MODES OF TRANSPORT

Modes of transport

Modes of transport

Introduction

Transport is the life-blood of the twenty-first century economy. Without the movement of goods and persons on land, on water and in the air life as we understand it would stop to exist. Both the movement of items and persons have shown long-term growth. The average daily travel expanse per individual has increased in the alignment of 100 times throughout the last years (Masser et al., 1992) but the increase in “mobility devotes rise to large charges in periods of air contamination, weather change, degradation of countryside and ecosystems, deterioration of heritage monuments, noise, congestion and accidents” (Commission Expert assembly on Transport and the natural environment, 2000).

In consequence Europe faces a substantial dispute; how can we cater for the growing demand for movement, particularly by road, without making poorer the environmental and security troubles that have escorted the development of transport so far, and how can we decrease the influence of transport without foremost disturbance of the finances and our lifestyles?

Trends in transport in Europe

Goods/Freight transport

Road freight overrides the items transport market in the European Union-15. If ocean transport is omitted street freight accounts for about 75 per cent of all tonne-kilometres conveyed by rail, road and inland waterways. Since 1970 the total tonne kilometres carried by street has expanded by around three times, from 488 billion to 1,395 billion in 2001. In compare the amount conveyed by rail, inland waterways and pipelines has stayed relatively steady or even declined. The outcome has been a move in the modal split, the percentage of the total conveyed by each pattern of transport, most especially from rail, 30.2 per cent in 1970 to 13.1 per cent in 2001, to road, 52.1 per cent in 1970 to 75.5 per cent in 2001. A traverse the constituent States of the EU-15 the modal split varies with geography, the kind of freight conveyed and national policy. For example, 98 per cent of all freight in Greece is conveyed by street, but only 46.6 per cent in The Netherlands, where inland waterways play a foremost role. In Sweden rail carries 39.5 per cent of freight but in Greece only 2 per cent.

The development of rail freight is restricted by a shortage of drivers and locomotives, conflicts between freight and traveller trains, and regulatory dissimilarities between constituent States.

Passenger transport

The mean expanse travelled per individual per day increased from a few kilometres to 40 kilometres in the time span from 1800 to 2000. The dominant mode of transport moved from walking and horse power to the train and then to going by car by car. Technological developments, such as the interior combustion motor, in combination with growing income, permitted people to purchase much quicker modes of transport over time (Bleijenberg, 2002, p. 2).

Since 1970 the total expanse journeyed in the EU-15 has more than doubled with vehicles now accounting for nearly 80 per cent of all traveller kilometres. Although there has been some development in travel by bus, coach, tram and rail all ...