11. Traffic and transport
Contents
11.1 Modes of transport
11.2 The first steps of traffic
When humans adapted agriculture, they started to live more sedentarily. Animals were used to transport resources, such as grains, from one settlement to the next.
Even in the beginning of the 19th century, people did not really journey outside their home regions. The desire to travel and see other places began to increase as the century progressed. Faster and more effective modes of transport began to be developed. This development was propelled not only by the people's desire to travel, but also by the industrial revolution, which necessitated the development of better ways of transporting goods and raw materials.
Railway networks began to be built during the 19th century. Rail traffic made the transportation of heavy goods and materials possible. Another great step in the history of transport was the popularization of the airplane in the 20th century. It made quick transportation of materials between continents possible.
The development of airplanes increased the speed of travel and transport.
11.3 Increased travel and transport
The ways in which people and goods are moved on both sea and land has changed significantly during the last century.
The developments of the 20th and 21st centuries have seen an increase in the amount of people and goods transported. Travel times have become shorter and distances have become longer. New records are set in these three categories almost every year. For example, the largest ships today are over a few hundred meters long.
At the same time, the overall amount of travel and transport has also increased. Estimates suggest that the amount of traffic on the planet will continue at a steady rate far into the future.
There are many reasons behind this increase in the amount of travel and transport. Most importantly, they include the following things:
- population growth and the increased need to be able to move people and goods from place to place,
- the increased wealth of developing nations and the resulting diversification of travel and transport in these areas,
- overall technological development and the lowered cost of different modes of transport,
- the need for global distribution of goods and raw materials.
11.4 Ground traffic
Ground traffic includes highway traffic and railway traffic.
Highway traffic consists of cars, motorbikes, buses, trucks, vans, and other similar ground vehicles.
Highway traffic has increased everywhere in the world. Its advantages include the variety of route options it offers, its ease of use, its speed and its low cost, especially when traveling relatively short distances.
Some of the challenges of highway traffic are difficult weather conditions, traffic jams, the high construction and maintenance costs of roads and highways, as well as its high accident risk.
Highway traffic requires the construction of complex road networks near large cities.
Railway traffic includes pasenger and freight trains, trams, and subways.
The advantages of railway traffic include its efficiency, its ability to transport large amounts of heavy goods and raw materials, and its ability to transport thousands of people at once in a safe and quick manner.
The challenges of railway traffic include the high building costs of rail networks, as well as its susceptibility to delays during adverse weather conditions.
Rail traffic is especially busy in large cities, which often have comprehensive tram or subway networks.
Passenger trains can sometimes be even faster than airplanes. The fastest trains can travel at a speed of over 300 kilometers per hour.
11.5 Water traffic
Oceans cover approximately 70 % of Earth's surface area. Continents are intersected by various rivers. Because of this, waterways continue to be important routes for transporting people, goods, and materials.
Water traffic can be divided into marine traffic, inland waterway traffic and underwater traffic.
Various kinds of ships travel the world's waters: passenger ships, ferries, freight ships, river boats, barges and submarines.
Water traffic was one of the first modes of transportation developed by humans. Because of this, many historically significant cities were built in locations where they had acces to water. Even to this day, harbors continue to be important links between inland areas and the wider world.
The advantages of water traffic are the vast space of movement in the oceans, the ability to transport large amounts of goods and materials and its relatively few environmental problems. The disadvantages of water traffic are the slow speeds of ships and the high construction and maintenance costs of harbors.
Large and small ships arriving in Hong Kong.
11.6 Air traffic
Air traffic consits of both passenger and cargo planes. It is by far the fastest mode of transport in the world.
Air traffic is one of the safest modes of transportation. On average, only one accident occurs per million flights. Other advantages of air traffic include the amount of space available for aircrafts in the planet's atmosphere, which makes transportation smooth and efficient.
The disadvantages of air traffic include the high cost of travel especially on short distances, the high construction and maintenance costs of airports, rigid security checks, the high amount of noise produced by airplanes and the construction and maintenance cost of the airplanes themselves. In addition, air traffic uses large amounts of fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
The terminals of airports consist of long hallways that guide passengers to the right airplane. Amsterdam.
Summary
- Modes of transport differ in terms of their speed, level of safety and adaptability to different situations.
- Highway traffic includes cars, motorbikes, buses, vans and trucks.
- Railway traffic includes passenger and freight trains, trams and subways.
- Water traffic includes a variety of different kinds of ships: passenger ships, ferries, freight ships, river boats, barges and submarines.
- Air traffic includes passenger and cargo planes.