Mode of transport

Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting
people or goods.[1] The different modes of transport are air, water, and land transport, which includes rails
or railways, road and off-road transport. Other modes of transport also exist, including pipelines, cable
transport, and space transport. Human-powered transport and animal-powered transport are sometimes
regarded as their own mode, but never fall into the other categories. In general, transportation is used for
moving of people, animals, and other goods from one place to another. Means of transport, on the other
hand, refers to the transport facilities used to carry people or cargo according to the chosen mode (animal,
vehicle, car, airplane, ship, truck, train and so on and so forth). Each mode of transport has a fundamentally
different technological solution, and some require a separate environment. Each mode has its own
infrastructure, vehicles, transport operators and operations.Transportations helps in the better utilisation of
the resources of the backyard areas by linking them with the more advanced areas. It aids in the process of
industrialisation and urbanization.

Animal-powered
Animal-powered transport is the use of working animals for the transport of people and/or goods. Humans
may use some of the animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them, alone
or in teams, to pull watercraft, sleds, or wheeled vehicles.

Air
A fixed-wing aircraft, typically airplane, is a heavier-than-air flying
vehicle, in which the special geometry of the wings generates lift
and then lifts the whole vehicle. Fixed-wing aircraft range from
small trainers and recreational aircraft to large airliners and military
cargo aircraft. For short distances or in places without runways,
helicopters can be operable.[2] (Other types of aircraft, like
autogyros and airships, are not a significant portion of air transport.)
Air France Airbus A318 landing at
Air transport is the fastest method of transport, Commercial jets
London Heathrow Airport
reach speeds of up to 955 kilometres per hour (593  mph) and a
considerably higher ground speed if there is a jet stream tailwind,
while piston-powered general aviation aircraft may reach up to 555
kilometres per hour (345  mph) or more. This celerity comes with higher cost and energy use,[3] and
aviation's impacts to the environment and particularly the global climate require consideration when
comparing modes of transportation.[4] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates a
commercial jet's flight to have some 2-4 times the effect on the climate than if the same CO2 emissions
were made at ground level, because of different atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing effects at the
higher altitude.[5] U.S. airlines alone burned about 16.2 billion gallons of fuel during the twelve months
between October 2013 and September 2014.[6] WHO estimates that globally as many as 500,000 people at
a time are on planes.[3] The global trend has been for increasing numbers of people to travel by air, and
individually to do so with increasing frequency and over longer distances, a dilemma that has the attention
of climate scientists and other researchers,[7][8][9] the press,[10][11] and the World Wide Web.[12] The issue
of impacts from frequent travel, particularly by air because of the long distances that are easily covered in
one or a few days, is called hypermobility and has been a topic of research and governmental concern for
many years.

Human powered
Human powered transport, a form of sustainable transportation, is the
transport of people and/or goods using human muscle-power, in the form of
walking, running and swimming. Modern technology has allowed
machines to enhance human power. Human-powered transport remains
popular for reasons of cost-saving, leisure, physical exercise, and
environmentalism; it is sometimes the only type available, especially in
underdeveloped or inaccessible regions.

Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the transport can
be enhanced through the use of roads, especially when using the human
power with vehicles, such as bicycles and inline skates. Human-powered
vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow
and water, by watercraft rowing and skiing; even the air can be entered with Human-powered transport
human-powered aircraft. remains common in
developing countries.

Land
Land transport covers all land-based transportation systems that provide for the movement of people, goods
and services. Land transport plays a vital role in linking communities to each other. Land transport is a key
factor in urban planning. It consists of 2 kinds, rail and road.

Rail

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by

way of wheeled vehicles running on rail track, known as a railway
or railroad. The rails are anchored perpendicular to railroad train
consists of one or more connected vehicles that run on the rails.
Propulsion is commonly provided by a locomotive, that hauls a
series of unpowered cars, that can carry passengers or freight. The
locomotive can be powered by steam, diesel or by electricity
supplied by trackside systems. Alternatively, some or all the cars
German ICE 1 on the Nuremberg–
can be powered, known as a multiple unit. Also, a train can be
Munich high-speed railway
powered by horses, cables, gravity, pneumatics and gas turbines.
Railed vehicles move with much less friction than rubber tires on
paved roads, making trains more energy efficient, though not as efficient as ships.

Intercity trains are long-haul services connecting cities;[13] modern high-speed rail is capable of speeds up
to 430 km/h (270 mph), but this requires a specially built track. Regional and commuter trains feed cities
from suburbs and surrounding areas, while intra-urban transport is performed by high-capacity tramways
and rapid transits, often making up the backbone of a city's public transport. Freight trains traditionally used
box cars, requiring manual loading and unloading of the cargo. Since the 1960s, container trains have
become the dominant solution for general freight, while large quantities of bulk are transported by
dedicated trains.

Road

A road is an identifiable route of travel, usually surfaced with

gravel, asphalt or concrete, and supporting land passage by foot or
by a number of vehicles.

The most common road vehicle in the developed world is the

automobile, a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor.
As of 2002, there were 591 million automobiles worldwide. Other
users of roads include motorcycles, buses, trucks, bicycles and
pedestrians, and special provisions are sometimes made for each of Traffic on the Eastshore Freeway
these. For example, bus lanes give priority for public transport, and (Interstate 80) near Berkeley,
cycle lanes provide special areas of road for bicycles to use. California, United States

Automobiles offer high flexibility, but are deemed with high energy
and area use, and the main source of noise and air pollution in
cities; buses allow for more efficient travel at the cost of reduced
flexibility.[14] Road transport by truck is often the initial and final
stage of freight transport.

Water
Water transport is the process of transport that a watercraft, such as Bus, cars and bicycles
a bart, ship or sailboat, makes over a body of water, such as a sea,
ocean, lake, canal, or river. If a boat or other vessel can successfully
pass through a waterway it is known as a navigable waterway. The
need for buoyancy unites watercraft, and makes the hull a dominant
aspect of its construction, maintenance and appearance. When a
boat is floating on the water the hull of the boat is pushing aside
water where the hull now is, this is known as displacement.

In the 1800s, the first steamboats were developed, using a steam

engine to drive a paddle wheel or propeller to move the ship. The
steam was produced using wood or coal. Now, most ships have an
engine using a slightly refined type of petroleum called bunker fuel.
Some ships, such as submarines, use nuclear power to produce the Trams, lorries, cars, bicycles and
steam. Recreational or educational craft still use wind power, while rickshaws, 1945
some smaller craft use internal combustion engines to drive one or
more propellers, or in the case of jet boats, an inboard water jet. In
shallow draft areas, hovercraft are propelled by large pusher-prop
fans.

Although slow, modern sea transport is a highly effective method of

transporting large quantities of non-perishable goods. Commercial
vessels, nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in
Car ferry in Split, Croatia
2007.[15] Transport by water is significantly less costly than air transport for transcontinental shipping;[16]
short sea shipping and ferries remain viable in coastal areas.[17][18]

Other modes
Micromobility is the collective name for small electric powered vehicles.

Pipeline transport sends goods through a pipe, most commonly

liquid and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes can also send solid
capsules using compressed air. For example, liquids/gases, any
chemically stable liquid or gas can be sent through a pipeline.
Short-distance systems exist for sewage, slurry water and beer,
while long-distance networks are used for petroleum and natural
gas.

Cable transport is a broad mode where vehicles are pulled by cables

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System
instead of an internal power source. It is most commonly used at conveys crude oil from the Prudhoe
steep gradient. Typical solutions include aerial tramway, elevators, Bay Oil Field to Valdez, Alaska.
escalator and ski lifts; some of these are also categorized as
conveyor transport.

Space transport is transport out of Earth's atmosphere into outer space by means of a spacecraft. While large
amounts of research have gone into technology, it is rarely used except to put satellites into orbit, and
conduct scientific experiments. However, people have landed on the moon, and probes have been sent to
all the planets of the Solar System.

Unmanned aerial vehicle transport (drone transport) is being used for medicine transportation in least
developed countries with inadequate infrastructure by an American based start-up Zipline.[19] Amazon.com
and other transportation companies are currently testing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in parcel
delivery. This method will allow short-range small-parcel delivery in a short time frame.

Components of a mode of transport

A transport mode is a combination of the following:

Transportation infrastructure: thoroughfares, networks, hubs (stations, bus terminals, airport

terminals), etc.
Vehicles and containers: motor vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, wagons, trains,
ships, and aircraft
A stationary or mobile workforce
Propulsion system and power supply (traction)
Operations: driving, management, traffic signals, railway signalling, air traffic control, etc.

Comparison of the transport mode by distance travelled

Worldwide, the most widely used modes for passenger transport are the Automobile (16,000 bn passenger
km), followed by Buses (7,000), Air (2,800), Railways (1,900), and Urban Rail (250).[20]

The most widely used modes for freight transport are Sea (40,000 bn ton km), followed by Road (7,000),
Railways (6,500), Oil pipelines (2,000) and Inland Navigation (1,500).[20]
 EU 15 USA Japan World

GDP (PPP) per capita (€) 19,000 28,600 26,000 7500

Passenger km per capita[20]

Private car 10,100 33,200 6,200 2,700
Bus/ coach 1,050 150 740 1,200

Railway 750 78 2,900 32

Air (domestic except World) 860 2,800 580 480

See also
Modal share
Car ownership

References
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s/dft_aviation/documents/divisionhomepage/029650.hcsp) "The aviation industry is
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5. IPCC, Aviation and the Global Atmosphere: A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
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hy-airfare-keeps-rising-despite-lower-oil-prices-5898333.php) Archived (https://web.archive.
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13. Cooper et al., 1998: 279
14. Cooper et al., 1998: 278
15. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2007, p. x and p. 32.
16. Stopford, 1997: 4–6
17. Stopford, 1997: 8–9
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19. "Zipline - Lifesaving Deliveries by Drone" (https://flyzipline.com/). flyzipline.com. Retrieved
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