water carriers, it is usually picked up and delivered by truck.

Inland waterways in the United States, including the Great Lakes, account for about 15 percent of the total freight volume. Traffic is almost entirely of bulk goods, chiefly iron ore, coal, petroleum, lumber, steel, grain, and chemicals. Powerful diesel towboats and barge tows on the rivers can carry about 40,000 tons of cargo each. Oil pipelines in the United States account for more than 20 percent of the total freight traffic. Pipeline transportation of crude oil and petroleum products has largely replaced coastal tanker and railroad tankcar transportation. Air cargo traffic, although increasing rapidly, accounts for less than one percent of the total. The goods carried tend to be perishable, compact, and valuable.

One of the most common methods of handling freight cargoes is stacking individual crates, boxes, and bales on wood or metal platforms known as pallets. Pallets are moved onto or off vehicles by forklift trucks, cranes, or various kinds of conveyors specially designed to transport pallets.

Cargo can also be stuffed into large, uniform-size metal containers. Such containers are placed in general-cargo ships, in specially designed container ships, and on barges. They can be carried “piggyback” by railroad trains as trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) or as container-on-flatcar (COFC) cargo. In TOFC, truck semitrailers (with their wheel assemblies) are loaded; in COFC, containers (without wheels) are loaded. Truck semitrailers and containers are also placed on flatbed trailers hauled by highway truck tractors. The semitrailers and containers can easily be loaded aboard a ship or barge, either by large cranes or, in the case of vessels known as Ro-Ro (Roll-on Roll-off), by means of ramps. Some containers are carried on wide-bodied jet aircraft.

A large container ship, because of its greater size and speed and less time spent loading and unloading in port, can often replace four to six conventional general-cargo vessels and can move the cargo at much lower cost. Container ships were first built in large numbers in the late 1960s. As a result, many conventional ocean freighters were made obsolete, as were the port facilities that had been designed and located to handle their cargoes.

Containerization is not new. Ordinary trucks and railroad boxcars are forms of containers. But unlike modern containers, each may be loaded with a variety of merchandise that must be divided at a freight station and sent to several destinations. Such less-than-carload (LCL) traffic can be handled more efficiently by truck than by railroad because a truck can be driven directly to a destination area and provide door-to-door service.

Passenger Transportation

In metropolitan areas of the United States, movements of people between home and work account for about 40 percent of the total number of passenger journeys. Recreational trips account for about 15 percent of all trips in the typical urban area. Automobile riding, for example, is not only a means of reaching a destination but is a popular form of outdoor recreation. Recreational boating also is popular. Cruise ships have made up the major proportion of ocean-going passenger vessels since jet aircraft became the favored mode of transoceanic travel. ( See also travel and tourism .)

The automobile dominates intercity passenger transportation in the United States. It accounts for more than 80 percent of the total passenger miles. No other mode of transportation approaches the flexibility and convenience of the automobile, which provides door-to-door service independent of schedules.

The railroad is no longer a major means of intercity passenger transportation in the United States, though railroad passenger service thrives in much of the rest of the world. As recently as the early 1940s there were more than 20,000 daily intercity passenger trains in the United States. By the early 1970s there were only about 200. Whereas railroads accounted for almost 70 percent of the total passenger-miles by public carrier in 1930, by 1970 they accounted for less than one percent. In 1971 the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, a federal agency that is also known as Amtrak, took over most of the intercity railroad passenger service. Most Amtrak trains operate in the Northeast corridor between Boston, Mass.; New York City; Philadelphia, Pa.; Baltimore, Md.; and Washington, D.C. A large proportion of the New York-Washington service is by high-speed electric trains called Metroliners. There is suburban railroad passenger service in the metropolitan areas of such large cities as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and San Francisco. Electric interurban railroads and street railways in cities have almost disappeared.

Intercity scheduled buses in the United States serve many more communities than do railroads. Using modern expressways, they provide swift service between major cities, though many communities not on expressways now have much less bus service than they formerly had. Air carriers dominate public intercity passenger transportation in the United States. The growth of air passenger traffic has been rapid, increasing from only 14 percent of the total in 1950 to more than 85 percent in the 1980s. Passenger travel by water carriers in the United States is insignificant except for some ferry services.

Carrier Organizations

There are several types of transportation carrier organizations. Common carriers offer their services to the general public at standard terms and rates. They usually operate over fixed routes and on regular schedules. In the United States all interstate common carriers are regulated by the federal government. Almost all railroads and intercity bus services are common carriers, as is much of intercity trucking, inland waterway barge traffic, and petroleum pipelines. All are regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) or by individual states. Almost all scheduled airlines in the United States are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Shipping lines participate in international conferences, or cartels, which set the schedules and usually the rates charged for common carriers on most major ocean routes. They compete with nonconference lines, however, and face the possibility that large-scale users of ships might operate their own vessels if conference rates are too high. International scheduled airline services are operated by agreement with the affected countries. They are largely regulated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Contract carriers carry people or goods by agreement with a limited number of shippers. They do not operate over fixed routes or on regular schedules. They include tramp ships, which operate under charter and mainly carry shiploads of bulk cargo rather than general cargo. Nonscheduled, or supplementary, airlines and the charter services of scheduled airlines also are examples of contract carriers, as are urban taxicabs and charter buses. Contract carriers carry a large share of the world’s ocean cargo.

Private carriers serve individual or corporate owners. They are not for hire to the public. Most automobiles in the United States are private carriers. Many companies operate their own truck fleets, and some of the largest shippers, especially petroleum companies, operate their own ships and barges.

Transportation Terminals

A transportation terminal is the place where goods and people are transferred from one carrier or mode to another. It is the place where vehicles are loaded and unloaded or where several vehicles are assembled into or separated from trains. Terminals are located where transportation routes intersect and where journeys or shipments begin or end. They include seaports, airports, railroad yards and depots, truck terminals, bus stations, and automobile parking lots.

Transportation terminals tend to be located within or close to a city’s downtown area. But the need for large tracts of land at relatively low cost often requires locations in outlying areas. For example, a 700-foot- (200-meter-) long berth for a container ship requires as much as 25 acres (10 hectares) of adjoining land for assembling and distributing cargoes by truck and rail. As a result, many port terminals, often located along congested downtown waterfronts, have been abandoned. Larger terminals have been established most commonly on the seaward edges of such large port cities as Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Modern commercial airports require even more space. Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, for example, covers ten square miles (25 square kilometers). Even larger are airports such as those for Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Los Angeles, Calif. Airports also need unobstructed space for long distances past the ends of their runways. A modern railroad classification yard, in which trains are assembled and disassembled, may be as much as 1 / 2 by 5 miles (1 by 8 kilometers).

In many cases, the relocation of freight terminals has been due to the increased decentralization of the industrial and commercial establishments that are the sources and destinations of freight traffic. Decentralization is also a result of the improved access that modern highways have given to outlying areas. The traffic congestion, noise, and air and water pollution associated with transportation activities also make it desirable to locate terminals away from residential areas. As a side effect of decentralization, much of the land formerly needed by railroads and ports for central-city terminals has become available for nontransportation uses.

Passengers wait for the arrivals and departures of common and charter carriers at airport, railroad, and bus terminals. Amenities include ticket offices, waiting rooms, toilet facilities, and a variety of business establishments. In terminals handling international traffic, there are customs, immigration, public health, and quarantine facilities. In and near major railroad stations and airports there often are hotels.

Transportation Routes

A transportation route is the regular path that is followed by a movement of people or goods. Ideally it follows the shortest possible distance—a straight line, or what is known on the curving surface of the Earth as a great circle. But natural barriers, such as intervening landmasses on ocean routes, often block such direct paths. Inland waterways usually follow the winding courses of river valleys. Land routes bend to avoid steep slopes or to go around bodies of water. Air routes deviate from straight lines to avoid bad weather or to make use of tail winds. Transportation routes may also deviate from straight lines to tap intermediate sources of traffic or to avoid crossing specific political boundaries.

The world’s largest volume of ocean traffic is across the North Atlantic between the highly urbanized, industrialized, and densely populated regions of eastern North America and Western Europe. Branches of the North Atlantic sea route on the North American side lead to ports up the St. Lawrence River and on the Great Lakes and to ports on the East and Gulf coasts. On the European side one branch leads to and from ports in northern Europe; another passes through the Mediterranean Sea, leading to and from ports in southern and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa. Mediterranean ports compete with those on the Atlantic and on the North and Baltic seas for the trade of the European interior, much as the Great Lakes, Gulf coast, and Atlantic ports compete for the trade of the North American interior. Through the Suez Canal the Mediterranean route connects with Indian Ocean routes to India, Japan, and other countries in southern and eastern Asia.

Another major sea route, through the Panama Canal, links the seaboards of Western Europe and eastern North America with the western coasts of North America and South America. Major routes also extend from the Panama Canal across the Pacific Ocean to Australia and New Zealand and to Japan and the eastern and southeastern coasts of Asia. Other transpacific routes directly link western North America and eastern Asia.

Another major world shipping route across the Atlantic links Western Europe with Brazil and eastern South America. A branch of this route that curves around southern Africa links Western Europe with ports in Africa and on the Indian Ocean, replacing the Suez Canal route. Another major route is that between the Persian Gulf and Japan.

The world pattern of air routes is similar to that of ocean routes, though an airplane can follow a more direct route than a ship can. The heaviest volume of international air traffic, like sea traffic, is across the North Atlantic between North America and Europe. There is also a great volume of air traffic between the various countries of Europe as well as on domestic flights within such major countries as Russia and the United States. The most heavily used airways in the United States are between Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C.; New York City and Chicago; and Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Inland waterways are concentrated in the world’s heavily populated river basins and lowland plains. Among the busiest are the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway and the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in North America, the Rhine River and other rivers and canals in northwestern Europe, and the system centering on the Volga and Don rivers in Eastern Europe. The United States has about 25,000 miles (40,200 kilometers) of inland waterway routes, including the Atlantic and Gulf intracoastal waterways. Land transportation routes are densest where urban commercial and industrial activities are the most extensively developed. Such core regions are in the central and eastern United States and southeastern Canada, in northwestern Europe, and in Japan. Other major transportation concentrations include the Pacific coast of North America, the Rio de Janeiro–São Paulo area of southern Brazil, the Ganges plain of northern India, the eastern areas of China, and south-eastern Australia.

The nets, or webs, of transportation routes are less densely developed in regions such as the interior western United States, the southern part of western Canada, Spain and Portugal, and southern Sweden and Norway. Some regions are served by railroads and highways that connect with transportation nets only at one end. Such transportation tentacles extend to otherwise isolated localities such as mining areas, logging camps, and other resource-extracting settlements. Examples are the rail lines and highways extending into northern Canada and into Siberia. Because of geography some sparsely settled regions such as the Amazon Basin of South America have few or no railroads and are served by inland waterways, air routes, and a few roads.

In the United States and Canada the transportation web is densest in the general area bounded by the Ohio and Potomac rivers on the south, the Missouri River on the west, and the St. Lawrence Valley. Several corridors within this densely populated, highly industrialized core region of North America generate extremely heavy movements of both goods and passengers. The most noted corridor is through the megalopolis stretching between Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Others are the axis between Detroit, Mich.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Pittsburgh, Pa.; the corridor from Chicago to Milwaukee, Wis.; and the corridor connecting Detroit; Toronto, Ont.; Montreal; and Quebec, Que.

In the southeastern United States, goods traffic very often moves to and from ocean and river ports. There also are major centers of passenger and freight traffic in the interior, such as at Atlanta, Ga.

In the interior of the western United States, transportation routes are spaced much farther apart, a reflection of the low population density. But on the heavily populated Pacific coast, a north-south corridor of closely spaced rail, highway, and air routes links San Diego, Calif.; Los Angeles; the San Francisco Bay area; and the Willamette Valley–Puget Sound–Strait of Georgia cities of Portland, Ore.; Tacoma and Seattle, Wash., in the United States and Vancouver, B.C., in Canada.

There were only about 172,900 miles (278,250 kilometers) of railroad routes in the United States in the late 1980s, as compared with about 254,000 miles (408,760 kilometers) in the peak year of 1916. Railroad mileage has steadily fallen as little-used branch lines have been abandoned in favor of highways. The United States has about 3.5 million miles (5.6 million kilometers) of surfaced roads. A network of pipelines links the Gulf coast and interior oil fields to the northeastern urban areas. Other major pipelines serve the Pacific coast.

All-water transportation routes via southern Africa, the Panama Canal, and the Suez Canal (before 1967) have faced increasing competition from land-sea combination routes that cross North America or Eurasia. Traffic from Japan to Europe, for example, may be routed first by ship across the Sea of Japan to Russia and then on the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Eurasia. Traffic from Japan to the eastern United States may be routed first by ship across the Pacific and then by rail or highway across the United States. Traffic from North America’s West coast to Europe may be routed first by rail or highway across to the East coast and then by ship across the Atlantic. Speedier transfer of cargoes between ships and overland carriers at the ports has greatly facilitated this choice of routings.

The world pattern of transportation routes changes slowly. The most important recent changes are a result of the growth of air transportation; the development of routes from new sources of fuels and metals in formerly isolated regions such as Labrador, northwestern Australia, and central Africa; the closing of the Suez Canal in 1956 and 1967; the opening of the enlarged St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959; and the opening of the Arkansas River to large-scale barge navigation in 1971. Transportation routes also have changed as supertankers, OBO vessels, container ships, and railroad piggyback service have been introduced.

Transportation Costs

Transportation costs depend primarily on distance and on the amount of goods or the number of people being carried. Reduced costs are generally achieved through the use of transportation modes that permit larger volumes or numbers to be moved. Savings are also realized by using as much as possible of the capacity of a particular mode or vehicle. For many movements of passengers and goods, however, the primary aim is not low cost but greater speed, convenience, or comfort. Such convenient modes as the private automobile or the taxicab, for example, are much costlier to use than a bus or train.

The cost of transportation includes both terminal costs and line-haul costs. Terminal costs are those incurred in assembling and distributing passengers and goods and loading them onto and unloading them from the vehicle. In the case of railroads they include the costs of making and breaking trains. The transfer from one mode to another, as between land and water carriers at a port, also is a terminal cost. Linehaul costs are those incurred in the actual movement of goods or people between terminals. They are generally proportional to distance, or length of haul (and fuel costs), and to time (and labor costs).

Another distinction is between fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs—also known as overhead, or constant, costs—include administration, sales, financing, insurance, rents, depreciation, and taxes. They are largely independent of particular transportation movements. Variable costs—also known as marginal, or out-of-pocket, costs—such as for fuel, are those attributed to a particular transportation movement and depend on actual traffic volume.

Costs are partly related to the load factor, the proportion of the capacity of the vehicle that actually carries the payload of cargo or passengers. If, for example, a 100-seat airplane carries 60 passengers, its load factor is 60 percent. Transportation operators try to achieve as high a load factor as possible by offering less frequent service during off-peak periods than during peak periods. In this way they can meet the increased demands of peak periods but not be saddled with unused capacity at other times.

Most rates and fares charged shippers and travelers fall between what are known as the value of service and the cost of service. The value of service is the maximum rate or fare that can be charged. If the charge is higher, transfer or substitution will take place—the traveler or shipper will find another transportation mode, another carrier of the same mode, another destination, another source of supply, another market, or cancel altogether.

If the carrier is a private enterprise, as are most transportation services in the United States, the total rates and fares charged must be sufficiently above the cost of service so as to give the carrier a profit. If traffic is carried at below cost, the loss must be made up by some form of public subsidy—that is, the government and the taxpayers share the transportation costs with the operators and the users. The desirability of a public subsidy is based on estimating whether the public benefit is great enough.

Early History of Transportation

Throughout most of human history, people’s movements on land were restricted to those speeds and distances that could be attained by walking. The use of sledges, pack animals, and then draft animals pulling wheeled vehicles increased the distance that early men could traverse and the amount of goods that they could transport ( see wheel ).

Long-distance transportation was mainly by water—on rivers and lakes, along seacoasts, and from island to island, usually in sight of land. Early vessels, propelled by currents and by paddles or poles, included rafts made of reeds or branches, boats made of skins, and dugout canoes. Later vessels used sails, which harnessed the wind. Extensive water commerce was carried on by the civilizations in ancient Phoenicia, around the Aegean Sea, and along the valleys of the Nile River in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia, the Indus River (now in Pakistan), and the Yellow River in China.

Some of the earliest long-distance overland trade routes date from around 2000 bc . These were the trails along which amber was carried from near the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Starting in the 6th century bc , the Persian rulers Cyrus and Darius built a road system in their empire. Around the end of the 4th century bc a road system was built in the Maurya Empire of India. Camel caravans carried silk from China to Europe on trails that perhaps predate the 4th century bc . By the 3rd century ad the road network of the Roman Empire had reached Britain, Gaul (modern France), and the eastern Mediterranean region.

During the Middle Ages, improved sailing vessels and the magnetic compass made open-sea voyages out of sight of land much safer ( see navigation ). Voyages of discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries greatly enlarged the world known to Europeans. An extensive sea trade developed, with merchant vessels carrying gold and silver from Latin America, tea and spices from Asia, and enslaved Black people captured from Africa.

Meanwhile, advances were being made in bridge and road construction, and the lock gate for canals was developed. Between the 16th and 18th centuries an extensive canal system was built in France. Transportation improvements in 18th-century Great Britain included the establishment of a turnpike (toll road) system and the use of iron for bridge construction. In 1815, John Loudon MacAdam first built a macadamized road, surfaced with compacted broken stone.

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas did not have wheeled vehicles. Some groups carried goods on an A-shaped drag called a travois. Indigenous trails often followed animal trails. For inland water transportation Indigenous peoples and later European colonists used dugout, bark, or skin canoes.

Late in the 18th century gravel roads were introduced in the United States. One of the first was a toll road, the Lancaster Turnpike in Pennsylvania. Plank roads and corduroy roads, made of lumber or logs laid side by side on the roadbed to overcome dust and mud, were built in the 1830s and 1840s. By the early 1800s transportation was being provided by animal-drawn Conestoga wagons and stagecoaches.

Flatboats were common on inland waterways. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 heralded a great era of canal building that linked the Atlantic seaboard with the lands west of the Appalachians. After 1818, packet ships regularly sailed across the Atlantic to Europe. In the mid-1800s, fast, efficient clipper ships were built to sail from Atlantic ports around South America to California and Asia.

Steam Power

The use of steam power to drive vehicles was applied as early as 1769 when a Frenchman, Nicolas Cugnot, demonstrated a steam carriage intended for use on common roads. It was in water transportation, however, that the early use of steam power was the most successful and enduring.

A short-lived steamboat service was begun by John Fitch on the Delaware River in 1790. In 1807 Robert Fulton established a successful steamboat line on the Hudson River ( see Fitch ; Fulton ). By the 1820s, steamboats plied the Great Lakes and the rivers of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. Along with the development of canals, their use greatly reduced shipping costs to and from the interior and helped open vast areas of North America to settlement. During that same time, steamships were introduced onto European sea routes. The first oceangoing steamship, the Savannah, crossed the Atlantic from Savannah, Ga., to Liverpool, England, in 1819, although it used sails for most of the voyage. By the 1840s, vessels were crossing the Atlantic entirely by steam power. In 1840 Samuel Cunard established the first regularly scheduled steamship line between England and North America. These early steamships were wooden and were propelled by side paddle wheels. They were primarily passenger and mail ships, since their cargo capacity was limited by the large space needed to carry coal for fuel on long ocean voyages.

With the adoption of the speedier screw propeller, the building of stronger iron-hulled vessels, and the establishment of coaling stations along their routes, ocean steamships by the 1890s had exceeded sailing ships in tonnage carried. Sailing ships soon were eliminated from long-distance ocean trade.

New, shorter ocean routes were established. The Suez Canal, opened in 1869, enabled vessels to bypass the long voyage around Africa on routes between Europe and Asia. The Panama Canal, opened in 1914, bypassed the voyage around South America on routes between Atlantic and Pacific ports.

Growth of Railroads

Railroads were used in European mines as early as the mid-1500s. Men or animals pushed wagons loaded with ore along wooden tracks. Later, iron tracks were used and, with the advent of steam power, wagons were hauled by ropes connected to stationary engines. In Wales in 1804, Richard Trevithick demonstrated the first successful railroad steam locomotive. In 1825 the Stockton and Darlington railway near Newcastle, England, became the first common carrier to use steam locomotives.

In the United States the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the South Carolina Railroad began operation in 1830. Like the early roads, they were inland feeders to ports. Railroads spread rapidly in the eastern and southern United States, with short lines being merged to form through routes. By the mid-1850s, railways linked the Atlantic seaboard and the Midwest. In 1869 the first transcontinental route was completed to the Pacific coast.

Railroads became the dominent mode of overland transportation in the last half of the 19th century. Faster and more powerful locomotives and larger freight and passenger cars were built. Standardization of track gauges and the adoption of standard time zones aided efficiency. The invention of air brakes, automatic signaling, and the automatic coupler increased safety. Sleeping cars and dining cars increased passenger comfort and convenience ( see brake ; locomotive ).

In 1832 the horse-drawn tramcar on rails was adopted in New York City and in the following decades became widely accepted as an inexpensive form of public urban transportation. In the 1870s, steam-powered cable-drawn trams became popular. Beginning in 1863 in London, England, steam-powered underground railways (subways) were built ( see subway ).

Electric power was introduced to land transportation in the mid-1880s when electric street railways began operating in the United States, Canada, and Europe. By 1900 they had replaced horsecars and cable cars as the chief form of urban transportation. Electrified elevated or subway lines were built in several European cities and in Boston, Chicago, and New York City ( see street railway ) Electrification spread early in the 20th century to intercity railroad lines but later the diesel-electric locomotive became dominant in the United States ( see diesel engine ). By the 1950s, the automobile, bus, and airplane had replaced the railroad train as the principal passenger carriers in the United States. Trucks, waterways, and pipelines also competed increasingly with railroads in freight hauling.

The Automobile and the Air Age

Some of the first successful gasoline automobiles were developed in Germany by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in the 1880s and in the United States by Charles E. and J. Frank Duryea in 1893. Although some early automobiles were powered by steam and electricity, the internal-combustion gasoline engine soon became the favored form of motive power.

The early farm-to-market roads in the countryside were rarely paved. By the 1890s, however, some roads near the cities were being paved in response to the growing popularity of bicycle riding. As the automobile came into common use in the 1900s, 1916 the Federal Aid Road Act provided for massive federal aid in highway construction. Limited-access express highways originated in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s with the building of the first Italian autostrada and German autobahn. One of the first expressways in the United States was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, opened in 1940. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and later amendments provided for a network of 42,500 miles of interstate expressways to be completed by the mid-1970s.

The first successful manned, engine-powered flight in a heavier-than-air craft was achieved in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, N.C., by Orville and Wilbur Wright ( see Wright, Wilbur and Orville ). Airplanes were used in combat during World War I. Regular airmail routes began in the United States in 1918. During the 1920s and 1930s, mail planes commonly carried passengers. In the 1930s, scheduled flights were begun over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The development during World War II of multiengine long-distance planes, aided by reliable electronic navigation and weather forecasting, led to the rapid advance of commercial air transportation. As a result, shipping lines rapidly declined as major passenger carriers.

With the introduction of jet power to commercial air service in the 1950s, speeds were doubled and costs were greatly reduced. Propeller planes were largely replaced on major transcontinental and trans-oceanic routes. The testing of supersonic jet transports began in Europe and the United States in the late 1960s. During that same time, jumbo jet aircraft, with capacities of nearly 500 passengers each, were brought into service.

Transportation Problems

The world’s transportation facilities are elaborate but unevenly developed. Many underindustrialized countries cannot afford the transportation services they need. At the same time, some highly industrialized countries are oversupplied. In the United States, for example, there are many miles of underused railroads, inland waterways, and rural roads.

Transportation movements are hampered by economic barriers such as tariffs and import and export quotas. Different railroad gauges on opposite sides of an international boundary often require a costly transfer of freight and passengers from one national railroad to another.

“Cargo preference” laws of some countries, restricting those vessels eligible to take particular cargoes, may impede the most economic operation of the world’s shipping fleets. The desire of many countries to have their own fleets of ships or to promote their own airlines may also divert traffic from the most efficient carriers.

Many countries regulate their transportation services so that the various modes are complementary rather than competitive. In the United States, however, government regulations vary widely from mode to mode and between those transportation movements that cross state boundaries and those that do not. A major step toward developing a unified national transportation policy was taken in 1966 with the creation of the Cabinet-level Department of Transportation.

Laws, customs, and labor agreements often require the employment of more persons than are needed for efficient transportation service, especially as technological advances such as container ships are introduced. But layoffs of unneeded workers may result in large-scale unemployment and create severe social problems. Similarly, the building of modern terminal facilities in certain ports and cities may so concentrate traffic that other, bypassed ports and cities face economic depression.

There often are costly and inconvenient delays when people and goods are transferred from one transportation mode to another. These delays include time spent by a traveler at a corner bus stop, at an airplane loading gate or baggage counter, or in the air while an airplane is waiting for clearance to land. They include the time spent by general cargo ships while in port being loaded or unloaded.

The building of expressways and tollways, with their wide rights-of-way and complex intersections, is very costly and has forced the relocation of hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, particularly in cities. Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed. Many of the people displaced are from low-income areas in the inner cities and are those least able to find new homes.

Traffic congestion in the United States has been relieved somewhat as cities have decentralized and population and business densities have decreased. But rush-hour traffic jams and lack of parking space, especially in downtown areas, are still acute problems. Greater use of mass transit services is a likely solution. Unless mass transit is heavily subsidized, however, it can neither meet its costs from a fare structure that would be low enough nor provide service that would be frequent enough to induce people to leave their cars at home. Meanwhile, the decline of public transportation services has hit hardest at the poor, the elderly, the young, and the handicapped, who are least likely to have access to private automobiles.

Transportation facilities and operation also affect the quality of the environment. In an effort to reduce air pollution, laws in the United States set limits on automobile emissions. Such antipollution measures, however, may add to the expense of building and operating motor vehicles. Similarly, design changes required by laws limiting the noise levels and air pollution of aircraft may decrease the operating efficiency of the aircraft. The development of supersonic aircraft, in particular, has been opposed because of the loud sonic boom they create while in flight. Fear of pollution from massive oil leaks has affected plans for new pipelines and the building and operation of supertankers. Natural scenery may be marred and historical landmarks destroyed by construction for highways, railroads, and airports.

Transportation facilities also present a safety hazard. The private automobile, in particular, is one of the most dangerous modes of transportation, though accident rates are slowly being reduced. Major accidents on other transportation modes are relatively rare, though when they do occur, as in the crash of an airliner or in the collision of passenger trains, the loss of life may be great.

Advances in Transportation

Technological advances in transportation have included the development of superspeed trains, such as Japan’s “bullet train” of the 1960s and France’s TGV (Train de Grand Vitesse) of the 1970s and 1980s. These advances gave engineers the inspiration to design such experimental railroad systems as the magnetic levitation, or maglev, train, which by the early 1990s had only short test systems set up in Germany and Japan. Improvements in power generation and transmission and concern for the air and noise pollution caused by diesel engines have prompted automobile makers to develop cars that will run on alternative types of fuel. One result has been the prototype of an electric car. ( See also automobile ; railroad .)

A greater variety of ships, including submarine tankers and fast, multiple-hulled surface ships, have been developed. Other new types of vessels that are available include the hydrofoil, which travels on sea wings with its hull above water, and the surface-effect ship, or hovercraft, which rides above the water on a cushion of air.

The widespread use of atomic power for ship propulsion is a major research goal. STOL (short takeoff and landing), VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing), and supersonic aircraft have been adopted. These new technologies have made vehicles quieter. Passenger travel has improved in speed and comfort. Freight transport costs less because larger vehicles are used and operating efficiency has increased. The computer is used for record keeping, traffic control, navigation, and other routine operations.

In the more distant future, rocket transportation may become feasible, perhaps in combination with orbiting satellites, enabling all points on Earth to be connected in less than an hour’s travel time. Underground gravity vacuum tubes may permit freight and passengers to travel between stations thousands of miles apart also in less than an hour.

Improvements may be expected in transportation management techniques. Some forms of transportation now under private ownership, management, and operation will increasingly depend on public financing or control, just as urban mass transit now does. Some forms of transportation will be integrated into multimodal organizations, both public and private, in order to move people and goods with a minimum of cost, inconvenience, and delay.

The need for modes of transportation will endure. Innovative communications systems, however, have already made much travel unnecessary. Teleconferencing enables people to hold meetings and see each other without having to travel. Computer networking makes cooperative work possible, without the workers leaving home or office ( see telecommunication ).

Additional Reading

Ancona, George. Freighters: Cargo Ships and the People Who Work Them (Crowell Junior Books, 1985). Ardley, Neil. Air and Flight (Watts, 1984). Barner, Bob. Elevator Escalator Book: A Transportation Fact Book (Doubleday, 1990). Brandt, Keith. Transportation (Troll, 1985). Brown, Richard. One Hundred Words About Transportation (Harcourt, 1989). Gakken Company Limited Editors. Wheels and Wings (Time-Life, 1988). Kerrod, Robin and others. Land (Silver Burdett, 1984). Kerrod, Robin and others. Water (Silver Burdett, 1985). Little, Karen. Wings, Wheels and Water (EDC Publishers, 1988). Williams, Brenda and Williams, Brian. Wings, Wheels and Sails (Random, 1991). Arnold, James. All Drawn by Horses (David & Charles, 1985). Bulliet, Richard. The Camel and the Wheel (Columbia Univ. Press, 1990). Bushell, C.J. Jane’s Urban Transport Systems (Jane’s Information Corporation, 1990). Cain, Wilma. Story of Transportation (Gateway Press, Inc., 1988). Evans, A.N. The Automobile (Lerner, 1985). Fargo, O.J. Western Transportation (Green Valley World, 1990). Graham, Ian. Transportation (Watts, 1990). Lowe, Marcia. Alternatives to the Automobile (Worldwatch Institute, 1990). Nentl, J.A. Big Rigs (Crestwood, 1983). Norris, Ann. On the Go (Lothrop, 1990). Papageorgiou, M.N. Concise Encyclopedia of Traffic and Transportation Systems (Pergamon, 1991). Pollard, Michael. From Cycle to Spaceship: The Story of Transportation (FOF, 1987). Radford, Don. Looking at Flight (David & Charles, 1984). Schulz, Marjorie. Transport: Careers for Today (Watts, 1990). Stein, Barbara. Kids’ World Almanac of Transportation: Rockets, Planes, Trains, Cars, Boats, and Other Ways to Travel (Pharos Books, 1991). Wilkins, Frances. Transport and Travel from Nineteen Thirty to the Nineteen Eighty’s (David & Charles, 1985).

(See also bibliographies for Airplane ; Automobile .)

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Home — Essay Samples — Government & Politics — Public Services — Transportation

Essays on Transportation

Transportation is a crucial aspect of modern society, as it enables the movement of people and goods from one place to another. With the increasing need for efficient and sustainable transportation systems, there is a growing interest in exploring various aspects of transportation through essays. If you are looking for transportation essay topics, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will provide a long list of transportation essay topics, along with additional content to help you understand the importance of the topic and provide advice on choosing a suitable topic for your essay.

The importance of transportation essay topics lies in their relevance to contemporary issues and the potential to contribute to the understanding and improvement of transportation systems. By exploring different aspects of transportation through essays, students and researchers can gain insights into the challenges and opportunities in the field, as well as contribute to the development of innovative solutions.

When choosing a transportation essay topic, it is important to consider the specific focus of your essay and the relevance of the topic to your academic or research interests. You may want to consider topics related to transportation infrastructure, sustainable transportation, transportation policy and planning, transportation technology, and the social and economic impacts of transportation. Additionally, you may also consider topics that address specific modes of transportation, such as road transportation, rail transportation, air transportation, and maritime transportation.

Transportation essay topics are diverse and relevant to contemporary issues in transportation. By choosing a suitable topic and conducting thorough research, you can contribute to the understanding and improvement of transportation systems through your essay. Whether you are a student or a researcher, exploring different aspects of transportation through essays can provide valuable insights and contribute to the development of innovative solutions for the challenges facing transportation today.

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Different Types of Transportation Essay

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Land transport

Road transport, advantages of road transport, disadvantages of road transport, rail transport, advantages of railway transport, limitations of railway transport, role of road transport in canadian economy, role of railway transport in the economy, works cited.

Land transport is the physical movement of goods and people from one place to another on land. Land transport takes place through road, railway, and pipeline.

Roads are made to connect different places on the earth surface. There are different types of road surfaces with some made of sand, cement, coal tar et cetera . There are different types of vehicles used in road transport, which can be categorized into three groups i.e. man driven, animal driven, and motor powered vehicles (Hensher 124). In the recent years, the motor driven mode of transport has become the most popular and widely used in both rural and the urban areas. Motor vehicles are of different models, which include vans, bus trucks among others all of which are used to carry goods and passengers on roads (Maddison 67).

Road transport is relatively cheaper as compared to other means of transport such as air transport. This makes it economical to transport people and goods from one place to another.

Road transport can be used to transport perishable goods over short distances, for example, fruits and flowers.

Road transport is highly flexible as road network connects most places in the land surfaces, which makes loading and unloading possible. This makes road the most popular means of transport in many areas.

Road transport helps people to move from one place to another and transport their products to places not served by other means of transport. This makes road transport convenient.

The road transport requires less capital investment to set up as compared to other modes of transport such as railway transport and air transport.

There is less risk of damage of goods in transit in road transport when transporting delicate wares. This is because different vehicles are designed to transport different types of goods.

There is saving in packaging cost in road transport as product transported requires less packing as compared to other modes of transport.

Road transport acts as a feeder to other modes of transport as many goods transported by other means of transport usually use road transport at one point or the other. This may be by delivering goods to or from other modes of transport (Maddison 231).

Road transport has a limited capacity making it uneconomical in transporting goods over long distances.

Transportation of bulky and heavy goods on road transport is expensive as compared to railway transport.

Road transport is affected by adverse weather conditions such as floods and landslides which causes disruptions of road transport.

Road transport is relatively slow as compared to air transport making it inappropriate in transportation of perishable goods over long distances.

Road transport is prone to accidents and breakdowns.

In most areas road transport is not very organized and different charges are usually paid within the same distance of transportation.

Rail transport is the transportation of people and goods in trains through railway lines. It is a dependable mode of transport and transports goods and passengers over long distances (Quinet 46). Railway transport has two types of trains; the passengers and the goods train. Passenger trains carries limited amount of goods. Trains in railway transport either use diesel engines or electric powered engines (Murray 48).

When transporting passengers or goods over long distances road transport is a convenient mode of transport.

The cost of transportation of goods and passengers through railway transport is cheaper as compared to road transport.

The operation of railway transport is not affected by adverse weather conditions.

It is suitable for transporting bulky and heavy goods over long distances.

Railway transport is relatively expensive in transporting goods and passengers over long distances.

Railway transport network is not available in most remote parts of the country.

The railway transport is not flexible in terms of time because it operates on a fixed time schedule hence not flexible for loading and unloading of goods at any time (Rohr 145).

Incase a train is involved in an accident it involves heavy losses in life and goods.

Road transport plays an important role in the movement of passengers in different parts of this nation. This contributes a lot to the national economy as people use road transport to move to and from their places of work. It also plays an important role in moving people to different places to do business which plays an important role in economic development (Greene, Jones, & Delucchi 45).

Road transport helps in transportation of raw materials to the industries and finished goods to the market. This is a great contribution to the development of industries and growth of market in the Canadian economy. Road transport has played a great role in enhancing the growth of business in the economy which contributes a lot to the country’s economy.

The road transport creates employment to very many people in Canada thus contributing greatly in the country’s economy. This helps in raising the living standard of people employed.

Road transport contributes income to the government through taxes paid in the sub-sector. This income is used in economic development.

Railway transport plays an important role in the movement of passengers within the major towns in Canada. It helps passengers to move across different places in different cities. This is a great contribution to the economic activities in the country. Railway transport enables people to attend to various working places and this plays a major role in economic growth in the Canadian economy (Lowe 56).

Railway transport plays a major role in the movement of goods from one place to the other in Canada. This is a great contribution to the industrial sector as it is the major mode of transport that is used to transport raw materials in the industries and finished goods in the market. Railway transport has also contributed a lot to the growth of foreign trade; this is because of being the major mode of transport that is used in the movement of goods which are imported in the country and those which are being transported out of the major ports in Canada.

The railway transport has also contributed in the growth of agriculture sector in the Canadian economy. This is because it is used in the transportation of agricultural goods to the market as well as in transportation of agricultural inputs to the distribution centers.

Greene David Lloyd, Jones Donald, & Delucchi Mark. The full costs and benefits of transportation: contributions to theory, method, and measurement. Mexico: Springer, 1997.

Hensher, David. Urban transport economics, London: CUP Archive, 1977.

Lowe, David. The dictionary of transport and logistics, London: Kogan Page, 2002.

Maddison, David. The true costs of road transport, London: Earthscan, 1996.

Murray, Tom. Canadian National Railway, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2004.

Quinet, Émile. Vickerman William Roger, Principles of transport economics Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004.

Rohr, Ian. Transport: on the Road, London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd, 2006.

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Essay Samples on Transportation

Introduction to urban infrastructure: transport sector development.

Urban infrastructure defines the framework of a city and its inhabitants and is an important factor in the outcome of a city’s economic growth. To keep up with GDP growth, it is estimated that $17 trillion is required for the Asia-Pacific region to meet this...

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Influence and Role of Transportation Infrastructure on Urban Scale

The spatial type of urban areas is obviously impacted by a scope of social, political, institutional and administrative conditions in different settings, and these should be comprehended in considering city structure. Low-thickness urban communities organized around the engine vehicle are frequently hard to access for...

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Exploring Multiple Benefits of Carpooling

Introduction The last few years have seen a massive increase in requests for displacement. This increase demands the development and continuous improvement of means of transportation. However, despite its evolution, public transport remains less competitive compared to user requirements, especially in rural areas. Thanks to...

Developed Business Value for Airline Companies

World airlines as a whole have not, since they are in service, developed business value for airline companies. Over time a few years with earnings accompanied years of loses owing to a powerful dependence on economic development and effects of flights. This is still the...

United States Airline Industry Today

The airline industry is a very competitive market, in the past 2 decades the industry has expanded and still expanding its routes domestic and globally in the beginning airline industry was partly government-owned but in recent years many privatizations with the airline industry have taken...

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Positive And Negative Impacts Of Increased Gas Prices In The U.s.

In 1929, our nation suffered throughout what we call, The Great Depression. This lead an influnctuation throughout the world, creating gas prices to increase. Gas prices have recently changed massively all around our society; making no other option but to consume the gas, for it...

My Personal Opinion On Why Gas Prices Should Be Cheaper

There are many forms of transportation consisting of trains, public buses, and cars. What these vehicles have in common is that in order to function they need gasoline. Many refineries were down and tight in supply therefore causing an increase. Gasoline prices have gone from...

Getting Rid Of Gasoline Vehicles As The Best Solution To The High Gas Prices Issue

Gas prices are always going up, and often fluctuate from a day-to-day basis, regardless if it is a pump or wholesale location. This fluctuation is often due to a culmination of factors, including politics. This means that our current fossil fuel situation is a very...

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Transportation infrastructure.

As world populations have grown over thousands of years, so has the need for improved systems of transportation. As a result, people have modified their environment by building transportation infrastructure to make movement faster and easier.

Engineering, Geography, Human Geography, Social Studies

Oil Tanker Pilot Training

Canals have been used as to transport goods over water since ancient times. Although overland and air transportation have largely overshadowed canal shipping routes, they remain an important part of transportation infrastructures around the world.

Photograph by Remi BENALI/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Since the development of the world’s earliest civilizations, people have needed to move themselves and their goods from one place to another. As world populations have grown over time, so has the need for better and more advanced systems of transportation. Transportation is the movement of goods and people from one place to another. In ancient times, people crafted simple boats out of logs, walked, rode animals and, later, devised wheeled vehicles to move from place to place. They used existing waterways or simple roads for transportation. Over time, people built more complex means of transportation. They learned how to harness various sources of power, such as wind, steam, and combustion, to move barges, ships, trains, automobiles, and airplanes. These new means of transportation required people to change their environments by building transportation infrastructure . Transportation infrastructure is the underlying system of public works designed to facilitate movement. Past peoples, such as the ancient Egyptians, built ports in coastal areas for bringing and receiving goods. They also adapted internal natural waterways using dams or other means, to make them navigable . Ancient people also constructed artificial waterways called canals to move goods from place to place. Canals continued to be an important part of transportation infrastructure in societies around the world, particularly in Europe and China during the Middle Ages. Canal building in the United States reached its peak during the mid-1800s, but in other places, such as the Netherlands, canals are still an important part of the transportation infrastructure . Overland travel has also changed over time. Historic civilizations, including the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, and Romans, built roads and highways out of earth and stones to connect cities and rural areas. Roadbuilding in Europe and elsewhere improved during 1600s and 1700s, with increased trade and better vehicles. With the development of the steam locomotive in the early 1800s, people began to build railways to take advantage of train travel, particularly in the United States and Britain. By the mid-1800s, workers had constructed around 11,000 kilometers (7,000 miles) of railroad track in England and Wales. In the United States, by 1900, there were more than 320,000 kilometers (200,000 miles) of track. Also during the mid-1800s, people developed means of building railways underground. The world’s first subway line was opened in London, England, in 1863. Subways are still an important part of transportation infrastructure in many of the world’s largest cities. Automobile ownership became widespread by the mid-1900s, particularly in the United States and Europe, and people with cars soon demanded better roads. These roads would allow them to move away from cities and the need for mass transportation. Communities and governments rebuilt their roads, and major highway systems developed over time. European countries were the first to develop highway systems. In the United States, public demand from the 1930s to the 1950s led to government funding of the massive U.S. interstate roadway system.

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Importance of transportation

Transportation is a means by which animals, goods and humans are moved from one place to another. Some of the typical modes of transport are water , road, rail, air, coastal, navigation, pipeline, cable and space. The role of a well-coordinated and smooth transport system is critical in the sound growth of the country.

Transport is significant as it allows trade between people that is necessary for the expansion of civilizations. It plays a vital role in globalization and economic growth of a country. This article will look at significance of transportation in various aspects of our life.

Classification of transportation

Before we proceed to the importance of transportation, let us take a look at the different types of transportation. It is classified into three basic forms, such as infrastructure, operations and vehicles.

• Transport infrastructure: This form of transportation comprises of the fixed installation of terminals for interchange of cargo and passengers. It includes railways , roads, waterways, airways, pipelines, canals and terminals like railway stations, airports, warehouses, bus stations, refueling depots, seaports and trucking terminals.
• Operations: This type of transportation identifies the way in which the vehicles function, and the methods that accomplish this purpose. It includes financing , policies and legalities.
• Vehicles: This is a passenger transportation system where operators provide either private or scheduled services such as freight transport and bulk transport.

Types of transportation

• Road transport: Road transport plays a significant role in the progress of economic and social state of the country. It is the most cost-effective mode of transportation for medium and short distances. This transportation service is regarded as useful and preferable because of its trustworthiness, flexibility, ease and speed.
• Rail transport: The railway is considered to be “the lifeline” of India. It facilitates transference of goods and people from one location to another. The vastness of the country makes rail transportation a vital transport medium for internal transportation and operation of commuters. People get easy access to various inaccessible areas. With railways, it becomes possible to bring in people and materials from different parts of the country that was earlier not possible.
• Air transport: This mode of transportation is significant for its fast transport. India enjoys a centralized location all over the world in regards to air transportation. This mode of transport began in 1911 when the first postal service was transferred between Allahabad and Naini.
• Water transport: Water transport offer the cheapest mode of transportation as there is no need to create any transportation route. Both internal as well as marine water channels such as canals and rivers provide water transportation in the country.

Significance of transportation

Boosts economic growth: Transportation promotes economic growth in an organization in following ways:

• Supports agglomerations and clusters
• Better productivity
• Enhances accessibility of labor force and jobs
• Opens new avenues for businesses,
• Improves supply chain efficiency

Increases business productivity: Improvements in transportation enhances the reach of businesses and people to find relevant services, jobs, activities, goods, and productivity. Transportation helps reduce time of travel and improves infrastructure too. Employees reach workplace in less time. Businesses also benefit by increased employee productivity. This results in increasing the productivity of an area impacted by the better transportation system.

Enhances accessibility of labor force and jobs: Another economic advantage of transportation is that it provides a larger pool of employees for the job market. A new transit, road enhancements or traveler rail line reduces the travel time of employees as required by other transportation modes like a bus or a car. Now employees can reach jobs that were previously inaccessible. New and improved transportation mode enhances direct access of the population to more job avenues, that makes a place more attractive.

Opens new avenues for businesses: New rail, metro lines and subway attract new commercial and residential development. This provides passengers and businesses with various options to earn as well as spend their money. Better access, and improved transportation projects lead to the economic development of metropolitan areas.

Improves supply chain efficiency: Quicker and easier access to required materials and supplies result in its faster delivery to customers. This not just reduces inventory carrying and transportation costs, but also improves profitability and productivity in a business.

Improvements in the transportation infrastructure makes it possible for organizations to extend their market access to infinite customer base, that increases their competitiveness too.

By improving access to goods, services, markets, housing, employment, education and health care, the expense of movement of goods and people are reduced considerably. This, in turn, increases economic development and productivity of a business.

Transportation forms the backbone for any nation’s development. With all the above ways, continuous growth of transport, its convenience and ease, leads to economic growth of a nation.

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The Geography of Transport Systems

The spatial organization of transportation and mobility

3.2 – Transportation and Society

Author: dr. jean-paul rodrigue.

Transport systems support complex economic and social interactions and are thus a component of society. Transportation reflects the aspirations of a society such as accessibility and mobility, which expands its horizon.

1. Mobility and Society

Mobility is one of the most fundamental characteristics of human activities. It satisfies the basic need of going from one location to another, a need shared by passengers and freight for different purposes.

Mobility is a multidimensional concept since it simultaneously expresses the potential for a movement as well as the activity itself. It is at start a choice to be exercised or not depending on economic and social goals.

Irrespective of its aim, mobility enables social, cultural, political, and economic activities to take place. Throughout history, changes in mobility have been the outcome of technological developments that improved operational characteristics such as speed, range, price, affordability, and comfort. These changes improved societies and the quality of life of populations. For instance, the diffusion of  highways and the automobile profoundly impacted the mobility of contemporary societies and continue to do so .

Regions do not share the same level of mobility from an internal and comparative perspective. A mobility transition  has been observed towards motorized forms of transport, a process commonly linked with economic development. Regions with greater mobility often have better opportunities to develop than those with scarce mobility. Reduced mobility impedes development, while greater mobility is a catalyst for development. Mobility is thus a reliable  indicator of development. Providing mobility is an industry that offers services to its customers, employs people, disburses wages and benefits, invests capital, generates income, and provides taxation revenue. Mobility is, therefore, the recurring aspect where transportation has its most significant societal impacts.

For economic activities, transportation allows access to a workforce, reach suppliers, and service customers. With transportation improvements, interactions with the workforce are more effective, and distribution costs usually decline with the derived competitive benefits. Most individuals have extensive experience with transportation since they are regular users. Transportation is the means to access employment, goods, services, leisure, social networks, and using transportation is often a social experience, at times negative (e.g. comfort, safety). Thus, a share of societal consumption is allocated to satisfy mobility needs. Paradoxically, higher income levels are usually associated with a higher share of transportation in consumption; a trend particularly attributed to automobile ownership and air travel. The higher the income, the greater its share is spent on mobility, as mobility symbolizes social status.

Mobility is an activity that is constrained by several factors that, when applied across social groups, lead to a number of observations:

• Variations in the propensity, intensity, and scale of mobility are linked to differences in the availability of transportation resources, including infrastructure.
• There are variations in the daily travel behavior  that are manifest in the frequency, time, mode, and distance of travel.
• There are variations in transport accessibility resulting in different opportunities.

For an individual, irrespective of their social group, time limits the daily number and length of trips . However, these constraints are technologically, socially, and economically articulated since more efficient transport modes support more extensive mobilities and higher incomes. Thus, an individual would have mobility contingent on physical capabilities, available budget, transport supply, and the spatial distribution of activities such as residential, commercial, and manufacturing areas. Further, the social context of mobility is partly changing because of its impacts. Mobility can be a factor in weaker social interactions as individuals could be living further apart. At the same time, expanded mobility enables social interactions that were not effectively possible beforehand. This is particularly the case for long-distance interactions that have expanded with the growth of air transport.

Transportation is not a homogeneous system but a set of diverse elements at times in competition. Access and services are not uniform. While many of the social and economic impacts of transportation are positive, there are also significant societal challenges.

2. Mobility Gaps

Since mobility is one of the fundamental components of the economic benefits of transportation, its variations are likely to have substantial impacts on the employment, educational and social opportunities of individuals. There are four forms of gaps:

• Differences in mobility because of the economic function of an area , particularly between urban and rural areas.
• Unequal mobility and travel behavior between social groups , including their respective transport resources, such as car ownership, access to public transit, and average travel distance, frequency, and time.
• Accessibility inequalities to outside markets or services such as retail and opportunities such as employment.
• Employment inequalities where socioeconomic groups have different participation levels in the transportation sector.

a. Rural Mobility

The World Bank estimates that 1 billion people worldwide do not have direct access to a paved road, undermining their mobility. This gap is almost exclusively between rural and urban areas, which can be significant. Rural mobility must fulfill the dual role of allowing rural residents to access employment, goods, and services, as well as allowing the efficient mobility of rural equipment (tractors, trucks), agricultural inputs (fertilizers, water, seeds), and agricultural outputs (crops and animals). The latter is particularly important since agriculture is the core function of rural areas, and many rural transport systems were designed as feeders to wider circulation systems. For instance, the setting of railways in the western part of North America is organized around a hierarchy of rural towns collecting agricultural resources.

Rural areas differ particularly from urban areas because of the lower population density and a less diversified economy focusing on agriculture and related activities. This makes the setting of collective forms of transportation more challenging and less cost-effective. However, some rural areas in developing economies such as India and China have higher densities than urban areas in advanced economies like Europe and the United States. This implies a high usage of roads, leading to the adaptation of farm vehicles to provide mobility for people and goods. The main mobility differences between rural and urban areas involve longer average travel distances, a lower density of transportation infrastructure, with agricultural equipment (e.g. tractors), and farm animals using roads with related hazards (accidents).

b. Inequalities in mobility

Mobility needs do not always coincide due to several factors, namely the lack of income, time, means, and access . Mobility and transport demand thus depends on socioeconomic status. The higher the income, the more options and mobility, which may lead to substantial mobility gaps between different population groups. There are mismatches between the location of low-income people and the areas where employment and services are available. The more significant these mismatches regarding accessibility, the higher the gaps.

Gender gaps exist in mobility as women tend to have lower mobility levels, which is partly attributable to lower incomes, work preferences, and social roles such as family care. This is particularly the case in developing economies since, in more advanced economies, the labor force participation of women has increased, thus alleviating gender differences. Mobility patterns by gender tend to be similar for younger age groups, but differences increase as women reach child caretaking years. This is associated with shorter travels and trip chaining to perform several activities along a trip sequence.

Mobility gaps are particularly prevalent for long-distance travel. With the development of air transport, a segment of the global population has achieved a very high level of mobility for their business and leisure activities. In contrast, the great majority of the global population has little mobility. This issue is expected to become more acute as the population of many advanced economies is aging rapidly, which implies that mobility is becoming more than an income issue. An aging population has more difficulties operating vehicles and using transport systems. Further, an aging population has, on average, less disposable income.

c. Accessibility gaps

Locations with low levels of accessibility tend to have higher costs for many goods. This can manifest at several geographical scales, from the national to the local. For  landlocked countries , most goods must be imported through an intermediate country, often over long distances. The resulting higher transport costs inhibit the competitiveness of such locations and limit opportunities. Consumers, retailers, and industries will pay higher prices, impacting their welfare (disposable income) and competitiveness.

At the local level, some neighborhoods are poorly serviced with groceries and other necessities. This leads to paradoxical effects: populations in poorer neighborhoods can pay higher prices for basic goods due to the lack of demand, higher distribution costs, and a lack of mobility to facilities offering a wider variety of goods. Mobility is associated with a wider range of choices and options. Employment clusters in suburban areas are often designed to be accessible only by the automobile, with limited consideration for public transit. This undermines the employment opportunities of those who do not have access to a vehicle.

d. Employment inequalities

Conventionally, the transportation sector and its related activities (e.g. warehousing) were male-dominated , particularly in operations. This trend is on the decline but likely to endure. The sector tends to have low barriers to entry, implying employment opportunities for young or immigrant workers to find work. Still, transportation work tends to be labor-intensive and physically demanding, which is not conducive to generalized gender equity. For instance, in the transport and warehousing sector, about 75% of the workforce is male, and 85% for the trucking industry, while around 55% of the general workforce is female. The growth of the logistics sector and E-commerce offer opportunities the lessen the gap since they are associated with more management and administrative work. Irrespective, gender equity across the transportation sector is unlikely due to the nature of the work involved and enduring gender preferences in the type of employment.

The above gaps can be presented, particularly by advocacy groups, as a form of transport equity issue. This concept needs to be taken with caution since it refers to an equality of outcome. Although equity can appear superficially as a desirable outcome, it goes against many fundamental precepts in geography. At the core, geography underlines that characteristics such as climate, the distribution of resources, and accessibility confer a non-uniform distribution of opportunities. Some locations are better or more suitable than others, leading to an inequality of outcome in terms of accessibility and economic development. Thus, geography can be a powerful force in the generation of inequalities, which can be a factor of productivity and wealth. For instance, global passenger and freight traffic is handled by a rather small number of large ports and airports, which is associated with highly productive distribution systems benefiting from economies of scale and agglomeration. Therefore, the concept of transport equity is, at best, elusive and could lead to substantial misallocations of resources in attempts to rectify gaps.

3. The Social Externalities of Transportation

With increased mobility, it has become common for parts of transportation networks to be used above design capacity, particularly in urban areas. Congestion is the outcome of such a situation with its associated costs, delays, and waste of energy (congestion is addressed in more detail in the Urban Transport Challenges section). Distribution systems that rely upon on-time deliveries are particularly susceptible to congestion as well as commuters seeking to arrive at work on time. In addition to additional costs, congestion involves additional time, which is perceived to be increasingly valuable in advanced economies.

Still, from a societal standpoint, congestion is an ambiguous issue. First, congestion is commonly the outcome of economic success as the level of mobility exceeds what was initially anticipated and designed for. Further, different socioeconomic groups will have different tolerance levels to congestion as each may have a different time value preference. On the positive side, the diffusion of information technologies offers drivers and passengers a wider range of activities to perform while in transit.

The use of transport modes and infrastructure is never entirely safe. Every motorized vehicle contains an element of danger and nuisance . Due to human errors and various forms of physical failures (mechanical or infrastructural), injuries, damages, and even death occur. Accidents tend to be proportional to the intensity of use of transport infrastructures, which means the higher the probability for an accident to occur with more traffic. The most important segments of road transport infrastructure also inflict the most externalities. They have important socioeconomic impacts, including healthcare, insurance, damage to property, and the loss of life. Therefore, public policy has focused on different aspects of transportation safety, such as vehicles, infrastructure design, and operating conditions.

The respective level of safety depends on the mode of transport and the speed at which an accident occurs. No mode is completely safe, but the road remains the riskiest mode of transportation , accounting for 90% of all transport accidents on average. At the global level, about 1.35 million people die in road accidents each year, in addition to 50 million injuries. Although the number of deaths due to car accidents is declining in developed countries, in developing economies, death rates are usually at least twice as high as those of developed countries and account for nearly 90% of all deaths. China has the world’s largest number of fatalities, estimated to be around 255,000 in 2016, mainly due to a sharp growth in vehicle ownership, a lack of driver education, and enforcement of regulations. Another trend is the rise in the number of pedestrian deaths after years of decline, a trend attributable to changes in vehicle preferences, suburbanization, and even the rapid diffusion of portable mobile devices such as smartphones. However, there is an emerging body of evidence that ridesharing technologies are associated with a reduction in traffic fatalities mainly because of the professionalization of driving and a readily available option to counter the risks of drunk driving.

The convenience of mobility, particularly through the diffusion of the automobile and its associated suburban lifestyle, is linked with a lack of physical activity and rising obesity. The easier it is to move over short distances through mechanical means such as vehicles, elevators, and escalators, the fewer users are incited to walk. Thus, there can be a societal drawback to convenient mobility since a population could walk and exercise less. Such a trend is complex to mitigate, and the design of more walking and cycling-friendly neighborhoods has been advocated. They would convey some improved health benefits for their residents.

All these issues underline the social implications of transportation in terms of opportunities, as well as in terms of social exclusion . Significant factors of social exclusion have a transportation component, such as difficulties in affording transportation (public or private), transportation services that do not cover effectively demand, and a lack of appropriate infrastructures such as sidewalks and waiting areas. Land use and housing policies can have the unintended consequence of undermining access to employment, education, healthcare, and other social activities. If efficient transportation does not mitigate this separation, it becomes a segregation factor. Under such circumstances, the high level of subsidies that public transit systems receive is made socially acceptable as a form of support for the mobility of those less advantaged. A similar observation applies to congestion and pricing schemes as the poorer segments of the population cannot afford financial restrictions on mobility, even if undertaken with the rationale of managing scarce assets. The road remains perceived as a public good, and impairing its free use becomes a divisive social issue.

4. The Environment as a Social Transportation Challenge

The mobility provided by transport activities has a wide range of environmental consequences , which have a cost that must be assumed by the users and society. While many environmental issues can have negative health impacts, societal tolerance to environmental externalities has significantly evolved. As income and education levels increase, society becomes more aware of environmental concerns and less tolerant of their negative impacts.

The most salient environmental challenges having social consequences include:

• Air quality . Atmospheric emissions from pollutants produced by transportation, especially by the internal combustion engine, are associated with air pollution and global climate change. Some pollutants (NOx, CO, O3, VOC, etc.) can produce respiratory troubles and aggravate cardiovascular illnesses. The World Health Organisation estimated that 3 million deaths per year are related to air pollution, although the contribution of transportation is less clear. About 50% of all air pollution in urban regions emanates from automobile traffic. Since pollution is a health issue, its societal impacts are perceived to be significant, with air quality commonly a source of social concern. Still, improvements in engine technology (including electrification), changes in fuel quality, and the extension of vegetation and green spaces in urban areas are effective mitigation measures.
• Noise . A major irritant, noise can impact human health and welfare. Noise can be manifested at different levels depending on emissions intensity, psychological disturbances (perturbations, displeasure), functional disturbances (sleep disorders, loss of work productivity, speech interference), or physiological disturbances (health issues such as fatigue and hearing damage). Noise and vibration associated with trains, trucks, and planes near transport terminals and main roads are major irritants and have commonly been associated with lower land values since they make those locations less desirable.
• Water quality . The main association between transportation and water quality involves accidental and nominal runoff of pollutants, such as oil spills, which contaminate surface water and groundwater. In addition, paved surfaces are more prone to floods with intense rainfall, implying that the footprint of transportation infrastructure can have multiplying effects.
• Footprint . Transport is a large consumer of space when all its supporting infrastructure and equipment are considered, such as roads, parking areas, and terminals. This footprint is subject to competition between other activities and reflects societal values, particularly regarding the space allocated to automobile use. Furthermore, the planning associated with transportation infrastructures does not always consider aesthetic values, as is often the case in the construction of urban highways. These visual impacts have adverse consequences on the quality of life of nearby residents.

The most common way for a society to mitigate the environmental externalities of transportation is to impose regulations related to standards, levels of emissions, and operating conditions. This comes from various regulatory agencies having jurisdiction, and advocacy groups also play a significant role in promoting and defending environmental concerns. Many transportation infrastructure projects, such as roads, terminals, and pipelines, have become embattled in public debates over environmental and, at times, aesthetic concerns. This underlines a societal change requiring careful consideration of not only technical and commercial aspects of transportation infrastructure, but also their level of social acceptance, or at least tolerance. The situation can go as far as a widespread NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) attitude that prevents, stalls, and increases transport infrastructure development costs. Under such circumstances, society becomes an active force preventing transport development , leading to future development challenges due to the lack of infrastructure and could lead to additional safety issues if the infrastructure is not properly maintained. Ideally, society should aim to create an abundance of mobility options , as restricting mobility (scarcity) has more negative than positive outcomes.

Related Topics

• 8.4 – Urban Transport Challenges
• 2.4 – Information Technologies and Mobility
• 1.5 – Transportation and Commercial Geography
• 3.3 – Transport Costs
• 3.4 – The Provision and Demand of Transportation Services
• 1.3- The Emergence of Mechanized Transportation Systems
• 1.4- The Setting of Global Transportation Systems
• 2.2 – Transport and Spatial Organization
• 3.1 – Transportation and Economic Development
• 4.2 – Transportation and the Environment

Bibliography

• Anderson, M.L and L.W. Davis (2023) “Uber and Traffic Fatalities”, The Review of Economics and Statistics; doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01385
• Banister, D. (2018) Inequality in Transport, Marcham, Oxfordshire: Alexandrine Press.
• Berry, B.J.L. (1967) Geography of Market Centers and Retail Distribution, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
• Hall, P. (1984) The World Cities. 3rd edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
• Lucas, K. (2013) “Transport and Social Exclusion”, in J-P Rodrigue, T. Notteboom and J. Shaw (eds) The Sage Handbook of Transport Studies, London: Sage.
• OECD (2017) Income Inequality, Social Inclusion and Mobility, Roundtable Report 164, International Transportation Forum, Paris: OECD.
• Pred, A. (1977) City Systems in Advanced Economies: Past Growth, Present Processes and Future Development Options, New York: Wiley.
• United Nations Development Programme (2009) Human Development Report 2009, Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• World Health Organisation (2016) Ambient Air Pollution: A Global Assessment of Exposure and Burden of Disease.
• World Health Organization (2018). Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018. Geneva, Switzerland.

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Means of Transport Essay | Different types of Transportation

December 2, 2017 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

Long before the advent of science and technology , the early men were wanderers with no means of transport. They would only move from one place to another by means of foot – walking or running. Eventually, as they started becoming more and more aware of their own supremacy and brainpower, they started taming animals like elephants and horses who could take them from one place to the other.

Slowly, as they started making tools, they developed machines called wheels, a new era began that ushered in faster means of transport with lesser time and labour.

Later, with more and more evolution, development of trade occurred which resulted in a never ending search for finding better and more efficient modes of transport for both carrying humans as well as good – a search that has not ended even today and perhaps will continue till eternity.

In the world we live in today, it is absolutely imperative to find newer techniques of transportation that entails lesser time, labour and money. Now there is also a search for cleaner and pollution-free transportation.

Table of Contents

History of transportation

There was not much progress in the modes of transportation until the Industrial Revolution in the 19 th Century. The transport systems that we see today are just an improvement over the basic principle of the steam engine. Although the first recorded steam engine dates back to 1 st century AD to the time of Romans, various improvements were made on it.

It was not until James Watt invented the modern steam engine that is still used today that public transportation was just an unfeasible fantasy. James Watt’s steam engine used the steam pressure of the water vapour and converted it into kinetic energy by moving the piston which in turn rotated the crankshaft and through a mechanism similar to modern day differential, the power was transmitted to the wheels that moved the vehicle forward.

This was a revolutionary leap for mankind. After this, global transportation began to speed up and trade flourished. It was not until the 20 th Century that Internal combustion engines were invented that opened up a whole new realm of progress that mankind could tap on to.

Modes of Transportation

Today, there are several modes of transportation available at our disposal. These primarily include:

Through Roadways 

With numerous trials an error, man has been able to come to a solution about the material and component required to make proper, durable and paved roads that can take the beating of heavy tires and the mighty nature.

The cars and trucks and buses that usually take the roadways are a very effective and cheap means of transportation. They run on a variety of fuels, primarily fossil fuels – diesel and petrol. However, because of environmental pollution, newer, cleaner engines are being developed that run on a variety of natural gases as well as electricity. This causes lesser emission. And conserves the environment for the generation to come.

Through Railways 

Diesel was used by these engines and they ran with speeds that were never before experienced by humanity. Today however, rail engines have undergone further development and they run on electricity which is faster, lighter and cleaner from an environment standpoint.

Further development has led to small scale and experimental introductions of ‘Maglev’ of Magnetic Levitation Trains which do not have wheels. These use similar poles of a magnet facing each other which creates an almost zero friction travel. This is however very costly and has not been used in large scale.

Through Waterways

The force of wind and the water current propelled them to their destination. Now however, turbine engines running n diesel are fitted into the ships that allow them to cut through the current and the ocean and make its own way.

This is however a comparatively slower means of transportation and it takes months to reach from one country to another. Passenger ships are almost obsolete these days, however, goods are shipped through this very economically,

Though Airways 

As the World war resulted in scientific and technological advancements, airplanes were modified. Passenger jets were invented. These could travel thousands of miles in a matter of a few hours – by far the fastest mode of transport ever.

Space Travel 

Just as per the writings of Jules Verne, man has devised capsules propelled by an explosion of gas and solid fuel which would pierce through the atmosphere and quiver into outer space. The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) of the US was the first organization to ever send man into space in the mid-20 th Neil Armstrong was the first person to step on moon.

Today, however, these space travels have become cheaper and more common but it is yet to reach a point where it would be commercially viable. The rich and famous, all have invested in companies that are promising to take us to space in the coming few decades and start colonializing there.

Transport is a very essential part of our civilization and its progress. Man’s quest for finding better modes will perhaps never end. Transport is essential not only for our comforts, but for the global economy and business to flourish. Trade will be easier and quicker.

Better modes of transport will reduce overhead costs leading to a more prosperous economy. Faster modes of transport will reduce distances bringing the world closer and closer, making the concept of global village a reality.

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Essay on Modern Transportation

Students are often asked to write an essay on Modern Transportation in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Modern Transportation

What is modern transportation.

Modern transportation means the ways we move people and goods using the latest technology. Cars, buses, trains, planes, and ships are all part of this. They are faster, safer, and more comfortable than old ways of traveling.

Types of Modern Vehicles

We have electric cars that don’t need petrol and driverless cars that can drive themselves. Trains can go super fast on special tracks. Airplanes take us across the world in hours.

Benefits of Modern Transportation

It saves time and is good for business. It also helps us visit family and see new places. Some new vehicles are better for our planet because they pollute less.

Challenges We Face

Even with new technology, traffic jams and accidents still happen. We need to find ways to make transportation even safer and cleaner for the environment.

250 Words Essay on Modern Transportation

The role of cars and buses.

Cars are the most common way people travel, especially for short distances. They are convenient because they can take you exactly where you need to go. Buses are also important because they can carry many people at once, which is good for the environment and can reduce traffic.

Trains and Planes

Trains are a great choice for going long distances without using a car. They are fast and can carry lots of passengers or goods. Planes are the fastest way to travel long distances, like from one country to another. They have made the world a smaller place because you can reach faraway lands in just a few hours.

Bicycles and Electric Scooters

Bicycles and electric scooters are becoming more popular. They are good for the environment and your health. They don’t use gas or diesel, so they don’t pollute the air.

In conclusion, modern transportation has many forms and helps people move around quickly and easily. Whether you are going to school, work, or on a vacation, there is a mode of transportation that can get you there. It is important to think about what is best for the environment when choosing how to travel.

500 Words Essay on Modern Transportation

Modern transportation refers to the ways we move people and goods from one place to another today. This includes cars, buses, trains, planes, and even ships. These methods are faster, safer, and more comfortable than old ways like walking, horse riding, or sailing in small boats.

The Importance of Cars and Buses

Trains and subways.

Trains and subways are another key part of modern transportation. Trains can carry lots of people or goods over long distances quickly. Subways are like trains but they travel under the ground in big cities. This helps to avoid traffic jams and can be a very quick way to get around.

Planes are the fastest way to travel long distances. They can fly across countries or even across oceans in just a few hours. Air travel has made the world a smaller place because it allows people to visit faraway places much more easily.

Ships and Boats

Technology in transportation.

Modern transportation uses a lot of technology. For example, many cars now have computers that help them stay safe on the road. Trains and planes use advanced systems to make sure they run on time and go to the right places. Technology also helps us book tickets for travel easily using the internet.

Environment and Transportation

One problem with modern transportation is that it can harm the environment. Cars and planes produce gases that can pollute the air. This is why many people are trying to make transportation cleaner. Electric cars, for instance, do not produce these harmful gases. Many cities are also encouraging people to use bicycles or to walk for short trips to reduce pollution.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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Means Of Transport For Kids – Land, Air and Water Transportation

What Is Transport?

What are the different modes of transportation.

• Activities That Will Help Your Child Learn About Modes Of Transport

Interesting Facts About Modes Of Transport For Kids

Writing an essay on a topic can be met with a lot of excitement if your child knows about the subject, or can be met with some trepidation if they are uncertain about a topic they need to think of before writing. Certain topics are easy to understand and write about, for example, what we plan to cover in this article – modes of transportation for kindergarten children and some examples of transport names in English. Now transportation is a topic that every child would love to know more about – they see cars, trucks, cycles, bikes, boats and even aeroplanes around them, so they do know what each type of transport does, but there’s a lot to discover about transportation besides them just being modes to ferry you from one point to another. In this article, we cover the different modes of transport in English, and delve a little deeper into facts about them as well.

Land, water or air! The meaning of transportation or the means of transport meaning is basically the way to move from one place to another. Buses, boats, trains and aeroplanes are the most common means of transport that children have heard of, which can help people move from one part of the world to another. Learning about all these modes of transportation is one of the first things children can do when they start communicating with their families. 

When you want to get into transportation for kids at a personal level, you can start with how they were carried as babies in your arms, then, on a stroller to move around in lanes and streets near home, and then, in cars to travel in the city so so on. Also talk to them about how, when the time is right, they get to ride a tricycle or cycle to explore the area around them, and yes, this is a means of transport! This will help them understand the types of transportation and talk and slowly write about this naturally, through their own experiences.

There’s one more thing that little ones can learn thanks to transportation – verbs! Words like ‘going’ ‘cycling’ ‘riding’ are what will help kids understand the concept of transportation so much better, and these words, that act as connectors, will also teach them more about the English language.

Depending on where you want to go to and the destination of choice, there are a number of vehicles that can be used to travel to different places. If you want to go by land, you can use the road- cars, busses etc. or even the train. If you want to go by sea, you can pick a ship, boat or yacht. If you want to travel by air, you take a plane. 

Let us look at a list of different means of transport:

1. Land Transport

Land transport refers to the vehicles that can be used to ferry us around from one spot to another on land. Let’s take a look at some examples below – 

2. Air Transport

Air transport refers to the vehicles that can be used to ferry us around from one spot to another via the sky. Let’s take a look at some examples below – 

• Hot Air Balloon
• Space Shuttle
• Blimp/Zepplin
• Hang-glider

3. Water Transport

Water transport refers to the vehicles that can be used to ferry us around from one spot to another via any water body. Let’s take a look at some examples below – 

• Cruise Ship

Other Air, Water & Land Transportation Modes To Learn

Let us take a look at some other transportation vehicles that will help children understand this topic a little better. Here’s a chart on transportation to help – 

Activities That Will Help Your Child  Learn About Modes  Of Transport

Let’s take a look at some activities that will help your child learn about modes of transport. 

1. Pictures & Sounds

• What sounds do the various modes of transportation make? (train – whistle, truck- horn, police car – siren)
• What would these sounds look like if we were to draw them?
• Provide crayons and paper to experiment and play with the colours and shapes of transportation sounds! 

2. Car Prints

• Using old toy cars and paint, let the kids dip the cars in bright paint.
• Then “drive” them across the paper to see what kinds of marks the tires on each vehicle make!
• It’s a fun and creative activity that your kids will love.

3. Shapes Of Vehicles

• It’s fun to see how many types of transportation vehicles can be made using basic geometric shapes (triangles, squares, circles, rectangles).
• Let the kids cut their shapes out of paper and arrange them to create vehicles.

4. Paper Airplanes

• Make paper airplanes in the simplest way.
• Ask your kids to colour them using bright colours.
• See how they fly. 
• Make this a competitive game to see whose plane flies highest, or hands farthest.

5. Paper Boats

• Make boats using paper folding technique.
• Fill a bucket of water.
• Ask your kids to make them float on the surface.
• This will help them understand how and why things float.

6. Around The Neighbourhood

• Make a huge map of your neighbourhood area.
• Mark all the places that they know of and others they might not know of yet.
• Let the kids play with their toy cars on the map so that they can learn more about their neighbourhood. 

7. Vehicles In A Day

• This is a fun activity to play when you want to distract your little ones!
• Make them look at all the different types of vehicles in a day, whether they are moving outside or even if they spot it on TV.
• Ask them to write down all the names.
• Bonus: This will also help with their spellings! 

Let us now look at some interesting facts when it comes to the different modes of transportation! 

• The most popular car colour in the world is white.
• One of the oldest types of transportation is by boat! Sea traders long ago set out in small boats to trade their goods with other people. Did you know that today, ships still use the old sea trade routes?
• In some parts of the world, the most popular mode of travel for a lot of people is by walking or using animals, such as donkeys, horses and camels.
• Flying or using a plane is probably one of the most popular ways to reach faraway destinations. Did you know that over half a million folks are in the air at any one time at a stretch! 
• If any new-age car drove at a speed of an average of 60 miles per hour, straight up in the air, it would reach the moon in less than a month! Wow, thats crazy, right?

Teach your child about all the different types of vehicles and enjoy your next family trip with the knowledge gained from these means of transport ideas and charts.

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What is Original Public Meaning?

To properly understand and interpret the Constitution, originalist analysis should embrace legal meaning—not just lay meaning.

Original public meaning is the bedrock upon which the entire structure of originalism is built. Originalism, now a dominant force in constitutional interpretation, draws its power from this concept. But original public meaning’s effectiveness depends on understanding its true nature. That nature turns on a key issue: whether the public meaning allows for the meaning that those well-versed in law would give to a provision (the legal meaning) or merely the meaning that the ordinary public (the lay meaning) would give to it. This choice greatly influences our ability to uncover a precise and reliable interpretation of the Constitution. It strikes at the heart of how judges are to interpret the document that governs our nation.

This distinction between interpreting the Constitution in lay as opposed to legal language carries weighty consequences. Most lay language is vague and imprecise. Legal language is often more exact, like a finely sharpened tool, cutting through ambiguities that might otherwise require us to step outside the original text—a process known as construction—to find answers. Consider the term “unusual” in the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “Cruel and Unusual Punishment.” If we interpret “unusual” using a general (nonlegal) dictionary, its meaning is hazy. But if we look to its legal meaning at the time, it aligns with the more precise common law concept of something “against long-settled practice.” 

Unfortunately, two misconceptions have clouded this debate. First, many scholars assume that “public meaning” in original public meaning automatically refers to the understanding of an ordinary person. They take “public” to mean that which is understood by the general public. They thus believe that by its very nature, original public meaning favors lay over legal interpretation. Second, scholars also assume that Justice Antonin Scalia, perhaps the most renowned originalist justice of our time, advocated for a Constitution written in the language of the common man. As we demonstrate in a recent article , however, both of these assumptions are false.

The Original Meaning of Original Public Meaning 

To set the record straight, we show in this article that when the theory of “public meaning” was originally introduced in the 1980s, it was not meant to pit lay meaning against legal meaning. Rather, it was meant to distinguish expressed meaning from subjective intent. Expressed meaning is the meaning conveyed by the text itself, while subjective intent reflects what the authors personally meant to communicate. While the authors of the Constitution may have intended certain meanings, the public meaning hinges on what a reasonable, informed reader at the time would have understood. A hidden intent, no matter how genuine, does not alter the meaning expressed to the public. This distinction mirrors the difference between textualism, which focuses on the text’s expressed meaning, and intentionalism, which delves into the authors’ hidden intentions.

We should embrace an interpretation that allows for both legal and lay meanings rather than one largely restricted to lay language.

The expressed meaning is consistent with interpreting the Constitution to have a legal meaning, since the legal meaning is not hidden. Meanings based on legal materials, such as cases and treatises, are publicly available and can be known by a reasonable, informed reader. Thus, it is not surprising that as original public meaning gained traction over time, some of its early adopters began to refine the concept to embrace legal meaning. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, these originalists argued that the public meaning of the constitutional text was, in fact, its legal meaning. 

It was not until 2008 in a unpublished article followed by a published article in 2009 that law professor Larry Solum introduced a different interpretation of original public meaning, suggesting that it should be understood as the meaning that the lay public would give to language. While Solum is certainly entitled to propose this variation, it is crucial for readers to recognize that his definition was neither the original one nor one that necessarily follows from the concept of public meaning.

Justice Scalia’s View

Second, there has been a persistent misunderstanding of the view of late Justice Antonin Scalia, the most influential early architect of original public meaning. Some scholars have mistakenly interpreted Scalia as a proponent of the lay meaning version of original public meaning. Our article demonstrates, however, that this is not the case. In his most detailed works, including his 1998 and 2012 books on interpretation, Scalia clearly rejects the lay meaning approach. He explicitly states that constitutional and statutory language often carries a legal meaning. Scalia’s position is unequivocal: “Sometimes context indicates that a technical meaning applies. Where the text is addressing a scientific or technical subject, a specialized meaning is to be expected. And when the law is the subject, ordinary legal meaning is to be expected, which often differs from common meaning.” This statement leaves no room for doubt about his stance.

Some have pointed to a single paragraph in Scalia’s majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller as evidence supporting the lay meaning view: 

In interpreting this text, we are guided by the principle that “the Constitution was written to be understood by the voters; its words and phrases were used in their normal and ordinary as distinguished from technical meaning.” Normal meaning may of course include an idiomatic meaning, but it excludes secret or technical meanings that would not have been known to ordinary citizens in the founding generation.

But this isolated instance cannot outweigh the substantial body of evidence indicating Scalia’s commitment to the legal meaning of statutory and constitutional language. Beyond his books, Scalia’s judicial opinions consistently reflect this view. For example, even in Heller , when interpreting the Second Amendment’s prefatory phrase (“A well-regulated militia being necessary to a Free State”) and its operative command (“the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”), Scalia relies on a legal interpretive rule that prevents a preamble from narrowing a clear directive, thereby rejecting the notion that only a militia has the right to bear arms. 

Moreover, in numerous other places throughout Heller, Scalia follows the legal meaning. In Crawford v. Washington , Scalia interprets the term “confront” in the Confrontation Clause (“in all criminal prosecutions… the accused shall enjoy the right to confront the witness against him”) against the backdrop of English common law—an area far beyond the understanding of an ordinary lay reader.

In our article, we do not merely argue that Justice Scalia embraced the Constitution’s legal meaning. We also present many kinds of evidence to show that Justice Scalia was right. To determine whether the Constitution was written in legal or lay language, we must examine the document itself. A close inspection reveals that it contains at least 100, and possibly as many as 250, terms with legal meanings. A document written in ordinary language simply would not be saturated with so many legal terms. Furthermore, the Constitution is filled with provisions that presuppose the application of legal interpretive rules—certain clauses are devised specifically to invoke these specialized legal principles. Early jurists and legislators also interpreted the Constitution through the lens of its legal meaning. This body of evidence builds a cumulatively powerful case: the Constitution is written in the language of the law.

However, interpreting the Constitution in the language of the law does not mean that every term always receives a legal meaning. The language of the law includes all of ordinary English, plus the legal lexicon. Therefore, it is entirely consistent with this approach to interpret some parts of the Constitution using their lay meanings. When a term has both a legal and lay meaning, the way to resolve the ambiguity is by examining the context, structure, and purpose of the text. On the other hand, those who advocate for a purely lay reading of the Constitution restrict or even prohibit interpreting terms with their legal meanings. The choice, then, is clear: we should embrace an interpretation that allows for both legal and lay meanings rather than one largely restricted to lay language.

Nor does interpreting the Constitution undermine its legitimacy. The Constitution gains its force as law because it was ratified by representatives. Representative democracy is used instead of direct democracy because representatives are thought to have knowledge that the public lacks. And these representatives were a sophisticated portion of the public, many of whom were lawyers. The legal nature of the document was thus considered in the deliberations that ratified it. The public too understood the gist of the document, both because large portions overlapped with ordinary language and because lawyers, like those who wrote the Federalist papers, explained many of the nuances.

Understanding Scalia’s perspective also sheds light on the approach of today’s originalist justices, who may not always articulate their reasoning with the same nuance as a justice who also wrote legal treatises. Some commentators argue that many of these justices are committed to lay meaning, but we show that the best reading of their opinions suggests a more complex reality. They often start with a presumption in favor of lay meanings but frequently move toward legal meanings when the context demands it. Much like the Bourgeois Gentilhomme who unknowingly spoke prose all his life, many justices apply legal meaning without always making it explicit.

Implications

Interpreting the Constitution in the language of the law is vital for originalism. The remarkable progress of recent originalist scholarship owes much to its focus on uncovering legal meanings embedded in the Constitution. An approach that views the document primarily or solely through the lens of lay meaning misses the rich, nuanced legal interpretations that the Constitution’s legally sophisticated authors wrote in the document. Moreover, without the precision that legal meaning provides, lay meaning originalism risks leaving the Constitution so vague that it is open to the same criticisms as living constitutionalism. Legal meaning is not a preference: it is a factually based foundation for a more robust, determinate, and principled interpretation of our founding document.

Choosing between legal and lay meaning also has implications for the new and increasingly popular method of corpus linguistics in legal interpretation. Imagine corpus linguistics as a vast library, where the meaning of words and phrases is determined by analyzing how they are used across a wide range of texts. The accuracy of this approach hinges on the data sets you choose to explore. If you are searching for the meaning within the language of the law, you will need to comb through legal texts; if you are after a lay meaning, you will turn exclusively to everyday language. The data set you choose can be the difference between uncovering a precise legal distinction or missing it entirely.

Unfortunately, the progress of originalism has been slowed by two significant misunderstandings that have crept into both judging and scholarship. The first, ironically, involves a misreading of the original meaning of “original public meaning” itself. The second is a misinterpretation of the writings of the great originalist, Justice Scalia. These errors have led to an undue reluctance by some to embrace legal meaning in originalist analysis. By clearing up these misconceptions, we aim to steer originalism back onto a clearer, even more successful path.

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Biden is taking on cheap products from China. It could mean higher prices

FILE - Parcels slide down a ramp after being scanned at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection overseas mail inspection facility at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Feb. 23, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

FILE - Marijuana hidden in underwear packaging is shown at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection overseas mail inspection facility at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Feb. 23, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

FILE - U.S. Customs and Border Protection technician Czar Zeman examines overseas parcels after they were scanned at the agency’s overseas mail inspection facility at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Feb. 23, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is cracking down on cheap products sold out of China, expanding a push to reduce U.S. dependence on Beijing and bolster homegrown industry, but that could trigger higher prices for U.S. consumers who flock to popular shopping sites like Temu and Shein.

President Joe Biden’s proposed rule says foreign companies can’t avoid tariffs simply by shipping goods that they claim to be worth $800 or less. Sellers mainly from China have used the so-called de minimis exemption to flood the U.S. market, shipping dresses, shoes, toys and bags directly to American shoppers in small packages.

The number of these shipments has jumped from 140 million annually to over 1 billion last year, according to a White House statement. The U.S. government says the exemption also makes it harder to block banned imports like fentanyl and synthetic drug content, raising fears that unsafe and unlawful products are slipping through.

The White House move comes at a delicate moment for the world’s two largest economies. The United States has tried to lessen its reliance on Chinese products, protect emerging industries such as electric vehicles from Chinese competition and restrict China’s access to advanced computer chips.

For its part, China has seen manufacturing and exports as essential for driving economic growth as it has struggled with deflation following pandemic-related lockdowns.

Biden’s proposal comes the same week that the U.S. House targeted China in a largely bipartisan series of bills , showing the breadth of Washington’s efforts to compete with Beijing in a global race for dominance and the effects that can have on everyday Americans in areas from health care to shopping.

The House was not able to bring a bill to meaningfully narrow the de minimis exemption to the floor this week, prompting 126 House Democrats to call on Biden to use his executive authority to close a loophole that they say poses growing dangers to American workers, manufacturers and retailers and “threatens our health and safety.”

Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Rosa DeLauro said Friday they welcomed Biden’s announcement but called it just a first step that “does not negate the need for Congress to act on a comprehensive solution.” The White House called for legislative action.

China is the biggest source of retail packages entering the U.S., accounting for the bulk of parcels worth $800 and less, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has acknowledged that it is impossible to screen the 4 million packages that enter the U.S. every day under the tariff exception, which he said is “built on a false premise that low value means low risk.”

At a talk at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in July, Mayorkas said customs workers have seized narcotics, ghost guns and other contraband from these small packages. He signaled that legislative changes could give Homeland Security greater authority to address the issue.

Leah DeVere, a Georgia mother, has been campaigning against the exception since her son Cory was shipped a counterfeit pill laced with fentanyl two years ago. He died after taking the drug, she said.

“By tracing the package in which the pill was delivered, my family learned that the shipment originated abroad and breezed past U.S. Customs enforcement without so much as a second glance,” she wrote in an opinion column in May for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “My son’s life was worth more than $800.”

Such concerns led several U.S. groups — from law enforcement to manufacturing — to form a coalition to lobby lawmakers and the administration to act.

But the National Foreign Trade Council — whose members include international shippers FedEx, UPS and DHL as well as retailers Amazon and Walmart — has defended the exception, arguing it is “an essential component of America’s economic health and supply chain efficiency.”

Without the exemption, costs would go up for American consumers and small businesses, it says.

The U.S. government stressed that Chinese e-commerce sites have abused the exemption to sell cheap clothing and textiles to Americans, possibly harming domestic workers and companies.

Ending it could be a blow to Chinese-founded companies such as Temu and Shein that compete by keeping their prices low and might now have to face additional scrutiny. The government said its tariffs cover about 40% of U.S. imports, including 70% of textile and apparel imports from China.

Temu said it was reviewing the proposal. The company has managed to sell its products at affordable prices “through an efficient business model that cuts out unnecessary middlemen, allowing us to pass savings directly to our customers,” a Temu statement said. “Temu’s growth does not depend on the de minimis policy.”

Shein said it complies with all import requirements, including for de minimis parcels. The company also said it supports “responsible reform” of the exemption rule to create “a level, transparent playing field,” where the same rules are applied, “regardless of where a company is based or ships from.”

The proposed regulatory changes also would include new standards for smaller shipments, such as a 10-digit tariffs classification number and details on the person claiming the exemption.

Biden’s forthcoming proposed rule will undergo a public comment period before being finalized, a process that the Biden administration would likely need to complete before its term ends.