Role of transportation in society
Lecture notes in Transportation Systems Engineering
28 July 2009
Transportation is a non separable part of any society.
It exhibits a very close relation to the style of life, the range and location
of activities and the goods and services which will be available for
consumption.
Advances in transportation has made possible changes in the way of living and
the way in which societies are organized and therefore have a great influence
in the development of civilizations.
This chapter conveys an understanding of the importance of transportation in
the modern society by presenting selected characteristics of existing
transportation systems, their use and relationships to other human activities.
Transportation is responsible for the development of civilizations from very
old times by meeting travel requirement of people and transport requirement of
goods.
Such movement has changed the way people live and travel.
In developed and developing nations, a large fraction of people travel daily
for work,shopping and social reasons.
But transport also consumes a lot of resources like time,fuel, materials and
land.
Economics involves production, distribution and consumption of goods and
services.
People depend upon the natural resources to satisfy the needs of life but due
to non uniform surface of earth and due to difference in local resources, there
is a lot of difference in standard of living in different societies.
So there is an immense requirement of transport of resources from one
particular society to other.
These resources can range from material things to knowledge and skills like
movement of doctors and technicians to the places where there is need of them.
An example is given to evaluate the relationship between place, time and cost
of a particular commodity.
If a commodity is produced at point A and wanted by people of another community
at any point B distant x from A, then the price of the commodity is dependent
on the distance between two centers and the system of transportation between
two points.
With improved system the commodity will be made less costly at B.
The reduction of cost of transport does not have same effect on all locations.
Let at any point B the commodity is to be consumed.
This product is supplied by two stations A and K which are at two different
distances from B.
Let at present the commodity is supplied by A since it is at a lesser distance
but after wards due to improvement in road network between B and K,the point K
becomes the supply point of product.
- Transport extends the range of sources of supply of goods to be consumed
in an area, making it possible for user to get resources at cheap price and
high quality.
- The use of more efficient systems of supply results in an increase in the
total amount of goods available for consumption.
- Since the supply of goods is no longer dependent on the type of mode,
items can be supplied by some alternative resources if usual source cannot
supply what is needed.
Transportation has always played an important role in influencing the formation
of urban societies.
Although other facilities like availability of food and water, played a major
role, the contribution of transportation can be seen clearly from the
formation, size and pattern, and the development of societies, especially urban
centers.
From the beginning of civilization, the man is living in settlements which
existed near banks of major river junctions, a port, or an intersection of
trade routes. Cities like New York, Mumbai and Moscow are good examples.
The initial settlements were relatively small developments but with due course
of time, they grew in population and developed into big cities and major trade
centers.
The size of settlements is not only limited by the size of the area by which
the settlement can obtain food and other necessities, but also by
considerations of personal travels especially the journey to and from work.
The increased speed of transport and reduction in the cost of transport have
resulted in variety of spatial patterns.
When the cities grow beyond normal walking distance, then transportation
technology plays a role in the formation of the city.
For example, many cities in the plains developed as a circular city with radial
routes, where as the cities beside a river developed linearly.
The development of automobiles, and other factors like increase in personal
income, and construction of paved road network, the settlements were
transformed into urban centers of intense travel activity.
The world is divided into numerous political units which are formed for mutual
protection, economic advantages and development of common culture.
Transportation plays an important role in the functioning of such political
units.
The government of an area must be able to send/get information to/about its
people.
It may include laws to be followed, security and other needful information
needed to generate awareness.
An efficient administration of a country largely depends on how effectively
government could communicate these information to all the country. However,
with the advent of communications, its importance is slightly reduced.
These choices may be classified as communication, military movement, travel of
persons and movement of freight.
The primary function of transportation is the transfer of messages and
information.
It is also needed for rapid movement of troops in case of emergency and finally
movement of persons and goods.
The political decision of construction and maintenance of roads has resulted in
the development of transportation system.
The negative effects of transportation is more dominating than its useful
aspects as far as transportation is concerned.
There are numerous categories into which the environmental effects have been
categorized.
They are explained in the following sections.
Growth of transportation has a very unfortunate impact on the society in terms
of accidents.
Worldwide death and injuries from road accidents have reached epidemic
proportions. -killed and about 15 million injured on the road accidents annually.
Increased variation in the speeds and vehicle density resulted in a high
exposure to accidents.
Accidents result in loss of life and permanent disability, injury, and damage to
property.
Accidents also causes numerous non-quantifiable impacts like loss of time,
grief to the near ones of the victim, and inconvenience to the public.
The loss of life and damage from natural disasters, industrial accidents, or
epidemic often receive significant attention from both government and public.
This is because their occurrence is concentrated but sparse.
On the other hand, accidents from transport sector are widespread and occurs
with high frequency.
For instance, a study has predicted that death and disabilities resulting from
road accidents in comparison with other diseases will rise from ninth to third
rank between 1990 and 2020.
Road accidents as cause to death and disability could rank below heart disease
and clinical depression, and ahead of stroke and all infectious diseases.
Significant reduction to accident rate is achieved in the developing countries
by improved road designed maintenance, improved vehicle design, driver
education, and law enforcements.
However in the developing nations, the rapid growth of personalized vehicles
and poor infrastructure, road design, and law enforcement has resulted in
growing accident rate.
All transport modes consume energy and the most common source of energy is from
the burning of fossil fuels like coal, petrol, diesel, etc.
The relation between air pollution and respiratory disease have been
demonstrated by various studies and the detrimental effects on the planet earth
is widely recognized recently.
The combustion of the fuels releases several contaminants into the atmosphere,
including carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, and other
particulate matter.
Hydrocarbons are the result of incomplete combustion of fuels.
Particulate matters are minute solid or liquid particles that are suspended in
the atmosphere.
They include aerosols, smoke, and dust particles.
These air pollutants once emitted into the atmosphere , undergo mixing and
disperse into the surroundings.
Sound is acoustical energy released into atmosphere by vibrating or moving
bodies where as noise is unwanted sound produced.
Transportation is a major contributor of noise pollution, especially in urban
areas.
Noise is generated during both construction and operation.
During construction, operation of large equipments causes considerable noise to
the neighborhood.
During the operation, noise is generated by the engine and exhaust systems of
vehicle, aerodynamic friction, and the interaction between the vehicle and the
support system (road-tire, rail-wheel).
Extended exposure to excessive sound has been shown to produce physical and
psychological damage.
Further, because of its annoyance and disturbance, noise adds to mental stress
and fatigue.
The spectacular growth in industrial and economic growth during the past
century have been closely related to an abundant supply of inexpensive energy
from fossil fuels.
Transportation sector is unbelieved to consume more than half of the petroleum
products.
The compact of the shortage of fuel was experienced during major wars when
strict rationing was imposed in many countries.
The impact of this had cascading effects on many factors of society, especially
in the price escalation of essential commodities.
However, this has few positive impacts; a shift to public transport system, a
search for energy efficient engines, and alternate fuels.
During the time of fuel shortage, people shifted to cheaper public transport
system.
Policy makers and planners, thereafter gave much emphasis to the public transit
which consume less energy per person.
The second impact was in the development of fuel-efficient engines and devices
and operational and maintenance practices.
A fast depleting fossil fuel has accelerated the search for energy efficient
and environment friendly alternate energy source.
The research is active in the development of bio-fuels, hydrogen fuels and
solar energy.
Transportation directly or indirectly affects many other areas of society and
few of then are listed below:
Almost all cities uses 20-30 percent of its land in transport facilities.
Increased travel requirement also require additional land for transport
facilities.
A good transportation system takes considerable amount of land from the
society.
Aesthetics of a region is also affected by transportation.
Road networks in quite country side is visual intrusion.
Similarly, the transportation facilities like fly-overs are again visual
intrusion in urban context.
The social life and social pattern of a community is severely affected after
the introduction of some transportation facilities.
Construction of new transportation facilities often require substantial
relocation of residents and employment opportunities.
The roles of transportation in society can be classified according to
economic, social, political and environmental roles.
The social role of transport has caused people to live in permanent
settlements and has given chances of sustainable developments.
Regarding political role, large areas can now be very easily governed
with the help of good transportation system.
The environmental effects are usually viewed negatively.
Prof. Tom V. Mathew
2009-07-28