INTRODUCTION TO THE MODULE

This module is designed to encompass issues related to Geography of transportation and

Development offered to students who are expected to take the course as predetermined by the
curriculum of the country. Accordingly, the module is prepared in the manner that students can
actively learn with close assistance of the instructors in the field of study. The course is intended
to include the basic concept of Transport Geography, Historical Geography of Transportation,
The Notion of Accessibility, Route Selection, application of GIS for
transportation,Transportation Systems and Networks, Transportation and Commercial
Geography, Transport Costs, Transportation Networks, Transport Supply and Demand, Theories
and Properties of transportation, Measures and Indices, Network Data Models, Transportation
Modes, functions and characteristics of Transport Terminals, International and Regional
Transportation, Urban Transportation, Economic and Spatial Structure of Transport Systems,
Transport and Environment, Transport Planning and Policies of Ethiopia, and Issues and
Challenges in Transport Geography at national and global levels.

Course Objectives
At the end of this course student will be able to:-
 Explain the concept and historical development of geography of transportation,
 Discuss the notion of accessibility and root selection using GIS for transportation
 Acquire basic understanding on transport system and networks
 Discuss the different transportation modes and terminals,
 Explain International and Regional Transportation for the development of a country
 Identify the characteristics of Urban Transportation
 Describe the Economic and Spatial Structure and models of Transport Systems
 Appreciate the ever changing efficiency and number of vehicles and the resulting decay of
duistance following transport development
 Demonstrate the link between Transport and Environment, and
 Discuss the Transport Planning and Policies of Ethiopia
 Appreciate the fast growing technologies in the field of transport and associated fast ways of
movements.

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Unit one: Transportation and Geography
1.1 Introduction:-Definitions and concepts
Movements of people, goods and information have always been fundamental components of
human societies. Contemporary economic processes have been accompanied by a significant
increase in mobility and higher levels of accessibility. This is because transport is a central
dimension of the national and global production systems that are reshaping the world. As a
result, it has become a topic of universal interest and importance. Transport generally evolved
from a very traditional and simplest mode (on-foot) and reached the current highly efficient
means which have solved the problems of distance effectively However, developing transport
systems has been a continuous challenge to satisfy mobility needs, to support economic
development and to participate in the global economy. Thus, the ever increased needs of
movements of passengers and freight as well as their underlying information flows along with its
spatial dimensions are therefore central to transport geography.
Objectives
At the end of this unit, the students will be able to:
 Define transport geography, its nature and role
 Discuss the purpose and importances of transportation
 Explain the dimensions of transport geography
 Explore how geographic Information System is applied in transportation
 Review history, space-transport relationship, accessibility and fields of Transport geography
 Appreciate the roles played and purposes of transportation for the societies
Dear students! In previous courses, you might have defined the field of study of Geography. In
any of the definitions you so far learnt, the central concept of geography is that it is concerned
with environmental and man interrelations in a spatial context; whereas, transport geography can
be considered as a study of transport systems and their spatial impacts. Transportation (be it
traditional or modern) plays indispensible role in man‟s day to day life. The modes and hence
role of transportation needs to be improved and more efficient. Such attempt to improve the
efficiency of transportation can be achieved through studying the field.

But, what are these roles of transportation?

The following are some of the roles played by transportation. These can include:
 its contribution to the economic, socio-cultural and political developments

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  its importance to link people, resource and activities in enabling the exchang of
goods(trade) and ideas (information)
 its function as a major factor in industrial location (as mentioned by Weber); and in
determining agricultural land use (as mentioned by Von Thunen)
 its role to reduce space in terms of time required to move, which has been declining
following the improvements in transport mode efficiencies
Can you add more on the roles of transportation?
Now, let‟s see the meaning of transport geography, its contents and methods to approach it. This
will help you further learn the other issues in transport geography. However, it is better first to
define Transportation.

Can you define Transportation?

Transportation is a popular concept you hear and speak in your everyday living. As a result, you
might have correctly defined it. Now, compare yours with the following:

Definition:-the simple definition of transportation can be given as

the spatial mobility of people (passengers), goods and services. That
is, transport involves the change in the locations of people, services
and commodities from the place of production to the place of
consumption which increases the values of the commodities.

Surely, you have built more your knowledge on the definition of transportation. Now, we shall
go to the concepts related to transport geography. Therefore, attempt the following question
before looking at the subsequent definition given in the box.
What is then Transport Geography?
Surely, you have attempted the above question. Now compare your definition with the following
simple definition.
Transport geography is a sub-discipline of Economic geography
concerned with the movements of freight, people and information.
It seeks to link spatial constraints and attributes with the origin, the
destination, the extent, the nature and the purpose of movements.

Then, why is Transportation interested in Geography?

Dear students! It is good to understand the relationship that exists between transport and
geography. Transportation interests geographers for two main reasons.
Firstly, transport infrastructures, terminals, equipment and networks occupy an important place
in space and constitute the basis of a complex spatial system.
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Secondly, since geography seeks to explain spatial relationships, transport networks are of
specific interest because they are the main support of these interactions.
How and when did transport geography evolved?
Transport geography, as a discipline, emerged from economic geography in the second half of
the twentieth century. Traditionally, transportation has been an important factor behind the
economic representations of the geographic space, namely in terms of the location of economic
activities and the monetary costs of distance. In the 1960s, transport costs were recognized as
key factors in location theories and transport geography began to rely increasingly on
quantitative methods, particularly over network and spatial interaction analysis. Since the 1990s,
transport geography has received renewed attention, especially because the issues of mobility,
production and distribution are interrelated in a complex geographical setting. It is now
recognized that transportation is a system that considers the complex relationships between its
core elements. These core elements are networks, nodes and demand.
Transportation nodes:- Transportation primarily links locations, often characterized as nodes.
Transport geography; therefore, must consider its places of convergence and transshipment.
Transportation network:- Considers the spatial structure and organization of transport
infrastructures and terminals.
Transportation demand:- Considers the demand for transport services as well as the modes
used to support movements. Therefore, Transport geography must evaluate the factors affecting
its derived demand function.
Dear students! These concepts will be discussed in detail in the forthcoming sections.
What do you think is the Role of Transport Geography?
Dear students! You might have attempted the above question. Now, read carefully the following
note on the role of transport geography and compare with your answers.
The role of transport geography is numerous. One is to understand the spatial relations that are
produced by transport systems. Because basically transport system evolves in the process of
attempting to link physically distant places, this linkage is what is known as spatial relation.
The understanding of such linkage or spatial relations is essential to assist private and public
actors involved in transportation, mitigate transport problems, such as capacity, transfer,
reliability and integration of transport systems. To this end, there are three basic geographical
considerations relevant to transport geography. Please, try first to answer the following questions
before going to read the notes that follow.
What are the basic geographic considerations relevant to transport geography?

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 How do you explain each of these?
Now! Compare you explanations with the following- the three basic geographical considerations
relevant to transport geography. These are:
i. Location:- All activities have their own location. And each location has its own characteristics,
a potential supply and/or a demand for resources, products, services or labor. A location can
determine the nature, origin, destination, distance and even the possibility of a movement to be
realized.
ii. Complementarity:- Locations must require exchanging goods, people or information. This
implies that some locations have a surplus while others have a deficit. The only way an
equilibrium can reached is by movements between locations having surpluses and locations
having demands. For instance, a complementarity is created between a store (surplus of goods)
and its customers (demand of goods).
iii. Scale:- Movements generated by complementarity are occurring at different scales, regarding
the nature of the activity. Scale illustrates how transportation systems are established over local,
regional and global geographies. For instance, home-to-work journeys generally have a local or
regional scale, while the distribution network of a multinational corporation is most likely to
cover several regions of the world.
Consequently, transport systems, by their nature, consume land and support the relationships
between locations.
Why we study Transport Geography?
What is the main purpose of Transportation?
Dear students! The purpose of transportation is obvious and you might have mentioned many of
them. But, the unique purpose of transportation is to overcome space, which is shaped by a
variety of human and physical constraints such as distance, time, administrative divisions and
topography. Together, they confer a friction to any movement, commonly known as the friction
of distance. The goal of transportation is thus to transform the geographical attributes of freight,
people or information, from an origin to a destination, conferring them an added value in the
process-this is why transport geography is needed. The convenience at which this can be done is
known as transportability which varies considerably.
What is therefore, transportability?
Have you attempted to define transportability? Surely your answer is “yes”. Now, you can
compare your answer with the following note:

Definition:-Transportability refers to the ease of movement of passengers,

freight or information. It is related to transport costs as well as to the attributes of
what is being transported (fragility, perishable, price). Political factors can also 5
influence transportability such as laws, regulations, borders and tariffs. When
transportability is high, activities are less constrained by distance (Jean-Paul
Rodrigue, 2009).
On the other hand, the specific purpose of transportation is to fulfill a demand for mobility
since transportation can only exist if it moves people, freight and information around. Otherwise,
it has no purpose, because transportation is dominantly the outcome of a derived demand.
Distance is a core attribute of transportation. Any movement must thus consider its geographical
setting which in turn is linked to spatial flows and their patterns. As a result, the fundamental
purpose of transport is geographic in nature, because it facilitates movements between different
locations. For instance, in the 19th century, the purpose of the emerging modern forms of
transportation, mainly railways and maritime shipping, was to expand coverage; and create and
consolidate national markets. In the 20th century, the objective shifted to prioritizing transport
modes, increasing the capacity of existing networks and responding to the mobility needs and
this at a scale which was increasingly global. In the 21st century, transportation must cope with a
globally oriented economic system in a timely and cost effective way, but also with several local
problems such as congestion and capacity constraints. Now, it is good to take up the different
dimensions of transport geography.
What are these dimensions of transport geography?
Dear students! It is now essential to discuss the various dimensions of transport geography. This
helps you to learn more the scope which it covers. The following are some of these dimensions:
Economics:- The economic dimension is concerned with the costs of movements, the
construction and the maintenance of transport modes and infrastructures. The performance of
transport systems are often measured and justified by economic criteria. This dimension also
tries to evaluate the transport demand by different sectors of activity.
Engineering:- is notably concerned by the construction and maintenance of transportation
infrastructures. A dominant aspect of transport supply is linked to engineering considerations.
Environment / Ecology:- This is concerned with the impacts of transportation on ecological
systems such as the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the ecosphere. It also considers a wide
array of externalities such as noise and land use. Another dimension of this field involves the
impacts of natural conditions, such as the topography and the climate on the operation of
transport systems.
History:- The historical dimension covers the evolution of transport networks in time and space.
It tries to identify specific conditions that have influenced the establishment of transport
networks and the technological, economic and social environments that have produced transport
systems.

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Mathematics and Computer Science:- Provide a set of tools and methods to manage
information and analyze transport related information. Most models applied to transport
geography, such as spatial interaction models, are derived from mathematical methods. Such
modeling offers a set of methods to optimize the distribution and scheduling of transportation
resources.
Planning and Policy:- The political dimension aims to plan and control the transportation
system through several agents and their intervention strategies. It is mainly concerned with the
processes and methods for the allocation of transportation resources within corporations and
governments.
Sociology and Demography:- The social dimension covers problems such as accidents, the
behavior of drivers and other social aspects related to modal and spatial choice having an effect
on the distance traveled. For instance, the social costs of car use impose heavy tolls on health
and safety systems (police, ambulance, trauma centers, road signs, etc.). Demographic attributes
and changes are also linked with the evolution of transport system, the modes used and the level
of services.
Technology:- is concerned with of technological change on transportation systems. It is mainly
concerned about the efficiency of infrastructures, modes and motive forces. Successive
innovations have brought forward new distribution systems whereas others have became
obsolete and disappeared. This leads us to learn the fields covered gy transport geography.
What are fields covered by transport geography?
Dear students!the field of transport geography can be said a multidisciplinary in that it actually
touches numerous other disciplines from natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics and
computer sciences. These are not actually sub-fields of transport geography. Rather they are
concepts covered by the field. The relationship among each is complex and can be depicted in
the following diagram.

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Figure 1.1.Concepts covered in Transport geography
Source: Adapted from P. Haggett (2001) In Jean-Paul Rodrigue(2009)
Can you explain the above figure?
There are twelve key concepts related to transport geography, among which transportation
networks, transportation nodes and transportation demand are at its core. They are closely linked
to economic, political, regional, historical and population geography, among others. Several
other concepts, such as regional planning, information systems, operations research and location
theory are commonly used in transport geography, notably as tools and methods for the spatial
analysis of transportation. At a wider level, links exist with several major fields of science
including natural sciences, mathematics and economics. Indeed, like geography, transport
geography is at the intersection of several concepts and methods initially developed outside the
discipline that have been adapted to its particular interests and concerns.
What are these contemporary trends in transportation?
Growth of the demand:- The last 50 years have seen a considerable growth of the transport
demand related to passengers as well as freight mobility. This growth is jointly the result of
larger quantities of passengers and freight being moved, but also the longer distances over
which they are carried.
Reduction of costs:- Even if several transportation modes are very expensive to own and
operate, costs per unit transported have dropped significantly over the last decades.

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Expansion of infrastructures:- Both trends in growing demand and reduction of costs, have
obviously extended the requirements for transport infrastructures both quantitatively and
qualitatively. Roads, harbors, airports, telecommunication facilities and pipelines have expanded
considerably to service new areas and adding capacity to existing networks.
Dear students! Despite its importances, transportation is suffering from too much problems.
There are four major types of problems that affect transport systems:
Capacity:- A basic constraint is concerned with appropriate capacity, both along a transport
route and at a terminal. The capacity of a transport system is often restricted by its
circulation bottlenecks.
Transfer:- Transfer points are crucial as they permit the interface between different transport
systems, a role commonly served by hubs or gateways.
Reliability:- While a route could be shorter, it may not be as reliable as a longer route.
Congestion is a common factor impairing the reliability of a transport system.
Integration:- Exploiting the benefits of each transport mode so that flows become more reliable
and/or less costly. This goal is sought by intermodal transportation, but also by airline companies
connecting different parts of the world.

Activity1.1
Dear students! Before going to attempt the questions in this activity, you are advised to read in
between lines of this unit above. This helps you to easily do the activities below.
1. Define Transportation and Transport Geography. Identify various dimensions of transport
geography. What are the concepts covered in transport geography.
2. Discuss the major roles of transportation together with your colleagues and prepare brief
report.
3. What is the relationship between Transportation and Geography?
4. Review the evolution of transpiration and its relations with economic growth?
5. Summarize the role of transportation. Along with this, discuss the major importances of
transportation.
6. Nodes, networks and Demand are core concepts in transportation geography. Explain each
of these concepts after reading materials.
7. Why we study Transport Geography? What is/are the purpose(s) of studying transport?
8. What is therefore, transportability?
9. Mention and explain the contemporary trends in transportation?

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1.2 Transportation and Space
Transport geography is concerned with movements that take place over space. The physical
features of this space impose major constraints on transportation systems in terms of what mode
can be used, the extent of the service, its costs, capacity and reliability. Thus, it is essential to
learn the mutual relationship between transport and space.
Three basic spatial constraints of the terrestrial space which are physical by nature can be
identified.
Can you mention these physical features which can impose constraints on transport
development? How can they constrain transportation?
Dear students! Surely you can mention and explain the physical constraints and also explain how
they affect it. For more understanding, read in between lines of the following physical
constraints of transportation.

1.2.1 Topography
Features such as mountains and valleys have strongly influenced the structure of networks, the
cost and feasibility of transportation projects. The main land transport infrastructures are built
usually where there are the least physical impediments, such as on plains, along valleys, through
mountain passes, or when absolutely necessary through the digging of tunnels. For example,
water transport is influenced by water depths and the location of obstacles such as reefs.
Coastlines exert an influence on the location of port infrastructure. Aircraft requires airfields of
considerable size for take off and landing. Topography can complicate, postpone or prevent the
activities of the transport industry.

1.2.2 Hydrology
The properties, distribution and circulation of water play an important role in the transport
industry. Maritime transport is influenced greatly by the availability of navigable channels
through rivers, lakes and shallow seas. Several rivers such as the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence,
the Rhine, the Mekong or the Yangtze are important navigable routes into the heart of continents
and historically have been the focus of human activities that have taken advantage of the
transport opportunities. Port sites are also highly influenced by the physical attributes of the site
where natural features such as bays and sand bars protect port installations. Where barriers exist,
such as narrows, rapids, or land breaks, water transport can only overcome these obstacles with

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heavy investments in canals or dredging. Conversely waterways serve as barriers to land
transportation necessitating the construction of bridges, tunnels and detours etc.

1.2.3 Climate
Climate through its components, affects transportation considerably. The major components
include temperature, wind and precipitation. Their impacts on transportation modes and
infrastructure range from negligible to severe. Freight and passenger movement can seriously be
curtailed by hazardous conditions such as snow, heavy rainfall, ice or fog. Jet streams are also a
major physical component that international air carriers must take into consideration. For an
aircraft, the speed of wind can affect travel costs. When the wind is pushing the airplane towards
its destination, it can reduce flight time up to several hours for intercontinental flights. Climate is
also an influence over transportation networks by influencing construction and maintenance
costs. Even volcanic eruptions can have an impact as it was the case in 2010 when a volcanic
eruption in Iceland released large amounts of ashes in the atmosphere which forced the closing
of most airports in northwestern Europe as well as many transatlantic flights out of concern that
the ash could damage engines.
How has the physical constraints of transportation been solved? What does the trend in
transport technological development look like?
Dear students! Of course! You might have attempted the above questions. In addition to your
explanations, see the following notes.
Rapid scientific and technological developments have and continue to enable transportation to
overcome the physical environment. Since ancient times, efforts have been made to paving
roads, bridging rivers and cutting paths over mountain passes. Engineering measures in any
mode of transport has become a solution to physical constraints. In the last 20 years, the
development of road transport facilitated door-to-door services that increased engineering
demands for constructing multi-level and high speed highways. Such engineering along with
associated technical efforts have solved the constraints of physical impediments.
In connection to transport-space relations, the concepts of site and situation are fundamental to
geography and to transportation and need to be understood.
What is meant by each of these?
Alright! You might have attempted the definitions of site and situation but may not be correct.
Now, cross-check your definitions with the following definition in the box:

Definition:-A site refers to geographical characteristics of a specific location; its

situation concerned with its relationships in regard to other locations. Thus, all
locations are relative to one another but situation is not a constant attribute as
transportation developments change levels of accessibility, and thus the relations11
between locations.
The development of a location reflects the cumulative relationships between transport
infrastructure, economic activities and the built-environment. The following factors are
particularly important in shaping the spatial structure of transportation:
Costs:- The spatial distribution of activities is related to factors of distance, namely its friction.
Locational decisions are taken in an attempt to minimize costs, often related to transportation.
Accessibility:- All locations have a level of accessibility, but some are more accessible than
others. Thus, because of transportation, some locations are perceived as more valuable than
others.
Agglomeration:-There is a tendency for activities to agglomerate to take advantage of the value
of specific locations. The more valuable a location, the more likely agglomeration will take
place. The organization of activities is essentially hierarchical, resulting from the relationships
between agglomeration and accessibility at the local, regional and global levels.
Physical attributes:- Natural conditions can be modified and adapted to suit human uses. But
they are a very difficult constraint to escape, notably for land transportation. It is thus not
surprising to find that most networks follow the easiest least cost paths. These easiest networks
generally follow valleys and plains.
Historical considerations:- New infrastructures generally reinforce historical patterns of
exchange, notably at the regional level. For instance, the current highway network of France has
mainly followed the patterns set by the national roads network built early in the 20th century. At
the urban level, the pattern of streets is often inherited from an older pattern, which itself may
have been influenced by the pre-existing rural structure.
While physical and historical considerations are at play, the introduction of new transport
technology or the addition of new transport infrastructure may lead to a transformation of
existing networks. Recent developments in transport systems such as container shipping,
aircrafts and the extensive application of information technology to transport management have
created a new transport environment and a new spatial structure. These transport technologies
and innovations have intensified global interactions and modified the relative location of places.
Do you think there are Space / Time relationships reflected in transportation?
Of course, you can explain this question in your own opinion. To add more, one of the most
basic relationships of transportation involves how much space can be overcome within a given

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amount of time. The faster the mode, the larger is the distance that can be overcome within the
same amount of time. Transportation, notably improvements in transport systems, changes the
relationship between time and space. When this relationship involves easier, faster and cheaper
access between places, this result is defined as a space / time convergence, because the amount
of space that can be overcome for a similar amount of time increases significantly.
Five major factors are of particular relevance in space/time convergence:
Speed:-is the most known factor in many transport modes, which particularly prevailed in the
first half of the 20th century. The more the speed, the lesser time it requires to cover a given
distance.
Economies of scale:- Being able to transport larger amounts of freight and passengers at lower
costs has improved considerably the capacity and efficiency of transport systems. For space -
time convergence, this implies that there is more capacity for a given quantity of passengers of
freight to be carried.
Expansion of transport infrastructures:- Transport infrastructures have expanded considerably
to service areas that were not previously serviced or were insufficiently serviced. The expansion
of transport infrastructures may have enabled distribution systems to expand. It also minimized
the access problems of passengers and freight for areas.
Efficiency of transport terminals:- Terminals, such as ports and airports, have shown a
growing capacity to handle large quantities in a timely manner. Thus, even if the speed of many
transport modes has not increased, more efficient transport terminals may have helped reduce
transport time.
Substitution of transportation by telecommunications:- Enabled several economic activities
to bypass spatial constraints in a very significant manner. Electronic mail is an example where
the transmission of information does not have a physical form (outside electrons) once the
supporting infrastructure is established. There is obviously a limit to this substitution, but several
corporations are trying to use the advantages of telecommuting as much as they can because of
the important savings involved.
But it should be noted that, yet, space / time convergence does not occur in a ubiquitous manner.
In time, some locations gain more accessibility than others particularly if they experience the
accumulation of transport infrastructures. After centuries of transport developments and their
impacts on geography, global accessibility reflects an heterogeneous space. Space / time
convergence can also be inverted under specific circumstances, which means that a process of
space / time divergence takes place. For instance, congestion is increasing in many metropolitan

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areas, implying additional delays for activities such as commuting. Traffic in congested urban
areas is moving at the same speed that it did one hundred years ago on horse carriages. Air
transportation, despite having dramatically contributed to the space / time convergence is also
experiencing growing delays. Flight times are getting longer between many destinations, mainly
because of takeoff, landing and gate access delays. Airlines are simply posting longer scheduled
flight times to factor in congestion.

Activity 1.2
Please, first study this section before going to answer the following activities.
1. Mention physical factors which can impose constraints on transport development.
Explain the way they can constrain transportation. What is meant by each of these?

2. Discuss the definitions and/concepts of site and Situation. And report to your
colleagues and further discuss in groups on the concepts forwarded by each of you.

3. Discuss on how to solve the physical constraints of transportation. What does the
trend in transport technological development look like?
4. Explain the Space / Time relationships reflected in transportation.
5. Describe and discuss in pair or more groups the major factors that govern the spatial
structure of transportation.

1.3 Historical Geography of Transportation

Dear students! The modern transport system is not a result of overnight product. Rather it has
taken considerable series of historical revolutions and evolutions. This process is very complex
and is related to the spatial evolution of economic systems. It is possible to summarize this
evolution, from the pre-industrial era to transportation in the early 21st century, in four major
stages, each linked with specific technological innovations in the transport sector; the pre-
industrial era, the industrial revolution, fordism and post-fordism (globalization).
Can you discuss the history of transport geography?
You may attempt it. But it may be difficult for you to do so unless you have learnt it before.
Don‟t worry! The following discussions give an account of the history of transportation and the
related interest in the emergence of transport geography.
A) Transportation in the Pre-Industrial Era (pre-1800s)
It should be noted that before the major technical transformations brought forward by the
industrial revolution at the end of the 18th century, no forms of motorized transportation existed.
Transport technology was mainly limited to harnessing animal labor for land transport and to
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wind for maritime transport. The transported quantities were very limited and was the speed at
which people and freight were moving. The average overland speed by horse, which was
domesticated around 2,000 BC, was between 8 to 15 kilometers per hour and maritime speeds
were rarely above these figures. Also, a horse can only carry a load of about 125 kg while a
camel can carry about 200 kg. Waterways were the most efficient transport systems available
and cities next to rivers were able to trade over longer distances and maintain political, economic
and cultural cohesion over a larger territory. It is not surprising to find that the first civilizations
emerged along river systems for agricultural but also for trading purposes (Tigris-Euphrates,
Nile, Indus, Ganges, Huang Ho).
Because the efficiency of the land transport system of this era was poor, the overwhelming
majority of trade was local in scope. From the perspective of regional economic organization, the
provision of cities in perishable agricultural commodities was limited to a radius of about 50
kilometers, at most. The size of cities also remained constant in time. Since people can walk
about 5 km per hour and that they are not willing to spend more than one hour per day walking,
the daily space of interaction would be constrained by a 2.5 km radius, or about 20 square
kilometers. Thus, most rural areas centered around a village and cities rarely exceeded a 5 km
diameter. The largest cities prior to the industrial revolution, such as Rome, Beijing,
Constantinople, or Venice never surpassed an area of 20 square kilometers. International trade
did exist, but traded commodities were high-value (luxury) goods such as spices, silk, wine and
perfume, notably along the Silk Road.
During the pre-1800s, it was difficult to speak of an urban system, but rather a set of relatively
self-sufficient economic systems with very limited trade. However, city-states during this period
demonstrated transportation within their own systems. As a result, there were difficulties in
shipping goods and therefore to trade from one place to another as no significance transport
networks between areas. The Roman and Chinese empires were among the most notable
exceptions to this, which committed extraordinary efforts at building transportation networks and
consequently maintained control over an extensive territory for a long time period.
The Roman Empire grew around an intricate network of coastal shipping and roads. Its road
network supported a set of large cities around the Mediterranean basin. It also traded with India
and China.
The Chinese Empire established an important fluvial transport network with several artificial
canals connected together to form the Grand Canal. Some parts of it are still being used today.

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Dear students! The economic importance and the geopolitics of transportation were recognized
very early, notably for maritime transportation since before the industrial revolution. Great
commercial empires were established with maritime transportation. Now, let‟s review the trends
in historical development of the pre-1800s.
Initially, ships propelled by rowers and sails were added around 2,500 BC as a complementary
form of propulsion.
By Medieval times, an extensive maritime trade network, the highways of the time, centered
along the navigable rivers, canals, and coastal waters of Europe (and also China) was
established. Shipping was extensive and sophisticated using the English Channel, the North Sea,
the Baltic and the Mediterranean where the most important cities were coastal or inland ports
(London, Norwich, etc). Trade of bulk goods, such as grain, salt, wine, wool, timber and stone
was taking place.
By the 14th century galleys were finally replaced by full fledged sailships (the caravel and then
the galleon) that were faster and required smaller crews.
1431 marked the beginning of the European expansion with the discovery by the Portuguese of
the North Atlantic circular wind pattern, better known as the trade winds. A similar pattern was
also found on the Indian and Pacific oceans with the monsoon winds.
The fall of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantium Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), to the
Turks in 1453 disrupted the traditional land trade route from Europe to Asia. Europe was forced
to find alternate maritime routes. One alternative, followed by Columbus in 1492, was to sail to
the west and the other alternative, followed by Vasco de Gama in 1497, was to sail to the East.
Columbus stumbled upon the American continent, while Gama found a maritime route to India
using the Cape of Good Hope. These events were quickly followed by a wave of European
exploration and colonization, initially by Spain and Portugal, the early maritime powers, then by
Britain, France and the Netherlands.
The traditional trade route to Asia no longer involved Italy (Venice) and Arabia, but involved
direct maritime connections from ports such as Lisbon and Amsterdam. European powers were
able to master the seas with larger, better armed and more efficient sailing ships and thus were
able to control international trade and colonization. By the early 18th century, most of the
world's territories were controlled by Europe, providing wealth and markets to their thriving
metropolises through a system of colonial trade.
Prior to the industrial revolution, the quantity of freight transported between nations was
negligible by contemporary standards. The total amount of freight transported by the Venetian

16
fleet, which dominated Mediterranean trade for centuries, would not fill a modern cargo ship.
The volume, but not the speed of trade improved under mercantilism (15th to 18th century),
notably for maritime transportation. In spite of all, distribution capacities were very limited and
speeds slow. The inland transportation system was also very limited, both for passengers and
freight.
By the late 18th century, canal systems started to emerge in Europe, initially in the Netherlands
and England. They permitted the beginning of large movements of bulk freight inland and
expanded regional trade. Maritime and fluvial transportation were consequently the dominant
modes of the pre-industrial era.
B) The Industrial Revolution and Transportation (1800-1870)
Dear students! It was during the industrial revolution that massive modifications of transport
systems occurred in two major phases:
-The first centered along the development of canal systems,
-The second centered along railways.
This period marked the development of the steam engine that converted thermal energy into
mechanical energy, providing an important territorial expansion for maritime and railway
transport systems.. The first efficient steam engine was developed in 1765. Much of the credit of
developing this efficient engine is attributed to the British Engineer Watt. However, the first
steam engines were used to pump water out of mines. It was then only a matter of time to see the
adaptation of the steam engine to locomotion. In 1769, the French engineer Cugnot built the first
self-propelled steam vehicle, along with being responsible for the first automobile accident ever
recorded. The first mechanically propelled maritime vehicle was tested in 1790 by the American
Inventor Fitch as a mode of fluvial transportation on the Delaware River. By 1807, commercial
steam boat services were inaugurated. This marked a new era in the mechanization of land and
maritime transport systems alike.
From the 1760s a set of freight shipping canals were slowly built in emerging industrial cores
such as England (e.g. Bridgewater Canal, 1761) and the United States (e.g. Erie Canal, 1825).
Physical obstacles made canal construction expensive, however, and the network was
constrained in its geographical coverage. In 1830 there were about 2,000 miles of canals in
Britain and by 1850, there were 4,250 miles of navigable waterways. The canal era was however
short-lived as a new mode would revolutionize and transform inland transportation emerged in
the second half of the 19th century.

17
Steam railway technology initially appeared in 1814 to haul coal. It was found that using a steam
engine on smooth rails required less power and could handle heavier loads. The first commercial
rail line linked Manchester to Liverpool in 1830 (distance of 40 miles) and shortly after rail lines
began to be laid throughout developed countries. By the 1850s, railroad towns were being
established and the railways were giving access to resources and markets of vast territories.
6,000 miles of railways were then operating in England and railways were quickly being
constructed in Western Europe and North America. As a result many canals fell into disrepair
and were closed as they were no longer able to compete with rail services. From the 1860s,
integrated railway systems started to cohesively service whole nations with standard gauges
and passenger and freight services. Many cities thus became closely interconnected.
In terms of international transportation, the beginning of the 19th century saw the establishment
of the first regular maritime routes linking harbors worldwide, especially over the North
Atlantic between Europe and North America. Many of these long distance routes were navigated
by fast Clipper ships, which dominated ocean trade until the late 1850s. Another significant
improvement resided in the elaboration of accurate navigation charts where prevailing winds and
sea currents could be used to the advantage of navigation. Composite ships (mixture of wood
and iron armature) then took over a large portion of the trade until about 1900, but they could not
compete with steamships which have been continually improved since they were first introduced
a hundred years before. Regarding steamship technology, 1807 marks the first successful use of
a steamship. The first regular services for transatlantic passengers transport by steamships
was inaugurated in 1838. The gradual improvement of steam engine technology slowly but
surely permitted longer and safer voyages, enabling steamships to become the dominant mode of
maritime transportation. Shipbuilding was also revolutionized by the usage of steel armatures
(1860), enabling to escape the structural constraints of wood and iron armatures in terms of ship
size. Iron armature ships were 30 to 40% lighter and had 15% more cargo capacity.
The main consequence of the industrial revolution was a specialization of transportation
services and the establishment of large distribution networks of raw materials and energy.
C) Emergence of Modern Transportation Systems (1870-1920)
By the end of the 19th century, international transportation undertook a new growth phase,
especially with improvements in engine propulsion technology and a gradual shift from coal to
oil in the 1870s. Although oil has been known for centuries for its combustion properties, its
commercial use was only applied in the early 19th century. Inventors started experimenting with
engines that could use the cheap new fuel. Oil increased the speed and the capacity of maritime

18
transport. It also permitted to reduce the energy consumption of ships by a factor of 90%
relatively to coal, the main source of energy for steam engines prior to this innovation. An equal
size oil-powered ship could transport more freight than a coal-powered ship, reducing operation
costs considerably and extending range. Global maritime circulation was also dramatically
improved when infrastructures to reduce intercontinental distances, such as the Suez (1869) and
the Panama (1914) canals, were constructed. With the Suez Canal, the far reaches of Asia and
Australia became more accessible.
The increasing size of ships, the outcome of advances in shipbuilding, imposed massive
investments in port infrastructures. Ship size grew dramatically, from the largest tonnage of
3,800 gross registered tons in 1871 to 47,000 tons in 1914. Accordingly, ocean freight rates
dropped by a factor of 70% from 1840 to 1910. The harbor, while integrating production and
transshipping activities, became an industrial complex around which agglomerated activities
using raw materials. From the 1880s, liner services linked major ports of the world, supporting
the first regular international passenger transport services, until the 1950s when air transportation
became the dominant mode. This period also marked the golden era of the development of the
railway transport system as railway networks expanded tremendously and became the
dominant land transport mode both for passengers and freight. Rail systems reached a phase of
maturity by the early 20th century.
Another significant technological change of this era involved urban transportation, which until
then solely relied on walking and different types of carriages, mainly horse drawn. The
significant growth of the urban population favored the construction of the first public urban
transport systems. Electric energy became widely used in the 1880s and considerably changed
urban transport systems with the introduction of tramways (streetcars), notably in Western
Europe and in the United States. They enabled the first forms of urban sprawl and the
specialization of economic functions, notably by a wider separation between the place of work
and residence. In large agglomerations, underground metro systems began to be constructed,
London being the first in 1863. The bicycle, first shown at the Paris Exhibition of 1867, was also
an important innovation which changed commuting in the late 19th century. Initially, the rich
used it as a form of leisure, but it was rapidly adopted by the working class as a mode of
transportation to the workplace. Today, the bicycle is much less used in developed countries
(outside of recreational purposes), but it is still a major mode of transportation in developing
countries, especially China.

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This era also marked the first significant developments in telecommunications. The telegraph
is considered to be the first efficient telecommunication device. In 1844, Samuel Morse built the
first experimental telegraph line in the United States between Washington and Baltimore,
opening a new era in the transmission of information. By 1852, more than 40,000 km of
telegraph lines were in service in the United States. In 1866, the first successful transatlantic
telegraph line marked the inauguration of an intercontinental telegraphic network. The growth of
telecommunications is thus closely associated with the growth of railways and international
shipping. Telecommunications were also a dominant factor behind the creation of standard
times zones in 1884. From a multiplicity of local times, zones of constant time with Greenwich
(England) as the reference were laid. This improved the scheduling of passenger and freight
transportation at national levels. By 1895, every continent was linked by telegraph lines.
Business transactions became more efficient as production, management and consumption
centers could interact with delays that were in hours instead of weeks and even months.
D) Transportation in the Fordist Era (1920-1970)
The Fordist era was epitomized by the adoption of the assembly line as the dominant form of
industrial production, an innovation that benefited transportation substantially. The internal
combustion engine, or four-stroke engine by Daimler (1889), which was a modified version of
the Diesel engine (1885), and the pneumatic tire (1885) by Dunlop made road vehicles
operations faster and more comfortable. Compared with steam engines, internal combustion
engines have a much higher efficiency and are using a lighter fuel, petrol. Petrol, previously
perceived as an unwanted by-product of the oil refining process, which was seeking kerosene for
illumination, became a convenient fuel. Initially, diesel engines were bulky, limiting their use to
industrial and maritime propulsion, a purpose which they still fulfill today. The internal
combustion engine permitted an extended flexibility of movements with fast, inexpensive and
ubiquitous (door to door) transport modes such as automobiles, buses and trucks. Mass
producing these vehicles changed considerably the industrial production system, notably by 1913
when Ford began the production of the Model T car using an assembly line. From 1913 to
1927, about 15 million Ford Model T cars were built, making it the second most produced car in
history, behind the Volkswagen Beetle. Economies of scale realized along the assembly line
were passed on to the consumer which made the automobile even more affordable and popular.
The rapid diffusion of the automobile marked an increased demand for oil products and other
raw materials such as steel and rubber.

20
Although the first balloon flight took place in 1783, due to the lack of propulsion no practical
applications for air travel were realized until the 20th century. The first propelled flight was
made in 1903 by the Wright brothers and inaugurated the era of air transportation. The initial
air transport services were targeted at mail since it was a type of freight that could be easily
transported and initially proved to be more profitable than transporting passengers. 1919 marked
the first commercial air transport service between England and France, but air transport suffered
from limitations in terms of capacity and range. The 1920s and 1930s saw the expansion of
regional and national air transport services in Europe and the United States with successful
propeller aircrafts such as the Douglas DC-3.
Through the first half of the 20th century the Atlantic remained an important technical challenge
for long distance transportation modes. The application of the gas turbine principle led to the
development of jet engines. 1952 marks the beginning of commercial jet services with the
Comet. In 1958, the first successful commercial jet plane, the Boeing 707, entered in service and
revolutionized international movements of passengers, marking the end of passenger
transoceanic ships and replacing propeller planes for long distance services. The jet plane
enabled the setting of time dependent trade relations between producers across the world (such
as electronics), created a long distance market for perishables (fruits and vegetables) and
supported the development of mass tourism.
Basic telecommunications infrastructures, such as the telephone and the radio, were mass
marketed during the Fordist era. However, the major change was the large diffusion of the
automobile, especially from the 1950s as it became a truly mass consumption product and when
the first major highway systems, such as the American Interstate, began to be built. No other
modes of transportation have so drastically changed lifestyles and the structure of cities, notably
for developed countries. It created suburbanization and expanded cities to areas larger than 100
km in diameter in some instances. In dense and productive regions, such as the Northeast of the
United States, the urban system became structured and interconnected by transport networks to
the point that it could be considered as one vast urban region, the Megalopolis.
E) A New Context for Transportation : the Post-Fordist Era (Since 1970)
Among the major changes in international transportation from the 1970s are the massive
development of telecommunications, the globalization of trade, more efficient distribution
systems, and the considerable development of air transportation.
Telecommunications enabled growing information exchanges, especially for the financial and
service sectors. After 1970 telecommunications successfully merged with information

21
technologies. As such, telecommunication also became a medium of doing business in its own
right, in addition to supporting and enhancing other transportation modes. The information
highway became a reality as fiber optic cables gradually replaced copper wires, multiplying the
capacity to transmit information between computers. Global submarine cable networks, which
have existed since the setting of telegraphs networks in the 19th century, were overhauled with
fiber optics to become the backbone of the global telecommunication system.
A network of satellite communication was also created to support the growing exchanges of
information, especially for television images, but remains of marginal use because of lower
bandwidth. Out of this wireless technology emerged local networks which expanded and merged
to cover whole cities, countries, regions and then continents. Telecommunications therefore,
have reached the era of individual access, portability and global coverage.
In a post-Fordist system, the fragmentation of the production, organizing an international
division of labor, as well as the principle of "just-in-time" increased the quantity of freight
moving at the local, regional and international levels. This in turn required increasing efforts to
manage freight and reinforced the development of logistics, the science of physical distribution
systems. Containers, main agents of the modern international transport system, enabled an
increased flexibility of freight transport, mainly by reducing transshipment costs and delays.
Containers were introduced by the American entrepreneur Malcolm McLean who initially
applied containerization to land transport. The initial attempts at containerization thus aimed are
reducing maritime transshipment costs and time. Before containerization, a cargo ship could
spend as much time in a port being loaded or unloaded than it did at sea. Later on, the true
potential of containerization became clear when interfacing with other modes became an
operational reality, mainly between maritime, rail and road transportation. Dear students, you
will learn more on containerization in the forthcoming sections.
Activity 1.3
Dear students! Please read carefully the above short note before attempting the following
activities.
1. Form a small group randomly.
2. First discuss the history of global transportation in smaller groups.
3. Exchange the members of each group and form new groups.
4. Allow different members to share their ideas to the remaining others.
5. Arrive at a consensus about your discussions.
6. Finally, prepare a report and present it through the reporters of each group.

22
1.4 Methods in Transport Geography
What are the methods employed in Transport Geography?
Dear students! Let you read the following short note to answer the above questions.
The analysis of various concepts in transport geography relies on the methodologies. And the
methodologies are often developed by other disciplines such as economics, mathematics,
planning and demography. Each provides a different dimension to transport geography. For
instance, the spatial structure of transportation networks can be analyzed with graph theory,
which was initially developed for mathematics. Further more, many models developed for the
analysis of movements, such as the gravity model, were borrowed from physical sciences.
consequently, multidisciplinarity is an important attribute of transport geography, as in
geography in general. Dear students, you should not worry about the above theories as you have
section on them.
Which disciplines‟ method is more applicable in Transport geography?
Transportation is a field of inquiry and application. As such, it tends to rely on a set of specific
methodologies. Transportation planning and analysis are interdisciplinary by nature,
involving among others, civil engineers, economists, urban planners and geographers. Each
discipline has developed methodologies dealing with their respective array of problems. Still
transportation is an infrastructure intensive activity, implying that engineering has been the
dominant methodological paradigm for transportation studies.
Which fields of studies are not having close relations with transport geography in that their
methods are less applied in it?
You might have guessed the answers to the above questions. In some respects, transport
geography stands out from many other fields of human geography by the nature and function of
its quantitative analysis. In fact, transport geography was one of the main forces in the
quantitative revolution that helped to redefine geography in the 1960s with the use of
inferential statistics, abstract models and new theories. Although this perspective provided much
needed rigor, it also favored a disconnection between empirical and theoretical approaches. Even
if contemporary transport geography has a more diversified approach, the quantitative dimension
still plays an important part in the discipline.
Dear students! There are different ways of classifying the methods that are used by transport
geography. The following are commonly used ways of classifying those methods:

23
1.4.1 Transport-Related Methods
The concern of this first group of methods is directly related to the study of transportation since
most of them draw their origins from transport planning. These methods mainly used in transport
geography include:
I) Network analysis
This is also referred to as graph theory, which is used to study transport network, form and
structure, especially over time. For example, one could use network analysis to study the
evolution of the hub configuration of airline service in a country.
II) Land use - transport interactions
Transport geographers also play a key role in studying Land use – Transport interactions.
Numerical models have been developed, which, over time, have become increasingly complex.
III) Flow and location allocation models
Transport geographers are also interested in these models that can be used to define such things
as the location for a new retail outlet. These techniques are optimization procedures rather than
methods for describing or understanding current transport systems.
In addition, there are various methods of general use in transportation studies:
IV) Urban transportation modeling
A diverse set of techniques is used in order to understand and predict urban spatial patterns.
V) Traffic surveys: - that are used to gather empirical information about movements.

1.4.2 Multidisciplinary Methods

What is a multidiscipline? And how is this method used in transport geography?
Surely, you have defined and explained the concept of Multidisciplinary and such methods.
Now, read the following short note for further understanding.

Definition:-Multidisciplinary methods include the whole range of methods that

were not specifically developed for transportation studies, but are readily applicable
to its analysis. They are labeled as multidisciplinary since they can be applied to a
wide range of issues. First, there are, for instance methods that are central to
geography, but are not restricted to the study of transportation systems.

What are these methods that are central to geography and are also applied to transport
geography?
Of course, you might have attempted! Then compare with the following short notes about these
methods.
A) Cartographic Method
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It is the most obvious example of a geographic technique. Indeed, various types of maps are used
in the analysis of transport systems, including land use maps, depictions of transport
infrastructure, isoline maps of transportation costs, schematics of transportation activity patterns,
and many others. NB: - Schematics can refer to the application of diagrams, charts, graphs and
other representations of transport network systems.
B) Geographic information systems (GIS)
These are an outgrowth of digital cartography. They provide a set of tools for storing, retrieving,
analyzing and displaying spatial data from the real world. GIS technology has been applied to
some large-scale transportation planning and engineering applications. More often, however,
GIS are applied in a prescriptive way to small-scale problems, for example to plot optimal routes
for buses, delivery trucks, or emergency vehicles.
C) Statistics
There are also various statistics that have been developed or modified by geographers to
describe urban-economic systems. For examples, the Gini coefficient and indexes of
concentration and specialization can be mentioned.

Moreover, there are various other methods that are used in many different applications, including
transportation network analysis. Each of these methods is relevant and applied to a specific
problem.
Can you mention some of these methods?
In fact, you may attempt to mention what you know. Now, see following to build more
knowledge in addition to what you have in your mind about those methods asked. These are
explained as follows:
A) methods used to collect primary data, e.g. questionnaires and interviews. These will be
analyzed through relevant statistical techniques. Some of the analytic techniques are
straightforward to implement and interpret; for instance, graphs (scattergrams, distance-decay
curves) and tables are two examples. Others are more complex, such as inferential statistics
like the t-test, analysis of variance, regression and chi-square.
B) Increasingly, transportation studies are concerned with impacts and public policy issues.
They relay more on qualitative information such as policy statements, rules and
regulations. As a result, various types of impacts are considered, including economic (e.g.
community development), social (e.g. access to services), environmental (e.g. air or water

25
 pollution) and health (e.g. road accidents). The broad fields of environmental impact
assessment, risk assessment and policy analysis are relevant to these issues.
We have also other methods of categorizing approaches in transport geography. These are
known as geographic approaches to the study of Transport.
What are these approaches? What is their essence?
A) The Regional Approach
This method is concerned with capturing and presenting the basic interrelated characters of a
region. Similarly, in the field of transportation this approach can be applied to deal with different
attributes of transport system. This helps to compare the disparities in the stage or status of
transport development among regions.
B) Human-Land Relationship
This grew out of the regional approach which founded the outgrowth of the idea of geographical
determinism and possibilism, and the rise of environmentalists. This approach thus considers the
study of transport in terms of physical factors that determine transport development. In
connection to this, human beings have used their best abilities to overcome physical obstacles
and they also alter land scape through transportation systems, which is ultimately the concern of
transport geography.
C) The Spatial Analysis Approach
This emerged from the conceptual revolution of geography of the 1950s and 1960s. It
emphasizes on the search for principles of general applicability rather than uniqueness in fields.
The study of transport is thus, placed at the center in this approach and is regarded as possibly
the most important single factor in the dynamic functioning of a region or territory.
D) The Welfare Approach
This emphasizes the study of how spatial patterns and processes affecting location and
environment in turn affect the utility of various groups of people. Here, utility refers to the
positive or negative attribute which either adds or takes from the quality of life.
In general, each of the above and others not discussed can be applied in the study of transport
geography according to the interests of the issues in the field.

26
 Activity 1.4
Now, read the above section and attempt the following activities.
1. Form any size of group with colleagues having chairperson and reporter.
2. First read the short notes above individually with great care.
3. Then, get in any group you like and share your ideas each other. The following
are main points for the discussions:
3.1. What are these approaches appropriate to study transport geography? What is the
essence of each approach?
3.2. Mention some of the differing characteristics of each method.
3.3. Which fields of studies are not having close relations with transport geography in
that their methods are less applied in it as compared to others?
3.4. What is the concept of a multidiscipline? And how is this method used in
transport geography?
4. Report it to the class.

1.5. The Notion of Accessibility, Accessibility Problems and Route Selection

1.5.1. Accessibility
What is Accessibility?
Dear students! The concept of accessibility may be popular to every one of you. However, the
concept in relation to geography and hence transport geography needs to be clarified. Thus, read
carefully the following definition and compare with your definition:

Definition:-Accessibility is defined as the measure of the capacity

of a location to be reached by, or to reach different locations.
Therefore, the capacity and the arrangement of transport
infrastructure are key elements in the determination of accessibility.

Accessibility is a key element to transport geography, and to geography in general, since it is a

direct expression of mobility either in terms of people, freight or information. Well-developed
and efficient transportation systems offer high levels of accessibility (if the impacts of
congestion are excluded), while less-developed ones have lower levels of accessibility. Thus
accessibility is linked with an array of economic and social opportunities. Therefore, we can
conclude that all locations are not equal because some are more accessible than others, which
implies inequalities.
The notion of accessibility consequently relies on two core concepts:
 The first is location where the relativity of space is estimated in relation to transport
infrastructures, since they offer the mean to support movements.

27
  The second is distance, which is derived from the connectivity between locations.
NB: - Connectivity can only exist when there is a possibility to link two locations through
transportation. It expresses the friction of distance and the location which has the least
friction relatively to others is likely to be the most accessible. Commonly, distance is
expressed in units such as in kilometers or in time, but variables such as cost or energy
spent can also be used.
There are two spatial categories applicable to accessibility problems, which are interdependent.
These include:
i) Topological accessibility: - This is related to measuring accessibility in a system of nodes
and paths (a transportation network). It is assumed that accessibility is a measurable
attribute significant only to specific elements of a transportation system, such as terminals
(airports, ports or subway stations).
ii) Contiguous accessibility: - This involves measuring accessibility over a surface. Under such
conditions, accessibility is a measurable attribute of every location, as space is considered in
a contiguous manner.
Accessibility is a good indicator of the underlying spatial structure, since it takes into
consideration location as well as the inequality conferred by distance to other locations.
Dear students! Connectivity of locations is one of the core concepts in accessibility. The
question here is that how are connectivity and accessibility interrelated.
What is the relationship between Connectivity and Total Accessibility?
The most basic measure of accessibility involves network connectivity where a network is
represented as a connectivity matrix (C), which expresses the connectivity of each node with its
adjacent nodes.
What is Connectivity by itself?

Definition: - Connectivity, in network analysis refers to the dgree to which the

nodes of a net workn are directly connected to each other. It measures the ratio
of the the eadges to the nodes in a network. Thus, the higher the ratio of the
edges to the nodes in a network, the greater the connectivity; and the
connectivity in a network is said to increase as economic development procedes
to increases.

The simler measure of network connectivity is using β – index. β – Index measures the
connectivity as the ratio of the number of edges to the number of nodes in a notwork analysis. It
is given as:
β = ∑e / ∑v
28
Where β = beta index; e = edges; v = vertices (nodes);
Therefore, the greater the value of β, the greater the connectivity of the network;
NB:-As the transport networks develop and become more efficient, the value of the β should
rise.

1.5.2 Accessibility Problems and Route Selection

Dear students! naturally human beings make efforts to minimize long rounding distances. When
given the opportunity, they will always try to choose the shortest path to go from one place to
another. This behavior can easily be observed from pedestrians. When possible, a pedestrian will
walk or cross a street sideways between intersections if the route selected enables to reach faster
a destination.

Why people seek such shortest paths?

Dear students! Transportation, as an economic activity and facilitator, replicates the process of
minimization, notably by trying to minimize the friction of distance between locations. Shorter
times and lower costs are looked upon by individuals as well as by multinational corporations.
For an individual, it is often only a matter of convenience, but for a corporation it is of strategic
importance as a direct monetary cost is involved. Route selection has two major dimensions:
Construction:- Involves activities related to the establishment of transport networks such as
road and rail construction. Among the basic considerations are factors such as distance and
topography.
Operation:- is concerned with the management of flows in a network.
How do we evaluat the route selection process?
The choice of linking a location to another, and more importantly, the path selected is part of a
route selection process which considers a set of constraints. Although route selection varies by
mode, the underlying principles remain similar.
Route selection thus tries to find or use a path minimizing costs and maximizing efficiency.
There are obviously two major dimensions in this function:
A) Cost minimization: - A good route selection should minimize the overall costs of the
transport system. This includes construction as well as operating costs. The most direct route is
not necessarily the least expensive, notably if rugged terrain is concerned, but most of the time a

29
direct route gets selected. It also implies that route selection must be the least damageable to the
environment, if environmental consequences are considered.
B) Efficiency maximization:- A route must support economic activities by providing a level of
accessibility, thus fulfilling the needs of regional development. Even if a route is longer and thus
more expensive to build and operate, it might provide better services for an area. Its efficiency is
thus increased at the expense of higher costs. In numerous instances, roads were constructed
more for political reasons than for meeting economic considerations.
Route selection is consequently a compromise between the cost of a transport service and its
efficiency. Sometimes, there are no compromises as the most direct route is the most efficient
one. At other times, a compromise is very difficult to establish as cost and efficiency are
inversely proportional.
Dear students! Accessibility problems usually lead to selection of shortest possible routes. The
question is that what creates a problem to accessibility and its route section. The major such
problems are that of physical attributes (topography) and transport costs.
The physical attributes of space, such as the topography, obviously influence the route selection
process. Consequently, a route between two locations (1 and 3, but also using the intermediate
location 2) may use a path that is not necessarily the most direct. The detour index (direct
distance divided by the transport distance) illustrates the importance of physical constraints on
route selection. See the following examples:

Table 1.1.The Detour Index of Three Routes a, b, and c

Route Direct Distance (1-2-3) Transport Distance Detour Index

a 20 km 20 km 1.0

b 20 km 25 km 0.8

c 20 km 30 km 0.666

Route (a) is shortest in terms of distance, but not necessarily the least expensive in terms of
construction costs. Route (b) represents a tentative to reduce costs and this at the expense of a
direct path. From a rational viewpoint, route (c) will be the one used to link locations 1 and 3. It
offers the best compromise between the lost distance (a higher detour) and the supplementary
construction costs imposed by construction over rugged terrain.

30
Source: J. P. Rodrigue (2009) adopted from R. Tolley and B. Turton (1995) Transport Systems
in
Figure 1.2 Route Selection Options in a network
Dear students! The cost of transport has also affected rout selection process.
The above figure presents a route selection problem between two locations (origin a and
destination b) and involving two modes; land and sea. It requires selecting one port out of a
choice of four (p1 to p4) and assumes that there is a direct land connection between a and each
port. The choice of the route is the outcome of comparative operating costs.
There are three ways for rout selection:
i) The first route selection (1) assumes equal transport costs over land and over sea;
R{C(sea) = C(land)}. In this case, the costs of moving from origin (a) to port (p3) are equal to
the costs of moving from port p3 to destination b. In reality, the direct route from origin a to
destination b is not the best solution because it does not take account of transport costs
differences between land and sea.
ii) The second route selection (2) assumes two possibilities. In the first, sea transport costs are
higher than land transport costs; R{C(sea > C(land)}. Under such an assumption, route R1
minimizes sea transport costs. For the second possibility, land transport costs are higher
than sea transport costs; R{C(sea) < C(land)}. Route R2 consequently minimizes land
transport costs.
iii) The third route selection (3) is the optimal solution, not too far from the reality. It considers
that land transport costs increase at a higher rate than sea transport costs, but that land
transportation costs are initially lower. Land transport can thus be more advantageous than sea
transport for a short distance, enabling to use port p2 instead of port (p1)

31
Therefore, such a choice of routes can be a compromise between cost minimization and
efficiency maximization. See the following diagram.

Figure 1.3 Compromise between Cost Minimization and Efficiency Maximization

The first grid represents road construction costs, ranging from low to high. The selected route
is an attempt at minimizing such costs, so it follows a path composed of low cost cells. The
second grid represents the level of economic efficiency derived if a road crossed a cell (e.g.
population density). The selected road tries to maximize efficiency by servicing as much high
efficiency cells as possible. It is worth noting that the low cost route and the high efficiency
route follow a different path, which raises the question about which route should be selected?
More than often a compromise is sought. The third grid represents such a compromise where the
route selected tries to satisfy both criteria, so the path crosses cells that have concomitantly a low
cost and a high efficiency.

Activity 1.5
Now, attempt the following activities after having a detailed reading of the notes.
1. Don‟t forget individual reading first and coming with sufficient understanding of
the lesson.
2. Join in to a group of your interest and share ideas among group members.
3. Prepare a report of your consensus through your reporter.
The following are points of discussions:
a) Repeat the detour index calculations taking the same example from the note.
b) Make a detailed discussion on the problems and techniques of rout selection.
c) Discuss the methods of harmonizing the needs to low cost and high efficiency in
transport route selection processes.
d) Do you think that the shortest route is always an appropriate choice in the route
selection process? Why? Discuss with your colleagues.

1.6 Geographic Information Systems for Transportation (GIS-T)

What GIS itself? And what is its function in Transport system?

32
In general, geographic information system (GIS) is an information system specializing in the
input, management, analysis and reporting of geographical (spatially related) information. GIS
has a wide range of potential applications in transportation that have received a lot of attention.
A specific branch of GIS, applied to transportation issues, is commonly labeled as GIS-T, which
means GIS for Transportation.
Then, what is GIS-T?
You might have attempted the meaning of GIS-T. Now, compare with the following definition:

Geographic Information Systems for Transportation (GIS-T)

refers to the principles and applications of applying geographic
information technologies to transportation problems [Miller and
Shaw, 2001 In Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009 ].

The purposes of research in GIS-T are to develope and enhance its application in order to meet
the needs of transportation. As a result, GIS-T research investigates the questions of how GIS
can be used to facilitate and improve transportation studies. In general, topics related to GIS-T
studies can be grouped into three categories:
Data representations:- It is about how various components of transport systems can be
represented in a GIS-T.
Analysis and modeling:–is about how can transport methodologies be used in a GIS-T.
Applications:- It is about what types of applications are particularly suitable for GIS-T.
What is the meaning of the above concepts?
Dear students! You might have learnt about the concept of above categories in your GIS courses.
For more understanding, let‟s overview the above categories briefly as follows:
GIS-T Data Representations
Data representation is a core research topic of GIS. Before a GIS can be used to tackle real world
problems, data must be properly represented in a digital computing environment. One unique
characteristic of GIS is the capability of integrating spatial and non-spatial data in order to
support both display and analysis needs. There have been various data models developed for
GIS. The two basic approaches are object-based data models and field-based data models:
i) An object-based data model treats geographic space as populated by discrete and
identifiable objects. Features are often represented as points, lines, and/or polygons.
ii)A field-based data model treats geographic space as populated by real-world features that
vary continuously over space. Features can be represented as regular tessellations (e.g., a
raster grid) or irregular tessellations (e.g., triangulated irregular network - TIN).

33
Dear students! GIS-T studies have employed both object-based and field-based data models to
represent the relevant geographic data. Some transportation problems tend to fit better with one
type of GIS data model than the other. For example, network analysis based on the graph theory
typically represents a network as a set of nodes interconnected with a set of links. The object-
based GIS data model therefore is a better candidate for such transportation applications. Now,
read the following summary carefully:

In conclusion, one critical component of GIS-T is how transportation-related

data in a GIS environment can be best represented in order to facilitate and
integrate the needs of various transportation applications. Existing GIS
data models provide a good foundation of supporting many GIS-T
applications. However, due to some unique characteristics of transportation
data and application needs, many challenges still exist to develop better GIS
data models that will improve rather than limit what we can do with different
types of transportation studies(Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009).

GIS-T Analysis and Modeling

What activities must be involved in this section?
You should note that GIS-T applications have benefited from many of the standard GIS
functions (query, geocoding, buffer, overlay, etc.) to support data management, analysis, and
visualization needs. Like many other fields, transportation has developed its own unique
analysis methods and models. Examples include shortest path and routing problems for
example; traveling salesman problems, vehicle routing problem etc and spatial interaction
models for example; gravity model; as well as network flow problems like minimum cost flow
problem, maximum flow problem, network flow equilibrium models; facility location problems;
travel demand models-e.g. trip distribution, modal split, and traffic assignment models, and land
use-transportation interaction models.
While the basic transportation analysis procedures (e.g. shortest path finding) can be found in
most commercial GIS software, other transportation analysis procedures and models (e.g. facility
location problems) are available only selectively in some commercial software packages.
Fortunately, the component GIS design approach adopted by GIS software companies provides a
better environment for experienced GIS-T users to develop their own custom analysis procedures
and models. Now, reading the following conclusion is essential for better understanding:

It is essential for both GIS-T practitioners and researchers to have a thorough

understanding of transportation analysis methods and models. For GIS-T practitioners,
such knowledge can help them evaluate different GIS software products and choose the
one that best meets their needs. It also can help them select appropriate analysis
functions available in a GIS package and properly interpret the analysis results. GIS-T
researchers, on the other hand, can apply their knowledge to help improve the design
and analysis capabilities of GIS-T(Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009). 34
 GIS-T applications
GIS-T is one of the leading GIS application fields. Many GIS-T applications have been
implemented at various transportation agencies and private firms. They cover much of the broad
scope of transportation and logistics, such as infrastructure planning and management,
transportation safety analysis, travel demand analysis, traffic monitoring and control, public
transit planning and operations, environmental impacts assessment, intelligent transportation
systems (ITS), routing and scheduling, vehicle tracking and dispatching, fleet management, site
selection and service area analysis, and supply chain management. Each of these applications
tends to have its specific data and analysis requirements. For example, representing a street
network as centerlines may be sufficient for transportation planning and vehicle routing
applications. A traffic engineering application, on the other hand, may require a detailed
representation of individual traffic lanes. These different types of application needs are directly
relevant to the GIS-T data representation and the GIS-T analysis and modeling issues discussed
above.
Therefore, one can say GIS-T is interdisciplinary in nature and has many possible applications.
Transportation geographers, who have appropriate backgrounds in both geography and
transportation, are well positioned to pursue GIS-T studies.
Dear students! The four major components of a GIS, encoding, management, analysis and
reporting, have specific considerations for transportation. These are discussed as follows:
 Encoding:- Deals with issues concerning the representation of a transport system and its spatial
components. To be of use in a GIS, a transport network must be correctly encoded, implying a
functional topology composed of nodes and links. Other elements relevant to transportation,
namely qualitative and quantitative data, must also be encoded and associated with their
respective spatial elements. For instance, an encoded road segment can have data related to its
width, number of lines, direction, peak hour traffic, etc.
 Management:-The encoded information often is stored in a database and can be organized
along spatial (by region, country, census units, etc.), thematic (for highway, transit, railway,
terminals, etc.) or temporal (by year, month, week, etc.) considerations. It is important to design
a GIS database that organizes a large amount of heterogeneous data in an integrated and
seamless environment such that the data can be easily accessed to support various transportation
application needs.
 Analysis:- Considers the wide array of tools and methodologies available for transport issues.
They can range from a simple query over an element of a transport system (what is the peak hour

35
 traffic of a road segment?) to a complex model investigating the relationships between its
elements (if a new road segment was added, what would be the impacts on traffic and future land
use developments?).
 Reporting:- A GIS would not be complete without all its visualization and data reporting
capabilities for both spatial and non-spatial data. This component is particularly important as it
offers interactive tools to convey complex information in a map format. A GIS-T thus becomes a
useful tool to inform people who otherwise may not be able to visualize the hidden patterns and
relationships embedded in the datasets (potential relationships among traffic accidents, highway
geometry, pavement condition, and terrain). Now, note the following:

NB: Information in a GIS is often stored and represented as layers, which are a
set of geographicalfeatures linked with their attributes. Therefore, a transport
system can be represented as three layers related to land use, flows (spatial
interactions) and the network. Each has its own features and related data.

Activity1.6
Now, attempt the following activities after having a detailed reading of the notes.

1. First do individual reading and coming with sufficient understanding of the

lesson.
2. Join in to a group of your interest and share ideas among group members.
3. Prepare a report of your consensus through your reporter.
The following are points of discussions:
a) Discuss on the concept of GIS-T

b) Discuss the major components of GIS-T in groups.

c) GIS-T Analysis and Modeling, GIS-T Data Representations and GIS-T
applications are the three categories of GIS. Discuss with your colleagues
on their processes applications in GIS-T.

36
 Unit Two: Transportation Systems and Networks
2.1 Introduction
Transportation systems can not be conceptualized without networks and related attributes such as
nodes and demands to transportation. In other words, the transport system can be conceptualized
as the set of relationships between nodes, networks and demand. Demand for the movement of
people, freight and information is a derived function of a variety of socioeconomic activities.
Nodes are the locations where movements are originating, ending and being transferred. The
concept of nodes varies according to the geographical scale being considered ranging from local
to global (poles of the global economy). Networks are composed of a set of linkages derived
from transport infrastructures. Thus, in section, we will explore the concepts related to transport
systems and associated networks.
Objectives
At the end of this unit, the students will be able to:
 Define the concepts of network, node and demand in transportation
 Explain the relationships among network, nodes and demands in transportation
 Explain the correlation between transport networks and transport geography
 Appreciate the application of graph theory in transport network analysis.
 Calculate and evaluate network models

2.2 Transportation and Commercial Geography

Dear students! You have defined transportation and then transport geography. Now you should
be able define the concept of commercial geography. This will enable you understand the
forthcoming discussion of this section.
What is Commercial geography?
Have you attempted? Now! Compare you definitions with the following.

Definition:-Commercial geography is a branch of economic geography that

attempts to investigate the spatial characteristics of trade and transactions in
terms of their cause, nature, origin and destination. The analysis ranges from a
simple commercial transaction involving an individual purchasing a product at
a store, to the complex network of transactions maintained between a
multinational corporation and its suppliers, which make the scale and scope of
From the definition above, Trade is indicated as a defining variable of Commercial Geography.
commercial geography, vary significantly.
And it is true that trade is the transmission of a possession in return for a counterpart, generally
money, which is often defined as a medium of exchange. This exchange involves a transaction
37
and its associated flows of capital, information, commodities, parts, or finished products. All this
necessitate the understanding of commercial geography. Thus one can say that trade, in terms of
its origins and destinations, has a spatial logic. Commercial geography thus has strong relation
with transportation as it investigates spatial characteristics and transaction as they have spatial
logic.

Activity2.2
Please, attempt the following activities after having a detailed reading of the
notes.
1. First do individual reading and coming with sufficient understanding of the
lesson.
2. Join in to a group of your interest and share ideas among group members.
3. Prepare a report of your consensus through your reporter.
The following are points of your discussion:
a) Discuss on the the relationship between transportation and commercial
geography.
b) What is commercial geography dealing about?
c) How do you relate transportation, commercial geography and trade?

2.3 Transport Costs

Dear students! Increasing capacity and reducing costs of movements are requirements of a
transport system. All users (e.g. individuals, enterprises, institutions, governments, etc.) have to
negotiate for the transfer of goods, people, information and capital. This is because supplies,
distribution systems, tariffs, salaries, locations, marketing techniques as well as fuel costs are
changing constantly. The cost of doing business such as that are involved in gathering
information, negotiating, and enforcing contracts and transactions are also increasing. Trade also
involves transaction costs that all agents attempt to reduce since transaction costs account for a
growing share of the resources consumed by the economy.
Thus, the choice of a transportation mode to route people and freight within origins and
destinations becomes important and depends on a number of factors such as the nature of the
goods, the available infrastructures, origins and destinations, technology, and particularly their
respective distances. Jointly, they define transportation costs.
What are transport costs?
Note down the following short note after attemting you best.

Definition:-Transport costs are a monetary measure of what the

transport provider must pay to produce transportation services. They
come as fixed (infrastructure) and variable (operating) costs,
depending on a variety of conditions related to geography,
infrastructure, administrative barriers, energy, and on how passengers
and freight are carried ( Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009).
38
Dear students! You should note that transport costs have significant impacts on the structure of
economic activities as well as on international trade. Empirical evidence underlines that raising
transport costs by 10% reduces trade volumes by more than 20% (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1998) . In
a competitive environments of transportation, transport costs are influenced by the respective
rates of transport companies, the portion of the transport costs charged to users.
But, what are transport rates in this regard?
This might be a new concept for you although you might have attempted it. Any way read the
following definition of rates in transport.

Definition: - Rates are defined as the price of transportation services paid by

their users. They are the negotiated monetary cost of moving a passenger or a
unit of freight between a specific origin and destination. Rates are often visible to
the consumers since transport providers must provide this information to secure
transactions. They may not necessarily express the real transport costs (Jean-Paul
Rodrigue, 2009). Therefore, the difference between costs and rates either results
in a loss or a profit from the service provider.

What are conditions that may affect transport costs and rates?
Among the most significant conditions affecting transport costs and rates are the following:
Geography:- Its impacts mainly involve distance and accessibility. Distance is commonly the
most basic condition affecting transport costs. The more it is difficult to trade space for a cost,
the more the friction of distance is important. The friction of distance can be expressed in terms
of length, time, economic costs or the amount of energy used. It varies greatly according to the
type of transportation mode involved and the efficiency of specific transport routes. Landlocked
countries tend to have higher transport costs, often twice as much as they do not have direct
access to maritime transportation.
Type of product:- Many products require packaging and special handling are bulky or
perishable. Coal is obviously a commodity that is easier to transport than fruits or fresh flowers
as it requires rudimentary storage facilities and can be transshipped using rudimentary
equipment. For passengers, comfort and amenities must be provided, especially if long distance
travel is involved.
Economies of scale:- Another condition affecting transport costs is related to economies of scale
or the possibilities to apply them as the larger the quantities transported, the lower the unit cost.
Bulk commodities such as energy (coal, oil), minerals and grains are highly suitable to obtain

39
lower unit transport costs if they are transported in large quantities. A similar trend also applies
to container shipping with larger containerships involving lower unit costs.
Energy:- Transport activities are large consumers of energy, especially oil. About 60% of all the
global oil consumption is attributed to transport activities. Transport typically account for about
25% of all the energy consumption of an economy( Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1998). The costs of
several energy intensive transport modes, such as air transport, are particularly susceptible to
fluctuations in energy prices.
Trade imbalances:- Imbalances between imports and exports have impacts on transport costs.
This is especially the case for container transportation since trade imbalances imply the
repositioning of empty containers that have to be taken into account in the total transport costs.
Consequently, if a trade balance is strongly negative (more imports than exports), transport costs
for imports tend to be higher than for exports.
Infrastructures:- The efficiency and capacity of transport modes and terminals has a direct
impact on transport costs. Poor infrastructures imply higher transport costs, delays and negative
economic consequences. More developed transport systems tend to have lower transport costs
since they are more reliable and can handle more movements.
Mode:-Different modes are characterized by different transport costs, since each has its own
capacity limitations and operational conditions. When two or more modes are directly competing
for the same market, the outcome often results in lower transport costs. Containerized
transportation permitted a significant reduction in freight transport rates around the world.
Competition and regulation:- is concerned with the complex competitive and regulatory
environment in which transportation takes place. Transport services taking place over highly
competitive segments (monopoly) tend to be of lower cost than on segments with limited
competition. International competition has favored concentration in many segments of the
transport industry, namely maritime and air modes. Regulations, such as tariffs, labor, security
and safety impose additional transport costs, particularly in developing countries.
Can you mention some of the Types of Transport Costs?
You may not be in a position to correctly answer this question as it is seemingly new and
difficult. Don‟t worry. What is expected of you is only to read the following note carefully.
There are various types of transport costs that have to be considered. Amog others, we can
mention the following types:
Freight on board (FOB) :- This is a transport rate where the price of a good is the combination
of the factory costs and the shipping costs from the factory to the consumer. In the case of FOB,

40
the consumer pays for the freight transport costs. Consequently, the price of a commodity will
vary according to transportation costs and distance.
Costs-Insurance-Freight (CIF). It is a transport rate that considers the price of the good,
insurance costs and transport costs. It implies a uniform delivered price for all customers
everywhere, with no spatially variable shipping price. The average shipping price is built into the
price of a good. The CIF cost structure can be expanded to include several rate zones, such as
one for local, another for the nation and another for exports.
Terminal costs:- Costs that are related to the loading, transshipment and unloading. Two major
terminal costs can be considered; loading and unloading at the origin and destination.
Linehaul costs:- Costs that are a function of the distance over which a unit of freight or
passenger is carried. Weight is also a cost function when freight is involved. They include labor
and fuel and commonly exclude transshipment costs.
Capital costs:- Costs applying to the physical assets of transportation mainly infrastructures,
terminals and vehicles. They include the purchase or major enhancement of fixed assets, which
can often be a one-time event. Since physical assets tend to depreciate over time, capital
investments are required on a regular basis for maintenance.
Therefore, transport providers make a variety of decisions based on their cost structure, a
function of all the above types of transport costs.

Activity 2.3
Dearstudents! First read the above lesson and then attempt the following activities.
1. Conduct individual reading and come with sufficient understanding of the lesson.
2. Form a group of a small size and share ideas among group members.
3. Prepare a report of your consensus through your reporter.
The following are points for discussion:
a) Discuss on the the definitions and concepts of transport costs and rates.
b) Describe the major conditions that may affect transport costs and rates. How
does each of the affect transport costs and rates?
c) Mention the Types of Transport Costs and explain the concept and
or/characterstics of each type.

2.4 The Geography of Transportation Networks

What is a Network?
Dear students! Transportation systems are commonly represented using networks as an analogy
for their structure and flows. I think you have attempted to define the term network. Now,
compare your definition with the following definition:

41
 Definition: - The term network refers to the framework of routes within
a system of locations, identified as nodes. A route is a single link
between two nodes that are part of a larger network that can refer to
tangible routes such as roads and rails, or less tangible routes such as
air and sea corridors (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009).

It should be noted that the territorial structure of any region corresponds to a network of all its
economic interactions. The implementation of networks, however, is rarely premeditated but the
consequence of continuous improvements as opportunities arise. The setting of networks is the
outcome of various strategies, such as providing access and mobility to a region, reinforcing a
specific corridor or technological developments making a specific mode and its network, more
advantageous over others.
What is a transport network?

Definition: A transport network denotes either a permanent track (e.g.

roads, rail and canals) or a scheduled service (e.g. airline, transit, train).
It can be extended to cover various types of links between points along
which movements can take place(Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009).

And how can you relate these concepts with transport geography?
In transport geography, it is common to identify several types of transport structures that are
linked with transportation networks with key elements such as nodes, links, flows, hubs or
corridors. Network structure ranges from centripetal to centrifugal in terms of the accessibility
they provide to locations. A centripetal network favors a limited number of locations while a
centrifugal network tends not convey any specific locational advantages. The recent decades
have seen the emergence of transport hubs, a strongly centripetal form, as a privileged network
structure for many types of transport services, notably for air transportation.
NB:-The efficiency of a network can be measured through graph theory and network analysis
(as it can be seen in the next section). These methods rest on the principle that the efficiency of a
network depends partially on the lay-out of nodes and links. Obviously some network structures
have a higher degree of accessibility than others, but careful consideration must be given to the
basic relationship between the revenue and costs of specific transport networks. Rates thus tend
to be influenced by the structure of transportation networks since the hub-and-spoke structure,
particularly, had a notable impact on transport costs, namely through economies of scale.
Networks and Space

42
Dear students! One of the most important features of transportation is its link with space. The
geographical aspect of transportation is therefore better understood through analysis of network-
space relations. This is because, transportation networks illustrate the territorial organization of
economic activities and the efforts incurred to overcome distance.
The relationships transportation networks establish with space are related to their continuity,
their topographic space and the spatial cohesion they establish. The territory is a space having
two or three dimensions, depending on the transport mode considered (road are roughly set over
a two dimensional space while air transport is set over a three dimensional space). However,
flows and infrastructures are linear; having one dimension since they conceptually link two
points. The establishment of a network is thus a logical outcome for a one dimensional feature to
service a territory by forming nodes and links. In order to have such a spatial continuity in a
transport network, three conditions are necessary. These conditions include:
Ubiquity:- The possibility to reach any location from any other location on the network thus
providing a general access.
Fractionalization:- The possibility for a traveler or a unit of freight to be transported without
depending on a group. It becomes a balance between the price advantages of
economies of scale and the convenience of a dedicated service.
Instantaneity:- The possibility to undertake transportation at the desired or most convenient
moment. There is a direct relationship between fractionalization and instantaneity
since the more fractionalized a transport system is, the more likely time
convenience can be accommodated.
NB:-These three conditions are never perfectly met as some transport modes fulfill them better
than others. For instance, the automobile is the most flexible and ubiquitous mode for passenger
transportation, but has important constraints such as low capacity and high levels of space and
energy consumption.
Dear students! In the introduction part of this section you have seen that the concept of nodes
varies according to the geographical scale ranging from local to global (poles of the global
economy). Networks are therefore, composed of a set of linkages derived from transport
infrastructures. The three core relationships and the impedance (friction) they are subject to are
the following. These are discussed below the following figure that shows their friction:

43
Figure2.1. the Relationship among the three concepts of nodes differing according to
various geographical scales
Source: Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009; Transport Geography
Locations:- The level of spatial accumulation of socioeconomic activities jointly defines
demand and where this demand is taking place. Impedance is mostly a function of the
accessibility of nodes to the demand they service.
Flows:-The amount of traffic over the network, which is jointly a function of the demand and the
capacity of the linkages to support them. Flows are mainly subject to the friction of distance with
distance being the most significant impedance factor.
Terminals:- The facilities enabling access to the network as terminals are jointly characterized
by their centrality and the linkages that radiate from them.

Activity 2.4
The first activity you need to do is reading the above lesson and even more
materials of related sources.After such individual reading,
Form group of any size you like
Discuss the following points one by one
Prepare a written report and address it to the class mates
1. The meaning of Networ and hence transport network
2. What means can be used to measure the efficiency of networks?
3. Explain the three core relationships and the impedance (friction)
networks are subject.

44
2.5 Transport Supply and Demand
Dear students! These days, the demand for transportation has been peaked up. However, every
nation of the world could not satisfy the passenger as well as freight transport needs of its
population equally. Indeed, there is a common goal of, each available transport mode, fulfilling a
derived transport demand. As a result, they all are aimed at achieving the purpose of supporting
mobility. On the other hand, mobility must occur over transport infrastructures, providing a
transport supply. In several instances, transport demand is answered in the simplest means
possible, notably by walking on foot. However, in some cases expensive infrastructures and
modes are required to provide mobility, such as for international air transportation.
What urges transportation?
Dear students! Economic system including numerous activities located in different areas
generates movements that must be supported by the transport system. On the other hand, without
movements infrastructures would be useless and without infrastructures movements could not
occur, or would not occur in a cost efficient manner. This interdependency between
infrastructures and movements can be considered according to two concepts, which are transport
supply and demand. Now, let‟s see each of these one by one
How do you define Transport supply? Transport demand?
After attempting the definition of your own, compare with the definition given below in the box.
Definition:-Transport supply refers to the capacity of transportation
infrastructures and modes, generally over a geographically defined transport
system for a specific period of time. Therefore, supply is expressed in terms of
infrastructures‟ capacity, services‟ frequency and networks. The number of
passengers, volume (for liquids or containerized traffic), or mass (for freight) that
can be transported per unit of time and space is commonly used to quantify
transport supply.

Transport demand?
Similarly, read the following definition of transpoprt demand after attempting yourself.

Definition:-Transport demand refers to transport needs, even if those needs

are satisfied, fully, partially or not at all. Similar to transport supply, it is
expressed in terms of number of people, volume, or tons per unit of time and
space.

Transport supply and demand have a reciprocal relation. However, a realized transport demand
cannot take place without a corresponding level of transport supply. But, a transport supply can

45
exist without a corresponding transport demand. Transport services, such as public transit or
airlines, are offering a transport supply although the demand is insufficient.
Dear students! Transport demand functions vary according to the nature of what is to be
transported-i.e. Whether a passenger, freight or information:
Passengers:- For the road and air transport of passengers, demand is a function of demographic
attributes of the population such as income, age, standard of living, race and sex, as well as
modal preferences.
Freight:- For freight transportation, the demand is a function of the nature and the importance of
economic activities (GDP, commercial surface, number of tons of ore extracted, etc.) and of
modal preferences. Freight transportation demand is more complex to evaluate than passengers.
Information:- For telecommunications, the demand can be a function of several criteria
including the population (telephone calls) and the volume of financial activities (stock
exchange). The standard of living and education levels are also factors to be considered.
What is the relationship between Supply and Demand?
Although the relationships between transport supply and demand are continually changeing, they
are mutually interrelated. From a conventional economic perspective, transport supply and
demand interact until an equilibrium is reached between the quantity of transportation the market
is willing to use at a given price and the quantity being supplied for that price level.

Activity 2.5
1. Dear students! It is better to start the activities in pair.
2. Then, Mixture of three or more members of groups must be formed shared
ideas among your selves.
3. The following are questions for activity:
a) Define first transport supply and transport demand.
b) Explain the relationship between transport supply and transport demand.
c) What urges transportation in general in with respect to this lesson (section)?

2.6 Graph Theory: Definitions, Properties, Measures and Indices

2.6.1 Graph Theory: Definition and Properties

2.6.1.1 Basic Graph Definition

How do you define a graph and then Graph Theory?

Dear students! After defining a graph and hence graph theory yourself, compare it with the
following definition:

46
 Definition: - A graph is a symbolic representation of a network and of
its connectivity. It implies an abstraction of the reality so it can be
simplified as a set of linked nodes.
Graph theory is a branch of mathematics concerned about how networks
can be encoded and their properties measured(Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009).

In transport geography, most networks have an obvious spatial foundation, namely road, transit
and rail networks, which tend to be defined more by their links than by their nodes. Thus, it is
not necessarily the case for all transportation networks. For instance, maritime and air networks
tend to be more defined more by their nodes than by their links since links are often not clearly
defined. A telecommunication system can also be represented as a network, while its spatial
expression can have limited importance and would actually be difficult to represent. Mobile
telephone networks or the Internet, possibly to most complex graphs to be considered, are
relevant cases of networks having a structure that can be difficult to symbolize. However,
cellular phones and antennas can be represented as nodes while the links could be individual
phone calls. Servers, the core of the Internet, can also be represented as nodes within a graph
while the physical infrastructure between them, namely fiber optic cables, can act as links.
Consequently, all transport networks can be represented by graph theory in one way or the other.
The following elements are fundamental to understand graph theory.
Graph :- A graph G is a set of vertex or nodes (v) connected by edges or links (e).
Thus G=(v , e).
Vertex (Node): A node (v) is a terminal point or an intersection point of a graph. It is the
abstraction of a location such as a city, an administrative division, a road intersection or a
transport terminal (stations, terminuses, harbors and airports).
Edge (Link): An edge (e) is a link between two nodes. The link (i , j) is of initial extremity i and
of terminal extremity j. A link is the abstraction of a transport infrastructure supporting
movements between nodes. It has a direction that is commonly represented as an arrow.
When an arrow is not used, it is assumed the link is bi-directional.
Sub-Graph:- A sub-graph is a subset of a graph G where p is the number of sub-graphs. For
instance G’ = (v’, e’) can be a distinct sub-graph of G. Unless the global transport system is
considered in its whole, every transport network is in theory a sub-graph of another. For
instance, the road transportation network of a city is a sub-graph of a regional
transportation network, which is itself a sub-graph of a national transportation network.

47
2.6.1.2 Graph Theory: Measures and Indices
a) Measures
Several measures and indices can be used to analyze the network efficiency. It is useful for:
 Expressing the relationship between values and the network structures they represent.
 Comparing different transportation networks at a specific point in time.
 Comparing the evolution of a transport network at different points in time.
Outside the number of nodes and edges, three basic measures are used to define the structural
attributes of a graph; the diameter, the number of cycles and the order of a node.
Diameter (d):- The length of the shortest path between the most distanced nodes of a graph is
the diameter. d measures the extent of a graph and the topological length between two nodes.
The diameter enables to measure the development of a network in time. The higher diameter, the
less linked a network tends to be. Graphs which extent remains constant, but with a higher
connectivity, have lower diameter values.
Number of Cycles (u):- refers to the maximum number of independent cycles in a graph. This
number (u) is estimated through the number of nodes (v), links (e) and of sub-graphs (p). Then, it
can be given as follows:
u = e-v+p

Accordingly, trees and simple networks have a value of 0 since they have no cycles. The more
complex a network is, the higher the value of u, so it can be used as an indicator of the level of
development and complexity of a transport system.
Order (degree) of a Node (o):- refers to the number of its attached links and is a simple but
effective measure of nodal importance. The higher its value, the more a node is important in a
graph as many links converge to it. Hub nodes have a high order, while terminal points have an
order that can be as low as 1. A perfect hub would have its order equal to the summation of all
the orders of the other nodes.
b) Indexes
Indexes are more complex methods to represent the structural properties of a graph since they
involve the comparison of a measure over another.
i) Detour Index:
It is also known as Network ninuosity and in a measure of the efficiency of a transport network
in terms of how well it overcomes distance or the friction of distance. The closer the detour
index gets to 1, the more the network is spatially efficient. Networks having a detour index of 1
48
are rare, if ever, seen and most networks would fit on an asymptotic curve getting close to 1, but
never reaching it. Detour index therefore, measures the ratio of observed (actual) distance to the
shortest distance (crow‟s flight distance).

Di= DD × 100
TD
Where; DI = Detour Index;
DD = Strait distance between two nodes
TD = Transport distance (Real distance)
For example, the straight distance (DD) between two nodes may be 40 km but the transport
distance (TD; real distance) is 50 km. The detour index is thus 40 / 50 × 100 = 100 . The
complexity of the topography is often a good indicator of the level of detour.
Applyin this index can be shown as follows.
Table 2.1.The Network Sinuosity for Ethiopia providing data for computing Road sinuosity
Node Distance AA AD DB AM AW FC Total
AA Observed -- 99 130 125 225 112
St. line -- 80 110 100 150 80
Detour -- 124 118 125 150 140
Index 657
AD Observed 99 -- 229 224 126 221
St. line 80 -- 130 160 110 150
Detour 124 -- 176 140 115 141
Index 696
DB Observed 130 229 -- 255 355 242
St. line 110 130 -- 200 100 90
Detour 118 176 -- 128 355 269 1046
Index
AM Observed 125 224 255 -- 350 239
St. line 100 160 200 -- 250 120
Detour 125 140 128 -- 140 198 731
Index
AW Observed 225 126 355 350 -- 337
St. line 150 110 100 250 -- 180
Detour 150 115 355 140 -- 187 947
Index
FC Observed 112 211 242 237 337 --
St. line 80 150 90 120 180 --
Detour 140 141 269 198 187 -- 935
Index
Source: Adapted from Bekure (2004); Geography of Transport and Development

ii) Network Density:- Measures the territorial occupation of a transport network in terms of km
of links (L) per square kilometers of surface (S). The higher it is, the more a network is
developed. It is given as follows:

49
 Where ND = Network Density;
L = Links of network in Kilometers;
S = Area in Sq. km in which the network falls

iii) Beta Index

It measures the level of connectivity in a graph and is expressed by the relationship between the
numbers of links (e) over the number of nodes (v). Trees and simple networks have Beta value of
less than one. A connected network with one cycle has a value of 1. More complex networks
have a value greater than 1. In a network with a fixed number of nodes, the higher the number of
links, the higher the number of paths possible in the network. Complex networks have a high
value of Beta.
β = ∑e / ∑v

Where β = beta index; e = edges; v = vertices (nodes);

Therefore, the greater the value of β, the greater the connectivity of the network;
NB:-As the transport networks develop and become more efficient, the value of the β should
rise.

iv)Alpha Index
It refers to a measure of connectivity which evaluates the number of actual circuits or cycles
given by µ in a graph in comparison with possible maximum number of cycles in a given
network (2v – 5). The higher the alpha index, the more a network is connected. Trees and
simple networks will have a value of 0. A value of 1 indicates a completely connected network.
It measures the level of connectivity independently of the number of nodes. It is very rare that a
network will have an alpha value of 1, because this would implies very serious redundancies.

α = µ × 100 Where µ = e – v + 1
_______ e = edges
2v-5
v = vertices (node)
NB:-values of alpha index ranges from 0% i.e. no circuit to 100% i.e. a completely
interconnected network. Moreover, a minimally connected network is the one in which there are
no isolated nodes and the number of connecting linkages is one less than the number of nodes.
Additional linkages in a network create circuitry.

50
What is a circuit then?
Dear students! You might have attemted the definition. Note the following definition of circuit
now.

Definition: - a Circuit is a finite, closed path in which the

initial node of the linkage sequence concides with the
terminal nodes.

v) Gamma Index (γ )
In network analysis, it is a measure of connectivity that considers the relationship between the
number of observed links and the number of possible links. In other words, it is a measure of the
connectivity of a network which indicates the measure the ratio of the number of edges in a
network to the maximum number of possible links in the network. It is given as follws:

γ = e
________ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ___

3(v – 2)
Where γ = Gamma index
e = number of edges
v = number of vertices (nodes)
The value of gamma is between 0 and 1 where a value of 1 indicates a completely connected
network and would be extremely unlikely in reality. That is the index of 1 shows the maximum
number of connections with direct links between all the nodes. However, the index of 0 implies
there are no connections between nodes.
NB: - Gamma is an efficient value to measure the progression of a network in time.
e – V + 1 is the actual number of ciecuits in a network
2v – 5 is a maximum number of circuits in the network.
О О О О О О О О

О О О О О О О О

О О О О
1990 1995 2000 2004
Figure 2.2 Gamma and Alpha Indices of network connectivity calculations
Source: Bekure (2004); Geography of Transport and Development

51
Table2.2.The Gamma and Alpha Indices of network connectivity calculations
γ e α = µ ×100
Year e v = ________ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ___ --------
3(v – 2) 2v-5
Decimal Percent Decimal percent
1990 4 5 0.44 44.00 0.00 0.00
1995 6 5 0.56 56.00 0.20 20.00
2000 7 5 0.78 78.00 0.60 60.00
2004 9 5 1.00 100.00 1.00 100.00

Activity 2.6
Before going to attempt the forthcoming activities do the above examples repeatedly.
1. Practice the way of calculating the above alpha and gamma indices for network analysis.
2. How many vertices (nodes) and edges (links) are there in the above figure?
3. What is the meaning of the indices of each year?
4. Refer to Table2.1 and interprete the meaning of the Detour indices of /or network or road
sinuosity between towns.
5. Given the actual distance and shortest path between Addis Ababa and Adam are 99km
and 80km respectively. Similarly Btween Debre-Birhan and Awasa are 335 and 100 kms
respectively. Determine the Detour index/Road sinuosity of this network.

2.7 Net-work Data Models

2.7.1 Nature and Utility
Graph theory is developed as a topological and mathematical representation of the nature and
structure of transportation networks. However, graph theory can be expanded for the analysis of
real-world transport networks by encoding them in an information system. In the process, a
digital representation of the network is created, which can then be used for a variety of purposes
such as managing deliveries or planning the construction of transport infrastructure. This digital
representation is highly complex, since transportation data is often multi-modal, can span several
local, national and international jurisdictions and has different logical views depending on the
particular user (Miller and Shaw, 2001 in). In addition, while transport infrastructures are
relatively stable components, vehicles are very dynamic elements.
It is thus becoming increasingly relevant to use a data model where a transportation network can
be encoded, stored, retrieved, modified, analyzed and displayed. Obviously, Geographic
Information Systems have received a lot of attention over this issue since they are among the

52
best tools to store and use network data models. Network data models are an implicit part of
many GIS, if not an entire GIS package of its own.
There are four basic application areas of network data models:
 Topology:- The core purpose of a network data model is to provide an accurate representation
of a network as a set of links and nodes. Topology is the arrangement of nodes and links in a
network. Of particular relevance are the representations of location, direction and connectivity.
Even if graph theory aims at the abstraction of transportation networks, the topology of a
network data model should be as close as possible to the real world structure it represents. This is
especially true for the usage of network data models in a GIS.
 Cartography:- Allows the visualization of a transport network for the purpose of reckoning
and simple navigation and serves to indicate the existence of a network. Different elements of
the network can have a symbolism defined by some their attributes. For instance, a highway link
may be symbolized as a thick line with a label such as its number, while a street may be
symbolized as an unlabeled simple line. The symbolized network can also be combined with
other features such as landmarks to provide a better level of orientation to the user. This is
commonly the case for road maps used by the general public.
 Geocoding:- Transportation network models can be used to derive a precise location, notably
through a linear referencing system. For instance, the great majority of addresses are defined
according to a number and a street. If address information in imbedded in the attributes of a
network data model, it becomes possible to use this network for geocoding and pinpoint the
location of an address, or any location along the network, with reasonable accuracy.
 Routing and assignment:- Network data models may be used to find optimal paths and assign
flows with capacity constraints in a network. While routing is concerned by the specific behavior
of a limited number of vehicles, traffic assignment is mainly concerned by the system-wide
behavior of traffic in a transport network. This requires a topology in which the relationship of
each link with other intersecting segments is explicitly specified. Impedance measures (e.g.
distance) are also attributed to each link and will have an impact on the chosen path or on how
flows are assigned in the network. Routing and traffic assignment at the continental level is
generally simple since small variations in impedance are of limited consequences. Routing and
traffic assignment in an urban area is much more complex as it must consider stop signs, traffic
lights and congestion, in determining the impedance of a route.

53
2.7.2 Basic Representation
Constructing the geometry of a network depends on the mode and the scale being investigated.
For urban road networks, information can be extracted from aerial photographs or topographic
maps. Air transport networks are derived from airport locations (nodes) and scheduled flights
between them (links). Two fundamental tables are required in the basic representation of a
network data model that can be stored in a database. These are:
i) Node table:- This table contains at least three fields; one to store a unique identifier and the
others to store the node's X and Y coordinates. Although these coordinates can be defined by any
Cartesian reference system, longitudes and latitudes would insure an easy portability to a GIS.
II) Link table:- This table also contains at least three fields; one to store an unique identifier,
one to store the node of origin and one to store the node of destination. A fourth field can be
used to state if the link is unidirectional or not.
Once those two tables are relationally linked, a basic network topology can be constructed and
all the indexes and measures of graph theory can be calculated. Attributes such as the
connectivity and the shimbel matrix can also easily be derived from the link table. This basic
representation enables to define the topology of networks as structured by graph theory. Many
efforts have been made to create comprehensive transportation network databases to address a
wide variety of transportation problems ranging from public transit to package distribution.
Many of those representations were however geographically inaccurate and had limited visual
and geo-coding capabilities. Using a network data model for the purposes of cartography, geo-
coding and routing requires further developments.

2.7.3 Layer-Based Approach

Most conventional GIS data models separate information in layers, each representing a different
class of geographical elements symbolized as points, lines and polygons in the majority of cases.
As such, a network data model must be constructed with the limitation of having points and lines
in two separate layers; thus the layer-based approach. Further, an important requirement is that
the geometry of the network matches the reality as closely as possible since these networks are
often part of a geographic information system where an accurate location and visualization is a
requisite. The topology of such network data models is not well defined, and has to be inferred.
However, these network data models benefit from the attribute linking capabilities of the spatial
database models they are derived from. Among the most significant attributes that can be
attached to network layers are:

54
 Classification and labeling:- Each segment can be classified into categories such as its
function (street, highway, railway, etc.), importance (number of lanes) and type (paved,
non-paved). Also, a complex labeling structure can be established with prefixes, proper
names and suffixes.
 Linear referencing system:- Several systems to locate elements along a segment have been
established. One of the most common is the address system where each segment is provided
with an address range. Through linear interpolation, a specific location can be derived
(geocoding).
 Segment travel costs:- Can consider a vast array of impedance measures. Among the most
common is the length of the segment, a typical travel time or a speed limit. Congestion can
also be assessed, either as a specific value of impedance or as a mathematical function.
 Direction:-To avoid unnecessary, and often unrealistic duplication of links, especially at the
street level, a directional attribute can be included in the attribute table.
 Overcrossing and undercrossing:- Since the great majority of layer-based network models
are planar, they are ill designed to deal with non-planar representations. A provision must be
made in the attribute table to identify segments that are overcrossing or undercrossing a
segment they are intersecting with.
 Turn penalties:- An important attribute to insure accurate routing within a network. Each
intersection has different turn constraints and possibilities. Conventionally in road
transportation, a right turn is assumed to have a lesser penalty than a left turn.

2.7.4 Object-Oriented Approach

The object-oriented approach represents the latest development in spatial data models. It
assumes that each geographical feature is an object having a set of properties and a set of
relationships with other objects. As such, a transportation network is an object composed of
other objects, namely nodes and links. Since topology is one of the core concepts defining
transportation networks, relationships expressing it are imbedded in object-oriented
representations. The basic elements of an object-oriented transportation network data model are:
 Classes:- They categorize objects in a specific taxonomy, which has a proper set of properties
and relationships. The two basic classes of a network are obviously nodes and links, but each of
these classes can be subdivided into subclasses. For instance, a link can be subdivided as a road
link, a rail link, a walkway, etc.

55
 Properties:- They refer to a set of measurable characteristics that are associated with a specific
class. For instance, the properties of a road class could be its length, number of lanes, name,
surface, speed limit, etc.
 Relationships:- They describe the type of logical relations objects have with one another.
Instance and membership is among the most common relations. For example, a street is an
instance of the road class, which itself is an instance of a transport infrastructure. A specific road
segment can be considered part of a specific transport system through a membership relation.
From these relations inheritance can be derived, where the characteristics of one object can be
passed to another. Using the previous example, it is logical to derive that a street is a transport
infrastructure, thus the object street inherits the properties of the object transport infrastructure.
By their structure, especially with their embedded topology, an object-oriented transport network
data model would be effective to solve the routing issue in transport. However, object-oriented
data models are still in the design phase with proposals such as UNETRANS (Unified NEtwork-
TRANSportation data model) hoping to become accepted standards. The potential of the object-
oriented approach for GIS remains to be seen as well as the amount of effort required to convert
or adapt existing transport network databases, which are mainly layer-based, into the new
representational structure.

Activity2.7
Please, read the lesson cartefully before going to attempt the activities given bellow. Being
in a group is very essential to help each other for better understanding.

1. Discuss the various approaches of Road network representations in groups and

report it to the class.
2. What are the basic differences in the use of each approach?

56
Unit Three: Transport Modes
3.1 Introduction
Dear students! Transportation modes are an essential component of transport systems since they
are the means by which mobility is supported. Geographers consider a wide range of modes that
may be grouped into three broad categories based on the medium they exploit: land, water
(maritime) and air. Each mode has its own requirements and features, and is adapted to serve the
specific demands of freight and passenger traffic. This gives rise to marked differences in the
ways the modes are deployed and utilized in different parts of the world. Recently, there is a
trend towards integrating the modes through intermodality and linking the modes ever more
closely into production and distribution activities. At the same time, however, passenger and
freight activity is becoming increasingly separated across most modes.
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
 Define each type of transport mode and their functions
 Overview the types of transport modes
 Explain the major types of land, water and air transportation mods.
 Comparte the efficiency of each mode with respect to cost, speed and load

3.2 Transport Modes:-An Overview

What do we mean by transportation mode?
Have attempted the above question? Surely your answer is „yes‟.
Definition:-Transport modes are the means by which people and freight achieve
mobility. They fall into one of three basic types, depending on over what surface
they travel – land (road, rail and pipelines), water (shipping), and air. Each mode is
characterized by a set of technical, operational and commercial characteristics.
As it can be seen from the above definition, transport modes can be categorized in to three
categories based on the medium they use. The detail discussion will be held in the following
sections.The following figure dipcts the categories of transports modes.

57
 Transport Modes

Pipeline
Land Water Air and Cable

Roa Rail Inland Ocean Domestic International

d
Figure 3.1 Types of Transport mode s

3.2.1 Land Transport

In this section, the medium of transport used is obviously land. Accordingly, two major modes
are composing the land transport system, roads and railways although pipeline is also an aspect
of land transport. However, in general terms, transport modes such as Road transport, Railway
transport and pipeline transport are includes in this category. Land transport is very important
because most movements take place overland but until relatively recently it was difficult to move
bulky or large amounts of goods. The revolution in land transport came with the building of the
railways after 1830; which radically altered space by linking many places by bringing towns
closer together and by opening the continental interiors to commercial agriculture and mining.
You should not that road and rail vehicles have great diversity in size, shape, load capacity and
speed.

3.2.1.1 Rail transportation

Railways are considered as the first revolution in land transportation which came with the
building of the railways after 1830. However, although primitive rail systems existed by the
17th century to move materials in quarries and mines, it is not until the early 19th century that
the first real rail transportation systems came into existence. The first public railway in the
world-Surrey Iron railway which was pulled by horse was opened in 1803 (Bekure, 2007). Rail
transportation has been the product of the industrial era, playing a major role in the economic
development of Western Europe, North America and Japan. It represented a major improvement
in land transport technology and has obviously introduced important changes in the movement of
freight and passengers. This was not necessarily because of heavy loads, since maritime
transportation excelled at doing so, but because of the time element. Rail transport systems
dramatically improved travel time as well as the possibility to offer reliable schedules that could
be included in the planning of economic activities such as production and distribution. The
coherence of economic activities and social interactions was thus substantially improved.

58
According to the geographical settings, rail lines were established differently because of the
variety of strategies to be achieved, namely access to resources, servicing regional economies
and to achieve territorial control.
Rail transportation, like roads, has an important relationship with space, since it is the transport
mode the most constrained by the physiographic features. They have an average level of physical
constrains linked to the types of locomotives and a low gradient is required, particularly for
freight. Heavy industries are traditionally linked with rail transport systems, although
containerization has improved the flexibility of rail transportation by linking it with road and
maritime modes.
Generally, the constraints are mainly technical and involve issues such as:
Space consumption:- Rail transportation has a low level of space consumption along lines, but
its terminals are important consumers of space, especially in urban areas. This increases
operation costs substantially. Still, rail terminals tend to be centrally located and accessible.
Gradient and turns. Rail transportation can support a gradient of up to 4% (e.g. 40 meters per
kilometer), but freight trains rarely tolerate more than 1%. This implies that an operational
freight rail line requires 50 kilometers to climb 500 meters. Gradient are also important as they
involve more energy consumption, particularly for freight trains traveling over long distances.
For turns, the minimal curvature radius is 100 meters, but radiuses of 1 km for a speed of 150
km/hr and 4 km for a speed of 300 km/hr are needed.
Vehicles:- Rail transportation is very flexible in terms of vehicles and there is a wide variety of
them filling different purposes. The locomotion technology ranges from steam, to diesel (mainly
for freight in the United States) and electric (mainly for passengers in Europe).
Gauge:- The standard gauge of 1.435 meters has been adopted in many parts of the world,
across North America and most of Western Europe for example. But other gauges have been
adopted in other areas, such as the broad gauge (1.520 meters) in Russia and Eastern Europe are
adopted.
Overall, rail transportation is more efficient than road transportation, although its main drawback
is flexibility as traffic must follow fixed routes and transshipment must be done at terminals.
Dear students! The densities of railways per 1000 inhabitants and 100km2 of area enable
comparision bteen countries by creating common denominators and comparability. The model
used to calculate a railway density is given as follows:
Or
Di = Lr x1000 Di = Lr x 1002
Pt At
59
Where; Di = Density per 1000 inhabitans At = Total Area of the country
Lr = Length of railway considered
Pt = Total population
For example applying the model for Ethiopia:
Di = 700 x1000/80000000 = 00088 or; Dikm2 = 700 x 100/1100000 = 0.064
NB: - Thie above model can be also applied to calculate road density with the exception that
road length is used in stead of rail length. You should note that
 The developed countries have high density in both cases
 The developing countries have low density
For example, the road density of Canada per 1000 inhabitants is 24.17 or per 100km2 are 6.49;
where as that of Ethiopia is 0.30 and 1.45 respectively.

3.2.1.2 Road transportation

When did road transport start?
Dear students! The first land roads took their origins from trails which were generally used to
move from one hunting territory to another. With the emergence of the first forms of nation-
states trails started to be used for commercial purposes as trade expanded and some became
roads, especially through the domestication of animals such as horses, mules and camels. The
use of wheeled vehicles encouraged construction of better roads to support the additional weight.
However, a road transport system requires a level of labor organization and administrative
control that could only be provided by a form of governmental oversight offering some military
protection over trade routes.
By 3,000 BC the first road systems appeared in Mesopotamia and asphalt was used to pave roads
in Babylon by 625 BC. The Persian Empire had a road of 2,300 km in the 5th century BC.
However, the first major road system was established by the Roman Empire from 300 BC and
onwards, mainly for economic, military and administrative reasons. However, road development
accelerated in the first half of the 20th century. By the 1920s, the first all-weather
transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway, spanned over 5,300 km between New York and
San Francisco. The Germans were however the first to build the modern highway (autobahn) in
1932 with specifications such as restricted access, overpasses and road separation that would
eventually become common characteristics of highway systems. By the 1970s, every modern
nation has constructed a national highway system, which in the case of Western Europe
resulted in a pan-European system. This trend now takes place in many industrializing countries.
60
For instance, China is building a national highway system that expanded to 53,000 km in 2007,
with construction taking place at a pace of about 2,000 km per year.
Road infrastructures are large consumers of space with the lowest level of physical constraints
among transportation modes. However, physiographical constraints are significant in road
construction with substantial additional costs to overcome features such as rivers or rugged
terrain. Road transportation has an average operational flexibility as vehicles can serve several
purposes but are rarely able to move outside roads.
Road transport has many advantages, which make it powerful competitors to the railways, and
these are principally related to the flexibility that it offers the shipper. Routs and destinations are
numerous and delivers can be door to door.
Vehicles on the road vary from the bicycle to Lorries. With regard to load capacity, road vehicles
range from 100kg to 40tons (1ton = 1016 kg or 10.16qtl). Their speed ranges between <10km to
over 150km/hr for the private automobiles, to the lorry being limited to about 100km/hr.
Dear students, pipelines are other aspects of transport mode that need to be discussed.

3.2.1.3 Pipeline Transportation

Pipelines are a specialized form of land transport brought recently. It is much more limited in
scope than any other form of transport since they only operate point to point in a set route and
are capable of carrying only a small range of goods, principally oil, natural gas and chemical
products. For these products, however, pipelines are more efficient in cutting transport costs and
they have been built to carry oil across Alaska, natural gas across Britain and in many other
places in which large flows are expected. One of the principal advantage of pipelines is, it is an
important link in the transport system of countries, especially the USA where they carry about
17% of all freight/tone/kilometer.

Pipelines form a relatively cheap mode of transport for liquid commodities but are expensive to
construct and maintain and they are inflexible. They can be only economically justified if there is
a constant supply of oil and a constant demand. Unlike roads and railways, specific oil
companies for their own use usually own pipelines.
Pipeline routes are practically unlimited as they can be laid on land or under water. The longest
gas pipeline links Alberta to Sarnia (Canada), which is 2,911 km in length. The longest oil
pipeline is the Transiberian, extending over 9,344 km from the Russian arctic oilfields in eastern
Siberia to Western Europe. Physical constraints are low and include the landscape and pergelisol
in arctic or subarctic environments. Pipeline construction costs vary according to the diameter
61
and increase proportionally with the distance and with the viscosity of fluids (from gas, low
viscosity, to oil, high viscosity). The Trans Alaskan pipeline, which is 1,300 km long, was built
under difficult conditions and has to be above ground for most of its path. Pipeline terminals are
very important since they correspond to refineries and harbors.
Pipelines may in the future be used for transporting other commodities. Some have already been
used for transporting various chemicals, as coal, which, if ground up and mixed with water, can
be economically moved in this way. In some areas pipelines also transport milk. It may be
economic in the future to transport grains which when mixed with air be have rather like liquids.

3.2.2 Maritime (Water) transportation

Because of the physical properties of water conferring buoyancy and limited friction, maritime
transportation is the most effective mode to move large quantities of cargo over long distances.
Main maritime routes are composed of oceans, coasts, seas, lakes, rivers and channels.
Maritime transportation can be dived into two: Inland and oceanic transportation. Well-known
inland waterway systems include Western Europe, the Volga / Don system, St. Lawrence / Great
Lakes system, the Mississippi and its tributaries, the Amazon, the Panama / Paraguay and the
interior of China. Maritime transportation has high terminal costs, since port infrastructures are
among the most expensive to build, maintain and improve. More than any other mode, maritime
transportation is linked to heavy industries, such as steel and petrochemical facilities adjacent to
port sites.
Besides natural inland watwerways which exixted since the early human history, man-made
water ways (canals constructions) have been expanded since the middle age i.e. between 1100 to
1400 AD (Bekure, 2007). It then reached its peak in 1830s in Europe after which it was
overtaken by the development of railway transport. For example, the total length of canals in UK
was more than 48000km in its peak. In China, there are 30000km of inland canal (waterways) on
the three great rivers of Yangtze, Huang Ho, and the Hai Chiang. Moreover, there are
considerable canal (waterways) in Europe, North America, South America, Other parts of Asia,
and Africa, although are in a limited extent.
On the other hand, oceanic transport (waterways) takes the greater share of its extent. The length
of international watwerways is difficult to estimate. But, since over 75% of the world tonnage is
realized over water (Bekure, 2007), it can be considered playing significant role compared to
inland waterways.
The following are the major shipping routes of the world today:
a) The North Atlantic line which connects Europe and North America
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 b) Middle Atlantic line connecting Western Europe to Panama canal
c) The line between Western Europe and South America
d) Western Europe, Mediterranean Sea around the Cape of Good Hope to North Indian
Ocean
e) North and Middle Pacific Ocean
Source: Bekure W/Semait, 2007
What is the advantage of water transport over the other modes of transport ?
The greatest advantage of water transport lies in its low line-haul costs achieved because a
ready- made inter connected route is available Furthermore, little friction has to be overcome
thus reduction fuel costs; large carriers up to 50000 tones can be moved spreading costs thinly
over a large cargo, and the results of this advantage is that distance is relatively unimportant. On
the other hand, terminal costs are high because of the need for transshipment at ports where land
and ocean meet and since ocean shipping is relatively slow it is largely used for long distance of
bulk cargoes. Besides, more has to spend in modifying routes dredging and marking channels.

3.2.3 Air transportation

Air transportation was slow to take off after the Wright Brothers breakthrough at Kitty Hawk in
1903. More than ten years passed before first faltering efforts to launch scheduled passenger
services. On January 1, 1914, the world‟s first scheduled flight with a paying passenger hopped
across the bay separating Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida.
Today, commercial aircraft are now capable of making trips of up to 18 hours duration.
However, the previous efficiency was too slow compared to the current standards. Such ultra-
long-range flights servicing the world's metropolises are both a response and an encouragement
to globalization.
In principle, airways are free to use any route since airlplanes move in three dimensional spaces.
The major limits to airplane movements are weather conditions and international relations or
territorial sovereignty. Moreover, lengths of airways are not easy to estimate; however, their
significances can be can be inferred from other sources of data such as volume of operation. The
leading nations in air transport are USA, Japan, UK and France.
Air routes are practically unlimited, but they are denser over the North Atlantic, inside North
America and Europe and over the North Pacific. Air activities are linked to the tertiary and
quaternary sectors, notably finance and tourism, which lean on the long distance mobility of
people. More recently, air transportation has been accommodating growing quantities of high
value freight and is playing a growing role in global logistics.

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 Activity 3.2
Dear students! Please read carefully before you are going to practice the following
activities. For this purpose firs attempt it individuall and then in a group.
1. Compare and contrast the transport mode you so far learnt with the Ethiopian
Reality.
2. Which modes of transport are well developed in Ethiopia? How?
3. How do you explain the advantages of each type of transportation over the other?
4. Calculate the railway density of Ethiopia.

3.3 Intermodal transportation

3.3.1 Concept
What does the the nature of intermodalism looks like?
Competition between the modes has tended to produce a transport system that is segmented and
un-integrated. Each mode has sought to exploit its own advantages in terms of cost, service,
reliability and safety. All the modes saw the other modes as competitors, and were viewed with
suspicion and mistrust. Modalism was also favored because of the difficulties of transferring
goods from one mode to another, thereby incurring additional terminal costs and delays.
Intermodalism originated in maritime transportation, with the development of the container in
the late 1960's and has since spread to integrate other modes. It is not surprising that the
maritime sector should have been the first mode to pursue containerization. It was the mode most
constrained by the time taken to load and unload the vessels. Containerization permits the
mechanized handling of cargoes of diverse types and dimensions that are placed into boxes of
standard sizes. In this way goods that might have taken days to be loaded or unloaded from a
ship can now be handled in a matter of minutes.
Intermodality enhances the economic performance of a transport chain by using modes in the
most productive manner. The key is that the entire trip is seen as a whole, rather than as a series
of legs, each marked by an individual operation with separate sets of documentation and rates.
From a functional and operational perspective, two components are involved in intermodalism.
These include:
Intermodal transportation:- The movements of passengers or freight from one mode of
transport to another, commonly taking place at a terminal
specifically designed for such a purpose.
Transmodal transportation:- The movements of passengers or freight within the same mode of
transport. Although "pure" transmodal transportation rarely exists
and an intermodal operation is often required (e.g. ship to
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 dockside to ship), the purpose is to ensure continuity within the
network.
Thus, transportation systems having several modes can be considered from two different
conceptual perspectives. These are:-
Intermodal Transportation Network:- A logistically linked system using two or more
transport modes with a single rate. Modes are having common handling characteristics,
permitting freight (or people) to be transferred between modes during a movement between an
origin and a destination.
Multimodal Transportation Network:- A sequence of transport modes offering connections
between a set of origins and destinations. However, these connections imply that the load unit
needs to be changed, which is common for bulk transportation.
The most important feature of Intermodalism is the provision of a service with one ticket (for
passengers) or one bill of loading (for freight). This has necessitated a revolution in organization
and information control. At the heart of modern intermodalism are data handling, processing and
distribution system that are essential to ensure the safe, reliable and cost effective control of
freight and passenger movements being transported by several modes. Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) is an evolving technology that is helping companies and government
agencies (customs documentation) cope with an increasingly complex global transport system.
Today, intermodal transport is transforming a growing share of the medium and long-haul freight
flows across the globe. Large integrated transport carriers provide door to door services. The
limits of intermodality are imposed by factors of space, time, form, pattern of the network, the
number of nodes and linkages, and the type and characteristic of the vehicles and terminals. You
can note down the following summary on Intermodalism:
In summary, Intermodalism, considers a variety of modes used in combination so
that the respective advantages of each mode are better exploited. Although
intermodal transportation applies for passenger movements, such as the usage of
the different, but interconnected modes of a public transit system, it is over freight
transportation that the most significant impacts have been observed.
Containerization has been a powerful vector of intermodal integration, enabling
maritime and land transportation modes to more effectively interconnect.

Activity 3.3
1. Discuss in groups about the concepts of Intermodalism and related issues.

65
3.3.2 Technical Performance Indicators of Transport Modes

What do you understand by technical performance indicator?

Multimodal transportation networks rest upon the costs and performance of transport modes,
or what is referred to as economies of scale. For instance, a single container shipped overseas at
the lowest cost from its origin can go from road, to seaway, to railway and to road again before
reaching its destination. Therefore, freight shippers and carriers therefore require quantitative
tools for decision-making in order to compare performances of various transport modes and
transport networks. Time-efficiency becomes an indicator for both freight and passenger transit
in private as well as in public sector activities.
Performance indicators are widely used by geographers and economists to empirically assess the
technical performance (not to be confused with economic performance) of differing transport
modes. In other words, the capacity of various transport modes to move goods or passengers
around can be reffered to as technical performance. Hence, basic technical performance
calculations can be particularly useful for networks‟ global performance analysis as well as for
modal comparison, analysis, and evaluation by bridging both physical attributes (length,
distance, configuration, etc.) and time-based attributes (punctuality, regularity, reliance, etc.) of
networks. Some indicators are currently used to measure freight and passenger transport.

Passenger-km or ton-km are standard units for measuring travel that considers the number of
people traveling or ton output and distance traveled. For example, 120 passenger-km represents
10 passengers traveling 12 kilometers or 2 passengers traveling 60 kilometers, and so on.
The capacity of a road is also linked to the level of service, which is a qualitative measure of
operational conditions of roads and its perception by users. Traffic can be valued according to
three primary measures, which are speed, volume or density:
 Speed is a rate of distance covered per unit of time. The average speed is the most
commonly used measure to characterize traffic on a road.
 Volume is the number of vehicles observed at a point or a section over a period of time.
 Density is the number of vehicles that occupies a section at any point in time. For
example, a road section having a volume of 1,000 vehicles per hour with an average
speed of 50 km/hour will have a density of 20 vehicles / km.
The critical density is the density at which the volume is maximal and the critical speed is the
speed at which the volume is maximal.

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3.3.3 Transport Economic Indicators
The economic significance of transportation is obvious. There is growing importance of
transportation in the world‟s trade where there is a need for freight and passenger movements.
All modes of transport are considered in this regard. For instance, the share of Air transportation
in the world trade in goods is only about 2% as measured by weight but more than 40% by value
(Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009). Similarly, for the international operations, freight can account to
45% of the revenue of a regular airline. Efficient and affordable air freight has contributed to
changes in diet by making available new products or products in seasons during which they
would not be available, to changes in retailing and correspondingly to changes in manufacturing.
What are the Common Economic Impact Indicators of transportation?
Undoubtedly, transportation plays a considerable role in the economy with its presence
throughout the production chain, at all geographic scales. It is an integral constituent of the
production-consumption cycle. Economic impact indicators help to appreciate the relationship
between transport systems and the economy as well as to inform on the economic weight of this
type of activity. Geographers should be familiar with basic econometric impact indexes.
The following common economic impact indicators can be mentioned.
These can be output / capita, output / labor, or capital / Labor.
Moreover, understanding of the relation of economic elements is very essential to further
discussion of their relation with transportation.

Figure3.2. Elements of an Economic System

Source: (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009) Transport Geography
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Economic systems mainly deal with the relationships between production (supply) and
consumption (demand). What is being produced has to be consumed and what is being
consumed has to be produced. Four elements define production:
 Manufacturing:- Transformation of materials into intermediate and finished goods.
 Regulation:- The way the production system is controlled and regulated. Mostly the
role of governments, but increasingly of international multilateral agreements.
 Circulation:- Activities that link the elements of the production system. Includes
transport and communications.
 Distribution:- Activities making goods and services available to the consumer, such as
retailing.

3.4 The Specialization Index

In transport, to find out if a terminal is specialized in the transshipment and/or handling of a
particular kind of merchandise or if, inversely, it transfers a wide variety of merchandise, we can
calculate a specialization index. For example, the index can be used to know if a port is
specialized in the handling of a certain type of product (e.g. containers) or if it handles a wide
range of merchandise. As a consequence, such an index is quite versatile and has a variety of
applications; it informs geographers on the activities of any type of terminal (port, train and
airport). In the case of an airport terminal, one could ask if a given airport deals with only a
single type of flights/passengers (local, national, international, etc) or if it welcomes several. The
specialization index (SI) is calculated using the following formula:

It is the total of squares of tonnage (or monetary value) of each type of merchandise i (ti)
handled at a terminal over the square of the total volume tonnage (or monetary value) of
merchandise handled at the terminal.
So, if the specialization index tends toward 1, such a result indicates that the terminal is highly
diversified. If, inversely, the index tends toward 0, it means that the terminal's activity is
specialized. Thus, the specialization index is called upon to appreciate the degree of
specialization/diversification of a port, an airport, a train station or any type of terminal.

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3.5 The Location Coefficient
Certain kinds of merchandise are often transshipped at particular terminals rather than at others.
Thus, the degree of concentration of a certain type of traffic in a terminal (port, airport, train
station) compared with the average for all the terminals, can be measured by using the location
coefficient.
What is a location coefficient?
Surely you have attempted in your own words. Now, compare with the following definition.

Definition:-The location coefficient is the share of traffic occupied by a type

of merchandise at a terminal over the share of traffic of the same type of
merchandise among the total traffic of all terminals of the same type.

In the field of transportation, the location coefficient (LC) is calculated by using the following
formula:

Where; Mti is the traffic of a merchandise t at a terminal i,

Mt is the total of all merchandises of type t for all terminals and
M is the total of all types of merchandises for all terminals.
The greater the value of the index, the greater is the degree of traffic of a certain type of
merchandise. Possible outcomes are of three types:
i) A figure lower than 1, indicate that the traffic of the chosen merchandise in the terminal
is under-represented compared to the same merchandise in all the terminals.
ii) A figure equal to 1 indicates that the quantity of traffic of the chosen merchandise in a
terminal is proportional to its participation to total traffic.
iii) Finally a coefficient above 1 indicates that the traffic of the chosen merchandise in a
given terminal is preponderant in total traffic.
Beside using the location coefficient to evaluate the relative weight of a type of traffic in a
terminal to it, the location coefficient can be used to appreciate the importance of an economic
activity for a community compared with the importance of the same activity within a defined

69
larger area (e.g.. province, country, world, etc.). The larger geographic entity is also known as
the benchmark and is critical in the calculation of the location coefficient.

3.6 The Containerization of Commodities

The driver of intermodal transportation has undoubtedly been the container, which permits easy
handling between modal systems.

What is containerization? What is a container?

Definition:-Container refers to a large standard size metal box into which cargo
is packed for shipment aboard specially configured transport modes. This process
is known as containerization. Containers are either made of steel (the most
common for maritime containers) or aluminum (particularly for domestic) and
their structure confers flexibility and hardiness.

It is designed to be moved with common handling equipment enabling high-speed intermodal

transfers in economically large units between ships, railcars, etc using a minimum of labor. The
container, therefore, serves as the load unit rather than the cargo contained therein, making it the
foremost expression of intermodal transportation. The usage of containers shows the
complementarity between freight transportation modes by offering a higher fluidity to
movements and a standardization of loads. Thus, the relevance of containers is not what they are
(as a simple boxes) but what they enables; intermodalism.
Another factor behind the diffusion of the container is that an agreement about its dimensions
which was reached through the International Standards Organization (ISO) within 10 years of its
introduction. From these specifications, a wide variety of container sizes and specifications have
been put in use. The most prevalent container size is however the 40 foot box, which in its 2,400
cubic feet which carry on average 22 tons of cargo. International containers are either owned by
shipping lines or leasing companies.

Activities on sections 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7

Now, attempt to work on the following activities after having read in detail the lesson
above in the sections mentioned.
1. What are the technical performance indicators of transport modes? What about
Transport Economic indicators?
2. What is The Specialization Index refers to in transportation? What about The
Location Coefficient?
3. Discuss on the meaning and purpose of the Containerization of Commodities.

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Unit Four: Transport Terminals
4.1 Introduction: Definitions and Types
What are terminals? And then what is Terminus?
Terminals provide access on or off the transport route or network. Terminals are points where
several routes converge. The terminal could be at the end of the the line (terminus); or at an
intermediate location (bus stops). There are extreme variations in complexities. The railway, air
and sea terminals are complex while that of the private car is simple.
Objectives
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
 Define the different types of terminals
 Calculate the Lorenz and Gini indeces based on their respective models in order to exercise
how to determine the concentration of activities at each type of terminals
 Explain the functions of different types of transport terminals

4.1.1 Port Terminals

What are ports and then their sites?
Dear students! You might have attempted the above question. Read the following in order to
build your knowledge of ports and then their terminals.
Definition:-Ports are points of convergence between two domains of
freight circulation (sometimes passengers); the land and maritime
domains.

Dear students! The term port comes from the Latin portus, which means gate or gateway. Ports
are bound by the need to serve ships, and so access to navigable water has been historically the
most important site consideration.
As terminals, ports handle the largest amounts of freight, more than any other types of terminals
combined. To handle this freight, port infrastructures jointly have to accommodate transshipment
activities both on ships and inland and thus facilitate convergence between land transport and
maritime systems. In many parts of the world, ports are the points of convergence from which
inland transport systems, particularly rail, were laid. Many port sites are constrained by the
following factors:
Maritime access:- refers to the physical capacity of the site to accommodate ship operations.
Maritime interface:- indicates the amount of space that is available to support maritime access,
namely the amount of shoreline that has good maritime access.

71
Infrastructures and equipment:- the site, to be efficiently used, must have infrastructures such
as basins, stacking or storage areas, warehouses, representing an important accumulation of
capital. In turn, these infrastructures consume land which must be available to ensure port
expansion.
Land access:- is access from the port to industrial complexes and markets ensure its growth and
importance. This requires efficient inland distribution systems, such as rail (mainly for
containers) and road transportation. The land access to ports located in densely populated areas
is facing increasing congestion.
But what are the functions of Port?
Dear students! The main function of a port is to supply services to freight (warehousing,
transshipment, etc.) and ships (refueling, repairs, etc.). Consequently, it is misleading to consider
a port strictly as a maritime terminal since it acts concomitantly as a land terminal where inland
traffic originates or ends.
In terms of the freight they handle, ports can be classified in two categories: monofunctionnal
ports and polyfunctionnal ports.
Monofunctionnal ports transit a limited array of commodities, most often dry or liquid bulks
(raw materials). Such ports include the oil ports of the Persian Gulf or the mineral ports of
Australia, Africa and in some measure of Canada are monofunctional ports. They have
specialized piers designed to handle specific commodities and where the flows a commonly
outbound.
Polyfunctionnal ports are vast harbors where several transshipment and industrial activities are
present. They have a variety of specialized and general cargo piers linked to a wide variety of
modes that can include containers, bulk cargo or raw materials.

4.1.2 Rail Terminals

Rail terminals, while not quite as space-extensive as airports and ports, suffer less from site
constraints. This involves two major issues:
Location:- An important distinction concerning rail terminals is concerned with passengers and
freight terminals, which commonly involve very different locations. Passenger terminals tend to
occupy central locations while freight terminals have seen a growing separation from central
locations, with new facilities often built, particularly for high speed train stations.
Setting:- Because of the linear characteristic of the mode they serve, rail terminals are
dominantly rectangular shaped facilities. Individually rail terminals may not be as extensive as

72
airports or ports, but cumulatively the area of all the rail sites in a city may exceed those of the
other modes.

4.1.3 Airport (Terminals)

The rapid expansion of air passengers and air freight flows fostered by globalization has made
everything about the world‟s great airports bigger. They are bigger in the volumes of traffic they
handle, their sizes and the distances that separate them from the cities they serve, their costs and
economic impacts, their environmental consequences, and the political controversies they
engender.
Indeed, a fundamental feature of airports is the scales at which they are performing:
i) Regional/National/Global:- Airports are like pumps and valves in the circulatory system of
the global economy. They mediate currents of people and goods. The importance of an airport in
this regard is a function of its centrality and its intermediacy. Centrality here refers to a node‟s
role as an origin and destination gateway to a surrounding region, and intermediacy refers to the
degree to which a node serves as an interchange between different regions. The most important
airports enjoy either centrality within one of the world‟s foremost city-regions, intermediacy
among key markets, or both.
ii) Local:- Airports, especially large ones, are defining features of the communities in which
they are set. A large airport generates thousands of jobs directly and thousands more via forward
and backward linkages.
Dear students! Airports require very large sites. They need space for runways, for terminal
buildings, maintenance hangars and for parking. The runway remains one of the most vital
element of air transportation as it dictates the capacity of the system, While there are
considerable variations in the scale of different airports, minimum sizes in excess of 500 hectares
represent enormous commitments of urban land (Jean-Paul Rodrigue,2009). Thus, airports are
sited at the periphery of urban areas, because it is only there that sufficient quantities of land are
available.
Airport site location involves a wide variety of considerations. The following are some of these
considerations:
Air transportation forecast demand:- Forecasted demand strongly affects the number and
length of runways and the size of airport terminals, and therefore the physical size of the airport
itself. Larger aircraft generally require longer runways. For example, about 3,300 meters (10,000
feet) are required for a 747 to takeoff.

73
Runway configuration:- About 30 to 60 movements (landings and takeoffs) per hour are
possible on a commercial runway depending on the type of plane and weather conditions. The
trend for the largest airports is to have parallel runways permitting simultaneous takeoffs and
landings.
Altitude:- At higher altitude, a longer runway is required to achieve the same lift because the air
density is lower.
Meteorological conditions:- Local variations in precipitation, prevailing wind, visibility, etc.
must be taken in to account.
Topography:- The land upon which runways is built must be flat, with no more than a 1 percent
slope. Hilly land can be flattened and swampy land filled, of course, but at a cost.
Environmental considerations:- Airports have significant effects on local waterways, wildlife,
and air quality.
Adjacent land uses:- Concerns about noise and other airport impacts have encouraged the
setting aside of buffer areas much larger than runways and the supporting terminals, taxiways,
and other infrastructure would require.
Local accessibility:- An airport must be accessible to the communities it serves, making its
location relative to highways and passenger rail lines important. The integration of airports with
passenger rail is intended to link the airport terminal with the regional market it serves, thus
reinforcing its function as a pole in the regional economy.
Obstructions:- Beyond the airport perimeter, the proximity of mountains, hills, and/or heavily
built-up areas complicates airport operations.
Other airports:-. Nearby airports, especially in the same metropolitan area, may limit the
available airspace and constrain new airport operations.

4.1.4 Lorenz Curve and Terminals

Dear students! You have to first know the function of the Lorenz curve. And then the
dissimilarity index of a given distribution in an area.
What is the function of the Lorenz curve?
You might have learnt this model in other subjects so that you can attempt the above question.
NB: - Lorenz curve is popularily used to determine the concentration of an object, in this case
the concentration of traffic, terminals or nodes etc.
Moreover, Lorenz curve can be defined as follows:

Definition: -Lorenz curve can be defined as a cumulative

frequency curve showing the distribution of a variable such as
populatation, or traffic variables for our course against an
independent variable such as income or area settled, or nodes 74
and terminals for our course.
The better expression of such traffic concentration variations is measured through what is
reffered to as Index of dissimilarity.
What is Index of Dissimilarity (ID)?
You may not be familiar with this concept. But you should not worry as it is given in the
following box:
Definition:-The dissimilarity index is the average of summation of
vertical deviations between the Lorenz curve and the line of
perfect equality, also known as the summation of Lorenz
differences.

The closer the ID is to 1 (or 100 if percentages are used instead of fractions), the more dissimilar
the distribution is to the line of perfect equality.
Where X and Y are percentages (or fractions) of the total number of elements and their
respective values (traffic being the most common). N is the number of elements (observations).
For instance, the following considers the distribution of traffic among 5 terminals:
Table 4.1 Dissimilarity Index of a network
Terminal Traffic X Y /X-Y/
A 25,000 0.2 0.438 0.238
B 18,000 0.2 0.316 0.116
C 9,000 0.2 0.158 0.042
D 3,000 0.2 0.053 0.147
E 2,000 0.2 0.035 0.165
Total 57,000 1.0 1.0 0.708

Terminal B, with a traffic of 18,000 accounts for 0.2 (or 20%; X) of all terminals and 0.316 (or
31.6%; Y) of all traffic. The index of dissimilarity of this distribution is 0.354, or 0.708 * 0.5=
0.354, which indicates an average level of concentration.

4.1.5 Gini's Coefficient (GC)

Dear students! Let‟s first explain the concept of Gini coefficient. That will help you easily
understand its application in the subject.
What does GC mean?
You might be familiar with this concept in other subjects and you might have attepted it. For
further knowledge, refere the following concept of GC

75
 Definition:-The Gini coefficient was developed to measure the degree of
concentration (inequality) of a variable in a distribution of its elements. It compares
the Lorenz curve of a ranked empirical distribution with the line of perfect
equality. This line assumes that each element has the same contribution to the total
summation of the values of a variable. The Gini coefficient ranges between 0,
where there is no concentration (perfect equality), and 1 where there is total
concentration (perfect inequality).

Geographers and many others have used the Gini coefficient in numerous instances, such as
assessing income distribution among a set of contiguous regions (or countries) or to measure
other spatial phenomena such as racial segregation and industrial location. Its major purpose as a
method in transport geography has been related to measuring the concentration of traffic,
mainlyat terminals, such as assessing changes in port system concentration. Economies of scale
in transportation can favor the concentration of traffic at transport terminals, while other
considerations such as accessibility to regional markets can be perceived as a countervailing
force to concentration. So, the temporal variations of the Gini coefficient reflect changes in the
comparative advantages of a location within the transport system.
The measures of inequality linked to the Gini Coefficient are presented below. These are all
linked to the concept of comparing the Lorenz curve with the lines of perfect equality and
inequality
The Gini Coefficient represents the area of concentration between the Lorenz curve and the line
of perfect equality as it expresses a proportion of the area enclosed by the triangle defined by the
line of perfect equality and the line of perfect inequality. In other words, it in Lorenz curve, is a
measure of the difference between a given distribution of some variables, like in this case
„traffic‟ and a perfectly even distribution. More simply, it tells us how evenly the variable is
distributed.
NB: - The values range between 0 and 1. Thus, the lower the Gini Coefficient, the more evenly
the variable is spread and vice versa. That is the closer the coefficient is to 0, the more the
variable is evenly distributed, while the closer the vaue is to 1, the more unequal the
distribution.
Where σX and σY are cumulative percentages of Xs and Ys (in fractions) and N is the number of
elements (observations). Using the same example as above, the following table demonstrates the
calculation of the Gini coefficient:

76
Table4.2 Gini coefficient calculation for Networ terminal Concentration Determination
Terminal Traffic X Y σX σY σXi-1 – σXi σYi-1 + σYi A*B
(B) (A)
A 25,000 0.2 0.438 0.2 0.438 0.2 0.438 0.088
B 18,000 0.2 0.316 0.4 0.754 0.2 1.192 0.238
C 9,000 0.2 0.158 0.6 0.912 0.2 1.666 0.333
D 3,000 0.2 0.053 0.8 0.965 0.2 1.877 0.375
E 2,000 0.2 0.035 1.0 1.000 0.2 1.965 0.393
Total 57,000 1.0 1.000 1.427
The Gini coefficient for this distribution is 0.427 or |1-1.427| = 0.427.

Activity 4.1
Please, repeat the above calculations of Lorenz curv dissimilarity index
and Gini coefficient and determine how much variations can ve
observed at each terminal and the dissimilarity index.

77
Unit Five: International and Regional Transportation
5.1 Introduction
Dear students! The growth of the amount of freight being traded as well as a great variety of
origins and destinations promote the importance of international transportation as a fundamental
element supporting the global economy. Economic development in Pacific Asia and in China in
particular, has been the dominant factor behind the growth of international transportation in
recent years. Since the trading distances involved are often considerable, this has resulted in
increasing demands on the maritime shipping industry and on port activities. The outcome has
been a surge in demands for long distance international transportation. Therefore, in this section
you will be in a potion to learn about international transportation and its economic significance
through connection of supply and demand areas of the world mainly through major transpoprt
modes.
Objectives
At the end of this unit you will be able to:
 Discuss the status of international transportation and its its strategic spaces
 Explain the relationship among transportation, globalization and trade
 Explain the concepts of commodity chains, logistics, and spatial interaction as well as gravity
model in relation to international transportation
 Appreciate the purpose of UPS and Cold chain with respect to their integration with
transportation
 Elaborate the situation of international oil transportation and means of its transportation

5.2 The Strategic Space of International Transportation

Dear students!The growth of the amount of freight being traded as well as a great variety of
origins and destinations promotes the importance of international transportation as a
fundamental element supporting the global economy. As its industrial and manufacturing
activities develop, for instance, China is importing growing quantities of raw materials and
energy and exporting growing quantities of manufactured goods. The outcome has been a surge
in demands for long distance international transportation.
Transportation is often referred as an enabling factor that is not necessarily the cause of
international trade, but a mean over which globalization could not have occurred without. A
common development problem is the inability of international transportation infrastructures to

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support flows, undermining access to the global market and the benefits that can be derived from
international trade.
What are the Requirements for International Trade?
You can mention some of these reqirements. The following are additional points to your
answers:
International trade requires distribution infrastructures that can support trade between several
partners. Accordingly the following three components of international transportation facilitate
trade:
Transportation infrastructure:- Concerned with physical infrastructures such as terminals,
vehicles and networks. Efficiencies or deficiencies in transport infrastructures will either
promote or inhibit international trade.
Transportation services:- Concerned with the complex set of services involved in the
international circulation of passengers and freight. It includes activities such as distribution,
logistics, finance, insurance and marketing.
Transactional environment:- Concerned with the complex legal, political, financial and
cultural setting in which international transport systems operate. It includes aspects such as
exchange rates, regulations, quotas and tariffs, but also consumer preferences.
Deare students! Among the numerous transport modes, two are specifically concerned with
international trade:
Ports and maritime shipping:- The importance of maritime transportation in global freight
trade in significantly mentioned, particularly in terms of tonnage as it handles about 90% of the
global trade. Thus, globalization is the realm of maritime shipping, with containerized shipping
at the forefront of the process. The global maritime transport system is composed of a series of
major gateways granting access to major production and consumption regions. Between those
gateways are major hubs acting as points of interconnection and transshipment between systems
of maritime circulation.
Airports and air transport:- Although in terms of tonnage air transportation carries an
insignificant amount of freight (0.2% of total tonnage) compared with maritime transportation,
its importance in terms of the total value is much more significant, 15% of the value of global
trade. International air freight is about 70 times more valuable than its maritime counterpart and
about 30 times more valuable than freight carried overland, which is linked with the types of
goods it transports (e.g. electronics).

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International transportation systems have been under increasing pressures to support additional
demands in freights‟ volume and the distance at which this freight is being carried. This could
not have occurred without considerable technical improvements permitting to transport larger
quantities of passengers and freight, and this more quickly and more efficiently. Few other
technical improvements than containerization have contributed to this environment of growing
mobility of freight. Since containers and their intermodal transport systems improve the
efficiency of global distribution, a growing share of general cargo moving globally is
containerized.
Transport chains must thus be established to serve these flows which reinforce the importance of
intermodal transportation modes and terminals at strategic locations. Among the numerous
transport modes, two are specifically concerned with international trade:
1) Ports and maritime shipping- as mentioned above the importance of maritime transportation
in global freight trade is significant in its tonnage as it handles about 90% of the global trade.
2) Airports and air transport- although in terms of tonnage air transportation carries an
insignificant amount of freight (0.2% of total tonnage) compared with maritime transportation,
its importance in terms of the total value is much more significant ( 15% of the value of global
trade). International air freight is about 70 times more valuable than its maritime counterpart
and about 30 times more valuable than freight carried overland, which is linked with the types
of goods it transports (e.g. electronics). The location of freight airports correspond to high
technology manufacturing clusters as well as intermediary locations where freight planes are
refueled and/or cargo is transshipped.
Road and railway modes tend to occupy a more marginal portion of international transportation
since they are above all modes for national or regional transport services..
As both maritime and air freight transportation depend on petroleum, the expected scarcity of
this fossil fuel will impose a rationalization of international trade and its underlying supply
chains. Environmental issues have also become more salient with the growing tendency of the
public sector to regulate components of international transportation that are judged to have
negative externalities.

5.3 Transportation, Globalization and International Trade

Dear students! In a global economy, no nation is self-sufficient. Each is involved at different
levels in trade to sell what it produces, to acquire what it lacks and also to produce more
efficiently in some economic sectors than its trade partners. The scale, volume and efficiency of
international trade all have continued to increase since the 1970s. As such, a point has been
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reached where larger distances can be traded for a decreased amount of time, and thus at similar
or lower costs. It has become increasingly possible to trade between parts of the world that
previously had limited access to international transportation systems.
Without international trade, few nations could maintain an adequate standard of living. With
only domestic resources being available, each country could only produce a limited number of
products and shortages would be prevalent. International trade consequently demonstrates the
extent of globalization with increased spatial interdependencies between elements of the global
economy and their level of integration. These interdependencies imply numerous relationships
where flows of capital, goods, raw materials and services are established between regions of the
world.
Note that: as of the beginning of the 21st century, the flows of globalization have been shaped by
three salient features. These are because of:
1) an ongoing growth of international trade, both in absolute term and in relation to the global
national income,
2) a higher relative growth of trade in Pacific Asia as many economies developed an export-
oriented development strategy that has been associated with imbalances in commercial
relations and
3) The growing role of multinational corporations as vectors for international trade, particularly
in terms of the share of international trade taking place within corporations.
Trade Facilitation is another aspect of international trade. The volume of exchanged goods and
services between nations is taking a growing share of the generation of wealth.
What does trade facilitation refer to?

Definition:-The facilitation of trade involves how the procedures

regulating the international movements of goods can be improved.
It depends on the reduction of the general costs of trade, which
considers transaction, tariff, transport and time costs, often labeled
as the "Four Ts" of international trade.

Thus, we can conclude that the ability to compete in a global economy is dependent on the
transport system as well as a trade facilitation framework along with certain activities. These
activities include:

 Distribution-based Activities:- A multimodal and intermodal freight transport system

composed of modes, infrastructures and terminals that spans across the globe. It ensures a
physical capacity to support trade and its underlying supply chains.

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  Regulation-based activities:- Customs procedures, tariffs, regulations and handling of
documentation. They ensure that trade flows abide to the rules and regulations of the
jurisdictions they cross.
 Transaction-based activities:- Banking, finance, legal and insurance activities where
accounts can be settled and risk mitigated. They insure that the sellers of goods and
services are receiving an agreed upon compensation and that the purchasers have a legal
recourse if the outcome of the transaction is judged unsatisfactory or is ensured if a
partial or full loss incurs.
Dear students! The quality, cost, and efficiency of these services influence the trading
environment as well as the overall costs linked with the international trade of goods.
Can you mention some of the events the make trade facilitation recently?
Of course, the answers to this question may be difficult for you. You can note the following.
Many events have been creating conductive environments to trade facilitation in recent
decades. This includes:
1) Integration processes, such as the emergence of economic blocks and the decrease of
tariffs at a global scale through agreements, promoted trade as regulatory regimes were
harmonized. The higher the level of economic integration, the more likely the concerned
elements are to trade. International trade has consequently been facilitated by a set of
factors linked with growing levels of economic integration, the outcome of processes
such as the European Union or the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
2) Standardization concerns the setting of a common and ubiquitous frame of reference
over information and physical flows. Standards facilitate trade since those abiding to
them benefit from reliable, interoperable and compatible goods and services which often
results in lower production, distribution and maintenance costs. Measurement units were
among the first globally accepted standards (metric system) and the development of
information technologies eventually led to common operating and telecommunication
systems. It is however the container that is considered to be the most significant
international standard for trade facilitation.
3) Production systems are more flexible and embedded. It is effectively productive to
maintain a network of geographically diversified inputs, which favors exchanges of
commodities, parts and services. Information technologies have played a role by
facilitating transactions and the management of complex business operations.

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 4) Transport efficiency has increased significantly because of innovations and
improvements in the modes and infrastructures in terms of their capacity and throughput.
Ports are particularly important in such a context since they are gateways to international
trade through maritime shipping networks. As a result, the transferability of commodities,
parts and finished goods has improved.
5) Transactional efficiency:- The financial sector also played a significant role in
integrating global trade, namely by providing credit for international commercial
transactions. An exporter can thus receive a payment guarantee from a bank until its
customer finalizes the transaction upon delivery. This is particularly important since the
delivery of international trade transactions can take several weeks due to the long
distances involved.

Activity 5.2 and 5.3

As usual, after reading relevant materials in addition to the short lesson note above
work no the following activities
1. Discuss about the relationship between international transportation and trade.
2. What facilitates international trade? Discuss in detail on such components
that facilitate international trade, the framework for trade facilitation.
3. Which modes of international transportation play a mariginal role? Discuss
in group and present the summary of the report.
4. What relationship exists among transportation, trade and globalization?

5.4 Commodity Chains and Freight Transportation

Dear students! Production and consumption are the two core components of economic systems
and are both interrelated through the conventional supply / demand relationship. Basic economic
theory underlines that what is being consumed has to be produced and what is being produced
has to be consumed. Any disequilibrium between the quantity being produced and the quantity
being consumed can be considered as a market failure. The realization of production and
consumption cannot occur without flows of freight within a complex system of distribution that
includes, modes, terminals, but also facilities managing freight activities, namely distribution
centers.
Dear students! Contemporary production systems are the outcome of significant changes in
production factors, distribution and industrial linkages.
Can you explain the above components now?
Production factors:- The three dominant factors of production- land, labor and capital, could
not be effectively used at the global level. For instance, a corporation located in one country had

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difficulties taking advantage of cheaper labor and land in another country, notably because
regulations would not permit full ownership of a manufacturing facility by foreign interests.
Distribution:-The difficulties of overcoming distances were related to constraints in physical
distribution as well as to telecommunications. Distribution systems had limited capabilities to
ship merchandises between different parts of the world and it was difficult to manage fragmented
production systems due to inefficient communication systems.
In logistics, the efficiency of distribution has reached a point where it is possible to manage large
scale production and consumption.
Industrial linkages:-The emergence of multinational corporations underlines a higher level of
linkages within production systems, as many activities that previously took place over several
entities are now occurring within the same corporate entity.

NB:-The development of global transportation and

telecommunication networks, ubiquitous information technologies,
the liberalization of trade and multinational corporations are all
factors that have substantially impacted production systems.

What are commodities?

Commodities are resources that can be consumed. They can be accumulated for a period of
time. That is some are perishable while others can be virtually stored for centuries and
exchanged as part of transactions or purchased on specific markets, such as futures market. Some
commodities are fixed, implying that they cannot be transferred, except for the title. This
includes land, mining, logging and fishing rights. In this context, the value of a fixed commodity
is derived from the utility and the potential rate of extraction. Bulk commodities are
commodities that can be transferred, which includes for instance grains, metals, livestock, oil,
cotton, coffee, sugar and cocoa. Their value is derived from utility, supply and demand, which is
established through major commodity markets involving a constant price discovery mechanism.
Dear students! The global economy and its production systems are highly integrated,
interdependent and linked through commodity chains.
But what is a Commodity chain mean?
Surely, you might have attempted the above question, because of the popularness of the two
terms-commodity and chain. Now, compare with the following definition:

Definition:-Commodity Chain is a functionally integrated

network of production, trade and service activities that covers all
the stages in a supply chain, from the transformation of raw
materials, through intermediate manufacturing stages, to the
delivery of a finished good to a market.
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Thus, the chain can be conceptualized as a series of nodes, linked by various types of
transactions, such as sales and intrafirm transfers. Each successive node within a commodity
chain involves the acquisition or organization of inputs for the purpose of added value.
Commodity chains are thus a sequential process used by corporations within a production system
to gather resources, transform them in parts and products and, finally, distribute manufactured
goods to markets. Each sequence is unique and dependent on product types, the nature of
production systems, where added value activities are performed, markets requirements as well as
the current stage of the product life cycle. Commodity chains enable a sequencing of inputs and
outputs between a range of suppliers and customers, mainly from a producer and buyer-driven
standpoint. They also offer adaptability to changing conditions, namely an adjustment of
production to adapt to changes in price, quantity and even product specification. The flexibility
of production and distribution becomes particularly important, with a reduction of production,
transaction and distribution costs as the logical outcome.
Can you mention some of the types of Commodity Chains?
You shouls not worry. The following are the major types of commodity chains.
a) Raw materials:- These are goods that are linked with environmental (agricultural
products) or geological (ores and fossil fuels). The flows of raw materials (particularly ores
and crude oil) are dominated by a pattern where developing countries export towards
developed countries. Transport terminals in developing countries are specialized in loading
while those of developed countries unload raw materials and often include transformation
activities next to port sites
b) Semi-finished products:- These goods already had some transformation performed
conferring them an added value. They involve metals, textiles, construction materials and parts
used to make other goods. The pattern of exchanges is varied in this domain, but dominated by
regional transport systems integrated to regional production systems.
c) Manufactured goods:- These include goods that are shipped towards large consumption
markets and require a high level of organization of flows to fulfill the demand. The majority of
these flows concerned with developed countries, but a significant share is related to developing
countries, especially those specializing in export-based manufacturing. Containerization has
been the dominant transport paradigm for manufactured goods with production systems
organized around terminals and their distribution centers.
Transport chains are being integrated into production systems. As manufacturers are spreading
their production facilities and assembly plants around the globe to take advantage of local factors

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of production, transportation becomes an ever more important issue. The integrated transport
chain is itself being integrated into the production and distribution processes. Transport can no
longer be considered as a separate service that is required only as a response to supply and
demand conditions.
Functional integration relies on distribution over vast territories where "just-in-time" and "door-
to-door" strategies are relevant examples of interdependencies created by new freight
management strategies. Intermodal activities tend to create heavily used transshipment points
and corridors between them, where logistical management is more efficient.
Geographical integration:- Large resource consumption by the global economy underlines a
reliance on supply sources that are often distant, as for example crude oil and mineral products.
The need to overcome space is fundamental to economic development and the development of
modern transport systems have increased the level of integration of geographically separated
regions an with it better geographical complementarity. With improvements in transportation,
geographical separation has become less relevant, as comparative advantages are exploited in
terms of the distribution capacity of networks and production costs. Production and consumption
can be more spatially separated without diminishing economies of scale, even if agglomeration
economies are less evident.
How do you explain the relation between Freight Transport and Commodity Chains?
As the range of production expanded, transport systems adapted to the new operational realities
in local, regional and international freight distribution. Freight transportation has consequently
taken an increasingly important role within commodity chains. Among the most important
factors that foster commodity chain, the following can be mentioned:
 The improvement in transport efficiency facilitated an expanded territorial range to
commodity chains.
 A reduction of telecommunication costs, enabling corporations to establish a better level
of control over their commodity chains.
 Technological improvements, notably for intermodal transportation, enabled a more
efficient continuity between different transport modes (especially land / maritime) and
thus within commodity chains.
The results have been an improved velocity of freight, a decrease of the friction of distance and a
spatial segregation of production. This process is strongly imbedded with the capacity and
efficiency of international and regional transportation systems, especially maritime and land
routes. It is becoming rare for the production stages of a good to occur at the same location.

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Consequently, the geography of commodity chains is integrated to the geography of transport
systems.
Among the main sectors of integration between transportation and commodity chains are:
i) Agricultural commodity chains:- They include a sequence of fertilizers and equipment as
inputs and cereal, vegetable and animal production as outputs. Several transportation modes
are used for this production system, including railcars, trucks and grain ships. Since many food
products are perishable, modes often have to be adapted to these specific constraints.
ii)Energy commodity chains:- Include the transport of fuels (oil, coal, natural gas, etc.) from
where they are extracted to where they are transformed and finally consumed. They are linked
to massive flows of bulk raw materials, notably by railway and maritime modes, but also by
pipeline when possible. They tend to be very stable and consistent commodity chains since a
constant energy supply is required with some seasonal variations.
iii) Metal commodity chains:- Similar to energy commodity chains, these systems include the
transport of minerals from extraction sites, but also of metals towards the industrial sectors
using them such as shipbuilding, car making, construction materials, etc.
iv) Chemical commodity chains:- Include several branches such as petrochemicals and
fertilizers. This commodity chain has linkages with the energy and agricultural sectors, since it
is at the same time a customer and a supplier.
v) Wood and paper commodity chains. Include collection over vast forest zones, namely
Canada, Northern Europe, South America and Southeast Asia, towards production centers of
pulp and paper and then to consumers.
vi) Construction industry. Implies movements of materials such as cement, sand, bricks and
lumber, many of which are local in scale.
vii) Manufacturing industry. Involves a much diversified set of movements of finished and
semi-finished goods between several origins and destinations. These movements will be related
to the level of functional and geographical specialization of each manufacturing sector. Such
flows are increasingly containerized.
Most commodity chains are linked to regional transport systems, but with globalization,
international transportation accounts for a growing share of flows within production systems.
Consequently, transport systems must adapt to answer the needs of commodity chains, which
forces a level of diversification. Within a commodity chain, freight transport services can be
categorized by:-

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  Management of shipments:- Refers to cargo transported by the owner, the manufacturer
or by a third party. The tendency has been for corporations to sub-contract their freight
operations to specialized providers who provide more efficient and cost effective
services.
 Geographical coverage:- Implies a wide variety of scales ranging from intercontinental,
within economic blocs, national, regional or local. Each of these scales often involves
specific modes of transport services and the use of specific terminals.
 Time constraint:- Freight services can have a time element ranging from express, where
time is essential, to the lowest cost possible, where time is secondary. There is also a
direct relationship between transport time and the level of inventory that has to be
maintained in the supply chain. The shorter the time, the lower the inventory level, which
can result in significant savings.
 Cargo type:- Unitized cargo (containers, boxes or pallets) or bulk cargo requires
dedicated vehicles, vessels and transshipment and storage infrastructures.
 Mode:- Cargo can be carried on a single mode (sea, rail, road or air) or in a combination
of modes through intermodal transportation.
 Cold chain:- a temperature controlled supply chain linked to the material, equipment and
procedures used to maintain specific cargo shipments within an appropriate temperature
range. It is often relates to the distribution of food and pharmaceutical products.

Activity 5.4
Discuss in groups of small size and share it to other groups later.
1. How different commodity producing sectors are integrated each othe through
transport system?
2. Discuss on the main sectors of integration between transportation and commodity
chains in detail.
3. Within the commodity chains, freight transport services can be categorized in to
different categories. Discuss deeply.

5.5. Logistics and Freight Distribution

What is logisticsn refers to then?
The word logistics is derived from Greek „logistikos‟ means to „reason logically‟. In the 19thc,
the military referred to it as the art of combining all means of transport, revictualling and
sheltering of troops. Today it refers to the set of operations required for goods to be made
available on markets or to specific destinations.

Definition: - Logistics therefore, refers to the science of physical distribution

of commodities over the space. It involves a wide set of activities dedicated to
the transformation and distribution of goods, from raw material sources to 88
final market distribution as well as the related information flows.
The application of logistics enables a greater efficiency of movements with an appropriate
choice of modes, terminals, routes and scheduling. The purpose of logistics thus is to make
available goods, raw materials and commodities. Logistics has to fulfill four major
requirements:
 Order fulfillment:- Implies that the transaction between the supplier and the customer is
being satisfied with the specified product provided in the agreed quantity.
 Delivery fulfillment:- The order must also be delivered at the right location and at the
right time. Both involve the scheduling of transportation and freight distribution
activities.
 Quality fulfillment:- The order must be provided intact (in good condition), implying
that any form of damage must be avoided during transport and delivery. This is
particularly important for products that are fragile, perishable or sensitive to temperature
fluctuations.
 Cost fulfillment:- The final costs of the order, including manufacturing and distribution
costs, must be competitive. Otherwise, other options will be considered.
Logistics is thus a multidimensional value added activity including production, location, time
and control of elements of the supply chain. It represents the material and organizational support
of globalization. Activities comprising logistics include physical distribution, the derived
transport segment, and materials management, and the induced transport segment.
But, what is meant by each of these?
Physical distribution:- is the collective term for the range of activities involved in the
movement of goods from points of production to final points of sale and consumption.
Conventionally, all these activities are assumed to be derived from materials management
demands.
Materials management:- considers all the activities related in the manufacturing of
commodities in all their stages of production along a supply chain. It includes production and
marketing activities such as production planning, demand forecasting, purchasing and inventory
management. Materials management must insure that the requirements of supply chains are met
by dealing with a wide array of parts for assembly and raw materials, including packaging (for

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transport and retailing) and, ultimately, recycling discarded commodities. All these activities are
assumed to be inducing physical distribution demands.
The close integration of physical distribution and materials management through logistics is
blurring the reciprocal relationship between the induced transport demand function of physical
distribution and the derived demand function of materials management.
Compared with traditional freight transport systems, the evolution of supply chain management
and the emergence of the logistics industry are mainly characterized by three features:
Integration:- A fundamental restructuring of goods merchandising by establishing integrated
supply chains with integrated freight transport demand. According to macro-economic changes,
demand-side oriented activities are becoming predominant. While traditional delivery was
primarily managed by the supply side, current supply chains are increasingly managed by the
demand.
Time mitigation:- Whereas transport was traditionally regarded as a tool for overcoming space,
logistics is concerned with mitigating time. Due to the requirements of modern distribution, the
issue of time is becoming increasingly important in the management of commodity chains. Time
is a major issue for freight shipping as it imposes inventory holding and depreciation costs,
which becomes sensitive for tightly integrated supply chains.
Specialization:- This was achieved by shifts towards vertical integration, namely subcontracting
and outsourcing, including the logistical function itself. Logistics services are becoming complex
and time-sensitive to the point that many firms are now sub-contracting parts of their supply
chain management to what can be called third-party logistics providers (3PL; asset based). More
recently, a new category of providers, called fourth-party logistics providers (4PL; non asset
based) have emerged.

Activity 5.5
Dear students! Before going to attempt the following activities, first read the above
lesson in detail. Then the activity will become so easy that you can do it in a limite time.
1. Discuss on the concepts or definition of logistics
2. Describe the four major requirements of logistics and discuss the meaning of
them.

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5.6 Spatial Interactions
Dear students! One methodology of particular importance to transport geography relates to how
to estimate flows between locations. These flows are therefore known as spatial interactions.
They enable us to evaluate the demand (existing or potential) for transport services.
What is a spatial Interaction?
You might have estimated the answer. Now, compare with the following explanation.

Definition: - A spatial interaction is a realized movement of

people, freight or information between an origin and a
destination.Or, it is a transport demand / supply relationship
expressed over a geographical space.

NB:-Spatial interactions cover a wide variety of movements such as journeys to work,

migrations, tourism, the usage of public facilities, the transmission of information or capital, the
market areas of retailing activities, international trade and freight distribution.
Economic activities are generating supply and attracting demand flows. The simple fact that a
movement occurs between an origin and a destination underlines that the costs incurred by a
spatial interaction are lower than the benefits derived from such an interaction.
Three interdependent conditions are necessary for a spatial interaction to occur [Ullman, 1956
in Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1998 ]. These are:-
 Complementarity- There must be a supply and a demand between the interacting locations.
A residential zone is complementary to an industrial zone because the first is supplying
workers while the second is supplying jobs. The same can be said concerning the
complementarity between a store and its customers and between an industry and its suppliers
(movements of freight).
 Intervening opportunity- There must not be another location that may offer a better
alternative as a point of origin or as a point of destination. For instance, in order to have an
interaction of a customer to a store, there must not be a closer store that offers a similar array of
goods.
 Transferability. Freight, persons or information being transferred must be supported by
transport infrastructures, implying that the origin and the destination must be linked. Costs to

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 overcome distance must not be higher than the benefits of related interaction, even if there is
complementarity and no alternative opportunity.

5.7 The Gravity Model

The gravity model is the most common formulation of the spatial interaction method. It is named
as such because it uses a similar formulation than Newton‟s formulation of gravity. Accordingly,
the attraction between two objects is proportional to their mass and inversely proportional to
their respective distance. Consequently, the general formulation of spatial interactions can be
adapted to reflect this basic assumption to form the elementary formulation of the gravity model.
It is given as follows:

 T ij : Spatial Interaction between locations i and j

 Pi and Pj : Importance of the location of origin and the location of destination.
 dij : Distance between the location of origin and then location of destination.
 k is a proportionality constant, related to the rate of the event. For instance, if the same
system of spatial interactions is considered, the value of k will be higher if interactions
were considered for a year comparatively to the value of k for one week.
Thus, spatial interactions between locations i and j are proportional to their respective
importance divided by their distance.
Once a spatial interaction model has been validated for a city or a region, it can then be used for
simulation and prediction purposes, such as how many additional flows would be generated if
the population increased or if better transport infrastructures (lower friction of distance) were
provided.

5.8 International Oil Transportation

a) Petroleum
Petroleum has become vital resource except very few commodities have become vital as it can
be used as a source of energy as well as a raw material in the manufacturing of plastics and
fertilizers. As a commodity of strategic importance, petroleum has for long been the object of
geopolitical confrontations. Several contemporary geopolitical events were closely related to oil
or had consequences on oil supply and prices.

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The corporations have invested massively in extraction infrastructures, especially in the Middle
East and Latin America. They were effectively in control of the world's oil supply and demand
with a set of strategies such as fixing quotas, prices and production.
b) The Geopolitics of Petroleum
There appeared powerful economic control of oil production by Western multinational
corporations, (the early 20th c Seven Sisters, Five of them were American and the two other were
British, have achieved dominance over the industry). As a result, several producing countries
(most of them in the Middle East), had a goal to gather a greater share of the oil incomes by
controlling supply. Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait founded the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1960 at the Baghdad conference. From its foundation
until the beginning of 1970s, the OPEC was unable to increase oil prices. The main reasons were
that production was very important in non-member countries and because of the difficulty of
OPEC members to agree on a common policy since economic theory clearly underlines that
cartels are bound to fail at fixing prices. In the 1970s, OPEC countries achieved control over
more than 55% of the global oil supply and started to fix production quotas based on the oil
reserves of each of its members. Each member began a process of nationalization of their oil
industry (Libya, 1971; Iraq, 1972; Iran, 1973; Venezuela, 1975). By 1972, 25% of the
ownership of oil operations in OPEC countries is nationalized, a figure that climbed to 51% by
1983. Another objective was to establish co-operation between producers in order to avoid
competition that would bring the down the prices. In 1971 the United States decided to "close the
gold window" essentially removing the convertibility of the US dollar in gold. The dollar thus
because entirely a fiat currency only backed up by the confidence in the American economy.
Strong inflationary pressures thus began, as this event essentially became a "license to print",
which quickly percolated into commodity prices, including oil. Between 1970 and 1973, oil
prices jumped from $1.80 to $3.29 per barrel as OPEC countries adjusted their price to reflect
the American inflationary monetary policy.
The beginning of the 21st century saw increased insecurities in oil supply, political pressures,
monetary debasement and military interventions; a third oil shock has unfolded between 2003
and 2008. The Second Gulf War (2003), under the pretense of fighting terrorism and securing
weapons of mass destruction (which turned out to be non-existent), saw the American
occupation of Iraq. The outcome was a greater control of long term petroleum supply sources but
with increasing political instabilities in the Middle East. Oil output from Iraq, which account for
the fourth largest reserves on the world, has remained problematic. Additionally, instability in

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Venezuela (corruption and nationalization) and Nigeria (civil unrest), have stretched the world‟s
extra capacity thin. Increased demands, mainly from China which has become the world second
largest importer, are also stretching global oil supplies. There are numerous challenges facing the
global oil industry in terms of additional capacity, refining capacity and its distribution through a
system of pipelines and tankers. The systematic debasement of the US dollar by the Federal
Reserve is also contributing to higher oil prices through inflationary policies also followed by the
European Central Bank. Attempts at mitigating the consequences of an asset inflation phase
triggered by accommodating credit creation policies have spilled over the commodity and energy
sectors. Unlike the first two oil shocks, the third oil shock was related to unhealthy mix of
strained supplies, geopolitical risk and monetary debasement.
c) Petroleum Transportation
The barrel is the standard unit of measure for oil production and transportation even if it no
longer has much reference in reality (steel drums are sometimes used). Its usage has an unusual
origin. Barrels have always been a convenient mode in a pre-motorized era since they could
handled by hand by rolling them. By 1866, a standard barrel size of 42 US gallons (158.98 liters)
was agreed upon. Since then, the volume of international trade in oil increased as a result of
world economic growth. The largest oil consumers are the most heavily industrialized
countries such as the United States, Western Europe and Japan. OECD countries account for
about 75% of global crude oil imports. Since oil consumption and production do not happen in
the same places, international oil trade is a necessity to compensate the imbalances between
supply and demand. Unlike most other countries, a major portion of OPEC‟s oil is traded in
international markets.
Since the first oil tanker began shipping oil in 1878 in the Caspian Sea, the capacity of the
world's maritime tanker fleet has grown substantially. As of 2005, about 2.4 billion tons of
petroleum were shipped by maritime transportation, which is roughly 62% of all the petroleum
produced. The remaining 38% is either using pipelines (dominantly), trains or trucks. Crude oil
alone accounted for 1.86 billion tons.

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5.9 UPS: Logistical Management of Distribution Networks
1. The Company
What is UPS?
Dear students! This might be new for you. Don‟t worry! And you can see the following
expanded form of UPS.

Definition: - UPS is the expanded form of United Parcel

Service.UPS is therefore, an enterprise specializing in the
collection and the routing of parcels throughout the world.

It represents an excellent example of a corporation actively involved in freight distribution and

the application of logistics. In 2007, UPS generated incomes around 50 billion dollars and
employed 425,000 people, 358,000 of them in the United States. Its service area covers 200
nations and handles 4.0 billion parcels per year; around 15.8 million per day, of which 2
million are carried by air transport, most of them in the United States. UPS handles about 61% of
all parcels ground deliveries in the United States while this share drops to 34% for the overnight
air freight market. It is estimated that UPS delivers more than 6% of the American Gross
Domestic Product and 2% of global GDP each and every day.
The infrastructures of UPS are extensive and include 2,400 distribution centers, 93,000 vehicles
and 268 airplanes going to 391 airports in the USA and 219 abroad.
Each parcel handled requires numerous data elements that are transmitted over a optic cable
network supported by satellite and wireless communication. This network is named UPSnet. The
storage is necessary for the management of the very complex logistics of the several millions of
parcels sent each week having different origins, destinations and recipients.
Dear students! You need to know the history of UPS. The following brief history of UPS is
provided.
UPS was established in 1907, in Seattle under the name American Messenger Co., to support the
need for private messenger and delivery services. Since, phones and vehicles were not as
common as they are today, messages couriers were quite useful for an urban population mainly
walking or using crowded public transit. The company started as an enterprise specializing in the
routing of parcels from department stores. One of the main factors that explain the success of the
enterprise is the early adoption of a logistic based on the consolidation of freight. It implies the
combining of packages addressed to a certain neighborhood onto one delivery vehicle to
optimize transport costs.

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By the 1930s, the company expended to Oakland and then California and took the name it is
known as today. It inaugurated United Air Express, offering package air delivery throughout the
West Coast. The consolidation system was still the key infrastructure for efficient delivery. This
service was also expanded to New York City area, as UPS's service was still mainly intra-urban.
From the 1940's to the 1960's, many elements favored the growth of the company; the shortage
of fuel and rubber, caused by WWII, considerably reduced the usage of personal cars. The post-
WWII expansion of suburbs in many metropolitan areas, where people needed extra delivery
services especially where large shopping mails opened, also provided for growth.
Simultaneously, the consolidation of the service economy expanded the demand for parcel
services.
A major change for the company occurred in the 1950s when UPS became a common carrier,
receiving the right to deliver packages between any civic address within the territory this right
was granted. However, it was not until 1975 that UPS was granted the right to be a common
carrier for the 48 contiguous states and was able to offer second day deliveries throughout the
United States. Shortly after, UPS expended from coast-to-coast and began to consolidate and
expand its international services, initially in Canada and then Western Europe (Germany). By
1987, UPS was servicing almost every address in North America, Western Europe and Japan.
Since 1988, UPS operates its own airline; UPS Airline. From the hub, UPS delivers to more than
391 national airports and over 219 international ones. By 2001, UPS was offering direct air
freight services to China. This totals about 1,000 flights per day.
The 1990s also represented an important stage in the logistics industry, namely through the
growing number of transactions occurring online. The growth of Amazon-type commercial
activities have been accompanied with a surge of parcels being shipped. Further, customers are
able to track the location of their parcels throughout the distribution system.
What does the system of UPS looks like?
The UPS system is mostly aimed at servicing businesses since 80% of the traffic handled is
business to business. To be effective, UPS relied on the efficiency of its distribution system.
Reliability and efficiency are key issues in the establishment and management of freight
distribution systems leaning on parcels. Optimal locations for the hubs are sought, as well as the
possible delivery routes to avoid unnecessary movements, congestion and assure timely
deliveries. Every single parcel has to go through the UPS network regardless of its destination.
This distribution system involves three major functions:-

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Consolidation:- The first step obviously involves the collection of parcels by trucks assigned to
specific routes. To optimize the driver's effectiveness, traffic trends and road conditions are
continuously monitored to ensure that the optimal path is taken. From his/her truck, the driver
has access to an hand-held computer device that enables to capture information about each
packages and delivery. This is essential to track a parcel in any road change or unplanned
situation. The parcels are then assembled at the closest distribution center.
Distribution:- The distribution function works on a hub to hub basis, depending on the distance
involved, the mode used between hubs will either be trucking or air. Commonly, trucks are used
for distances less than 400 miles (600 km
Fragmentation:- This step is the inverse of consolidation as parcels have to be delivered to each
individual destination. Commonly, fragmentation is combined with consolidation as a delivery
truck route can be integrated with a pickup route. This can be achieved only with a high level of
control on the logistical chain.
Furthermore, UPS is investing massively in transport technology research. Innovations such as
alternative fuels and electric vehicles are among being tested, reduction in fuel consumption
being the main concern. Engineers and geographers study optimal roads and driving speeds to
enhance efficiency and reduce costs. In that regard, UPS is also working on computer software
to simplify shipping red tape, optimize routing strategies and facilitate package tracking. The
system also enables customers to locate and track their parcel directly from the Internet.

Activity 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, and 5.9

Dear students! Now you are requested to go reading through all the above sections to
perform the following activities.
1. First, Read carefully all the sections mentioned above individually and come with
each other to form a small group having shortnotes
2. Secondly, discuss with tour group members and arrive at a concensus.
3. The following should be taken as discussion points for all of you:
3.1. The concept of UPS
3.2. The three major functions of UPS
3.3. Petroleum, its transportation and its geopolitics.
3.4. The concept of gravity model in transportation
4. Present the summary to the classmates.

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5.10 Commodity Chain Analysis
Do you remember the meanin of commodity chain in the previous discussions?
Surely, your answer is yes. Now, you are going to learn the analysis of commodity chain. The
first point to understand here is its structure.
What does the structure of commodity chains refers to?
First of all, commodity chains reveal much about the global structure of production, the global
economy and thus represent a notable field of investigation that has yet to be fully considered by
transport geographers. Understanding the significance of commodity chains requires a
comprehensive approach since they include much more than a simple transport consideration.

Definition:-Commodity chain analysis refers to the identification

of the actors and processes that contribute to the origination of a
product that is consumed by a market, such as raw materials,
produces or consumption goods.

Thus, a commodity chain includes a sequence of operations ranging from the extraction of raw
materials, the assembly of intermediate goods, to the distribution to consumption markets.
Commodity chain analysis can also consider only a specific segment related to a single product
or group of products.
The analysis of such a complex chain of agents and processes considers several perspectives:.
These perspectives include the following:
 Transactional perspective:- Identification of the flows and of the transactions that
create them. This particularly concerns the decision making process in the establishment
and management of commodity chains.
 Comparative perspective:- Assess the relative competitiveness of the elements of the
commodity chains in terms of added value.
 Functional perspective:- Identify the physical processes involved in the circulation of
goods, including the capacity constraints in distribution, namely modal, intermodal and
terminal effectiveness.
The analysis of commodity chains, depending on the perspective, can also consider several
factors. These factors include:
 Origin and destination:- A basic issue of supply and demand which reveals comparative
advantages, locational preferences and market size. A commodity chain is commonly
organized as a sequence of origin / destination pairs until a destination is considered to be
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 the location of final consumption. For complex products, a multitude of origins,
intermediary stages and destinations imply the concept of global commodity chains.
Intermediary locations where activities such as warehousing need also to be considered.
 Cost function:- Evaluates the costs incurred to the set of activities taking place along the
commodity chain such as procurement costs, manufacturing costs, distribution costs and
retailing costs.
 Load unit:- Considers how the material flows in the commodity chain are circulating,
often related to how fragile, perishable (see the Cold Chain) or valuable a product is. It is
more than simply an issue of containerization, but also in which way the containerized
load unit is used.
 Modal and intermodal use:- A matter of the nature of the transport chains used to
accommodate the commodity chains in terms of modes, terminals and freight forwarders.
 Regulation and ownership:- The set of rules and regulations related to the circulation of
goods within the commodity chain, including compliance. Also considers the nature and
the level of control shipping companies have over the commodity chains they use
through agreements, mergers and alliances.
 Distribution channel:-Relationships with logistical service providers, particularly with
manufacturers and retailers. In many cases, distribution activities are subcontracted.
 Added value:- The consideration of which parts of the commodity chain contributes the
most to added value. This is an important strategic goal as added value is linked with
profit margins. The organization of commodity chain thus seeks to increase added value
through locational and organizational strategies.

5.11 The Cold Chain

What do you know about Cold chain?
While Globalization has made the relative distance between regions of the world much smaller,
the physical separation of these same regions is still a very important reality. The greater the
physical separation, the more likely freight can be damaged in one of the complex transport
operations involved. Some goods can be damaged by shocks while others can be damaged by
undue temperature variations. It takes time and coordination to efficiently move a shipment and
every delay can have negative consequences, particularly if this cargo is perishable. To ensure
that cargo does not become damaged or compromised throughout this process, businesses in the

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pharmaceutical, medical and food industries are increasingly relying on the cold chain
technology.

Definition: - The cold chain refers to the transportation of temperature

sensitive products along a supply chain through thermal and refrigerated
packaging methods and the logistical planning to protect the integrity of these
shipments.

From an economic development perspective, the cold chain enables many developing countries
to take part in the global perishable products market. From a geographical perspective, the cold
chain has the following impacts:-
Global:- Specialization of agricultural functions permitting the transport of temperature sensitive
food products to distant markets. Enables the distribution of vaccines and other pharmaceutical
or biological products.
Regional:- Can support the specialization of functions and economies of scale, such as
specialized laboratories.
Local:- Timely distribution to the final consumer, namely grocery stores and restaurants.
When did Cold Chain Logistics Emerged?
While global commodity chains are fairly modern expansions in the transportation industry, the
refrigerated movement of temperature sensitive goods is a practice that dates back to 1797 when
British fishermen used natural ice to preserve their fish stock piles. This process was also seen in
the late 1800s for the movement of food from rural areas to urban consumption markets, namely
dairy products. Cold storage was also a key component of food trade between colonial powers
and their colonies. For example, in the late 1870s and early 1880s, France was starting to receive
large shipments of frozen meat and mutton carcasses from South America, while Great Britain
imported frozen beef from Australia and pork and other meat from New Zealand. By 1910,
600,000 tons of frozen meat was being brought into Great Britain alone. The value of the cold
chain in the preservation of expensive vaccines and medical supplies was only beginning to be
recognized when these logistical providers started to appear. As awareness began to grow, so did
the need for efficient management of the cold chain. Thus, a cold chain industry has emerged to
service these commodity chains. Thus, temperature controlled environments can range from
small insulated boxes that require dry ice or gel packs, rolling containers which has its own
powered refrigeration unit. The major cold chain technologies involve:-
Dry ice:- Solid carbon dioxide, is about -80°C and is capable of keeping a shipment frozen for
an extended period of time. It is particularly used for the shipping of pharmaceuticals, dangerous

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goods and foodstuffs. Dry ice does not melt, instead it sublimates when it comes in contact with
air.
Gel packs:- Large shares of pharmaceutical and medicinal shipments are classified as chilled
products, which means they must be stored in a temperature range between 2 and 8°C. The
common method to provide this temperature is to use gel packs, or packages that contain phase
changing substances that can go from solid to liquid and vice versa to control an environment.
Depending on the shipping requirements, these packs can either start off in a frozen or
refrigerated state. Along the transit process they melt to liquids, while at the same time capturing
escaping energy and maintaining an internal temperature.
Perishable or temperature sensitive items are carried in refrigerated containers (called
"reefers"), that account for a growing share of the refrigerated cargo being transported around the
world. The refrigeration unit of a reefer requires an electric power source during transportation
and at a container yard.

Activity 5.10 & 5.11

Please read carefully sections 5.10 & 5.11 in order to do the following activities.
1. Read first the sections mentioned above individually and then in groups.
2. Summarize the major points of the lesson as far as you understand it
3. Moreover, focus on the following points:
3.1. What is the concept?
3.2. What are the perspectives considered in the analysis of a complex
commodity chain?
3.3. What major factors should be considered in the analysis of commodity
chains?
3.4. What are the impacts of the cold chain has?
3.5. The major cold chain technologies involve

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Unit Six: Urban Transportation
6.1 Introduction: Definitions and Concepts
Dear students! Let‟s first overview world urbanization in order to further discussion about its
spatial structure, which has been one of the dominant trends of economic and social change of
the 20th century, especially in the developing world.
Objectives
At the end of this unit you, the learners will be able to:
 Define urbanization and other related concepts to the learning of urban-transport relations
 Explain the various characterstics of urban form and transportation
 Discuss the process of urban mobility, transport problems and models used to explain
transportation and land use in urban areas
 Evaluate the urban transportation quality, accessibility, telecommuting and office space situations
 Appreciate urban transit in Ethiopia and regional transport systems

What is urbanization?

Definition:-Urbanization, in simple terms is the process

of transition from a rural to a more urban society.

Statistically, urbanization reflects an increasing proportion of the population living in settlements

defined as urban, primarily through net rural to urban migration. The level of urbanization is the
percentage of the total population living in towns and cities while the rate of urbanization is the
rate at which it grows
This transition is expected to go on well into the second half of the 21st century, a trend reflected
in the growing size of cities and in the increasing proportion of the urbanized population. Since
1950, the world's urban population has more than doubled, to reach nearly 3.5 billion in 2010,
about 50.6% of the global population. This is due to three main demographic trends. These are:
 Natural increase:- It is simply the outcome of more births than deaths in urban areas, a
direct function of the fertility rate as well as the quality of healthcare systems (lower
mortality rates, particularly for infants).
 Rural to urban migrations:- This has been a strong factor of urbanization, particularly
in the developing world where migration accounted between 40% and 60% of the urban
growth. Such a process has endured since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the
19th century, first in the developed world and then in the developing world. The reasons

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 for urban migration are numerous and may involve the expectation to find employment,
improved agricultural productivity which frees rural labor or even political and
environmental problems where populations are constrained to leave the countryside.
 International migration. The growth in international migration has been an important
factor in the urbanization of major gateway cities.
The outcome has been a fundamental change in the socio-economic environment of human
activities as urbanization involves new forms of employment, economic activity and
lifestyle. Thus, industrialization in the developing world is directly correlated with
urbanization.

Activity 6.1
After having read the above lesson, try to do the following activities.
1. Discuss the concept of unrbanization
2. Describe and discuss the three main demographic trends that
incresea urban population.
3. Finally present the short report to the class.

6.2 Transportation and the Urban Form

What does the Urban Form mean?
Demographic and mobility growth have been shaped by the capacity and requirements of urban
transport infrastructures, such as roads, transit systems or simply walkways. Consequently, there
is a wide variety of urban forms, spatial structures and associated urban transportation systems.

Definition: - Whereas urban form refers to the spatial imprint of an urban

transport system as well as the adjacent physical infrastructures, urban
(spatial) structure refers to the set of relationships arising out of the urban
form and its underlying interactions of people, freight and information.
Jointly, they confer a level of spatial arrangement to cities.

The urban spatial structure is categorized by its level of centralization and clustering:
Centralization:- refers to the setting of activities in relation to the whole urban area. A
centralized city will have a significant share of its activities in its center while a decentralized
city does not.
Clustering:- refers to the setting of activities in relation to a specific part of the urban area. A
cluster of activities is therefore a concentration around a specific focal point.
The evolution of transportation has generally led to changes in urban form. The more radical the
changes in transport technology have been, the more the alterations on the urban form. Among
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the most fundamental changes in the urban form is the emergence of new clusters expressing
new urban activities and new relationships between elements of the urban system. In many cities,
the central business district (CBD), once the primary destination of commuters and serviced by
public transportation, has been changed by new manufacturing, retailing and management
practices. Whereas traditional manufacturing depended on centralized workplaces and
transportation, technological and transportation developments rendered modern industry more
flexible.

Activity 6.2
Please clarify the concepts of the following;
1. The meaning and concept of urban form
2. The urban spatial structure
3. Prepare a short report for discussion in the class

6.3 Urban Land Use and Transportation

Urban land use comprises two elements; the nature of land use which relates to which activities
are taking place where, and the level of spatial accumulation, which indicates their intensity
and concentration. Central areas have a high level of spatial accumulation and corresponding
land uses, such as retail, while peripheral areas have lower levels of accumulation. Most
economic, social or cultural activities imply a multitude of functions, such as production,
consumption and distribution. These functions take place at specific locations and are part of an
activity system. The representation of this imprint requires a typology of land use, which can be
formal or functional.
What is meant by each of these?
Formal land use representations are concerned with qualitative attributes of space such as its
form, pattern and aspect and are descriptive in nature.
Functional land use representations are concerned with the economic nature of activities such
as production, consumption, residence, and transport, and are mainly a socioeconomic
description of space.
Land use, both in formal and functional representations, implies a set of relationships with other
land uses. For instance, commercial land use involves relationships with its supplier and
customers. Since each type of land use has its own specific mobility requirements, transportation
is a factor of activity location, and is therefore associated intimately with land use.
Urban transportation therefore, aims at supporting transport demands generated by the diversity
of urban activities in a diversity of urban contexts. A key for understanding urban entities thus
lies in the analysis of patterns and processes of the transport / land use system. This system is
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highly complex and involves several relationships between the transport system, spatial
interactions and land use.
What does each of these imply?
You may attempt the question. But you may not answer correctly. See the following short note.
 Transport system:- Considers the set of transport infrastructures and modes that are
supporting urban movements of passengers and freight. It generally expresses the level of
accessibility.
 Spatial interactions:- Consider the nature, extent, origins and destinations of the urban
movements of passengers and freight. They take into consideration the attributes of the
transport system as well as the land use factors that are generating and attracting
movements.
 Land use:- Considers the level of spatial accumulation of activities and their associated
levels of mobility requirements. Land use is commonly linked with demographic and
economic attributes.
Dear students! One of the most important aspects of urban land use and the functioning transport
system is its reflection into certain models that explain it. Now, it is better to explain some of
urban land use models.
What do you understand by urban land use models?
Dear students! Since transportation is a distance-decay altering technology, spatial organization
is assumed to be strongly influenced by the concepts of location and distance. Several models
of urban land use have been developed over time, with increased levels of complexity. All
involve some consideration of transport in the explanations of urban land use structures. The
following categories of these models can discussed.
a) Central places and concentric land uses model
ii) Von Thunen’s regional land use model is the oldest representation of central place and
concentric land use model. It is based on a central place, the market town, and its concentric
impacts on surrounding land uses. It was initially developed in the early 19th century (1826) for
the analysis of agricultural land use patterns in Germany. It used the concept of economic rent to
explain a spatial organization where different agricultural activities are competing for the usage
of land. The underlying principles of this model have been the foundation of many others where
economic considerations, namely land rent and distance-decay, are incorporated. The core
assumption of the model is that agricultural land use is patterned in the form of concentric circles

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around a market that consumes all the surplus production, which must be transported. Many land
use patterns with reality have been found, notably in North America and Europe today.

Figure 6.1 Von Thunen's Regional Land Use Model: Source: (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009)
If modern economics began with Adam Smith, modern location economics began with Von
Thunen (1826). He was the first to develop a basic analytical model of the relationships between
markets, production, and distance. For this purpose he looked upon the agricultural landscape.
The relative costs of transporting different agricultural commodities to the central market
determined the agricultural land use around a city. The most productive activities will thus
compete for the closest land to the market and activities not productive enough will locate
further away. The model has a set of basic assumptions which reflects agricultural conditions
around a city in the early 19th century. These include:
Isolation:- There is one isolated market in an isolated state having no interactions (trade) with
the outside.
Ubiquitous land characteristics.:-The land surrounding the market is entirely flat and its
fertility uniform.
Transportation:- It is assumed there are no transport infrastructures such as roads or rivers and
that farmers are transporting their production to the market using horses and carts.
Transportation costs are dependent of the type of commodity being transported to the market as
well as the distance involved.
The model compares the relationships between production cost, the market price and the
transport cost of an agricultural commodity and is expressed as follows:
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 LR=Y( m - c - td)
Where
LR= Locational
Y =Yield per unit of land (hectares)
m= market price per unit of commodity
c= production cost per unit of commodity
t= transport cost per unit of commodity
d= distance from the market
Since Y. m, c, and t are constants, it is possible to work out by how much the LR for a
commodity decreases as the distance from the market increases.
All agricultural land uses are maximizing their productivity (rent), which in this case is
dependent upon their location from the market (Central City). The role of farmer is to maximize
his profit which is simply the market price minus the transport and production costs. The most
productive activities (gardening or milk production) or activities having high transport costs
(firewood) locate nearby the market. The above figure provides an overview of Von Thunen's
agricultural land use model with the basic assumptions being applied (isolation, ubiquity,
transportation). It can be divided in two parts.
 The pure isolated state over an isotropic plain (left). In this case, the model takes a shape
of perfect concentric circles.
 The potential impacts of modified transport costs (a navigable river) and the presence
of a competing center (right).
iii) Burgess concentric model
This can be taken as an example of concentric urban land uses. This was among the first attempts
to investigate spatial patterns at the urban level in 1925. Although the purpose of the model was
to analyze social classes, it recognized that transportation and mobility were important factors
behind the spatial organization of urban areas. The formal land use representation of this model
is derived from commuting distance from the central business district (CBD), creating concentric
circles. Each circle represents a specific socioeconomic urban landscape. This model is
conceptually a direct adaptation of the Von Thunen's model to urban land use since it deals with
a concentric representation.

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Figure 6.2.The Burgess Urban Land Use Model in Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009
In 1925, Burgess presented a descriptive urban land use model, which divided cities in a set of
concentric circles expanding from the downtown to the suburbs. This representation was built
from Burgess' observations of a number of American cities, notably Chicago, for which he
provided empirical evidence. The model assumes a relationship between the socio-economic
status (mainly income) of households and the distance from the CBD. The further from the CBD,
the better the quality of housing, but the longer the commuting time. Thus, accessing better
housing is done at the expense of longer commuting times (and costs). According to this
monocentric model (see above figure), a large city is divided in six concentric zones. These are
given as follows:
 Zone I: Central Business District (CBD) where most of the tertiary employment is located and
where the urban transport infrastructure is converging, making this zone the most
accessible.
 Zone II: Immediately adjacent to the CBD a zone where many industrial activities locate to
take advantage of nearby labor and markets. Further, most transport terminals, namely
port sites and railyards, are located adjacent to the central area.
 Zone III: This zone is gradually been reconverted to other uses by expanding manufacturing /
industrial activities. It contains the poorest segment of the urban population, notably
first generation immigrants living, in the lowest housing conditions.

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 Zone IV: Residential zone dominated by the working class and those who were able to move
away from the previous zone (often second generation immigrants). This zone has the
advantage of being located near the major zones of employment (I and II) and thus
represents a low cost location for the working class.
 Zone V: Represents higher quality housing linked with longer commuting costs.
 Zone VI: Mainly high class and expensive housing in a rural, suburbanized, setting. The
commuting costs are the highest. Prior to mass diffusion of the automobile (1930s),
most of these settlements were located next to rail stations.
According to Burgess, urban growth is a process of expansion and reconversion of land uses,
with a tendency of each inner zone to expand in the outer zone. On the above figure, zone II
(Factory zone) is expanding towards zone IV (Working class zone), creating a transition zone
with reconversion of land use. Although the Burgess model is simple and elegant, it has drawn
numerous criticisms. The following are such critisms:
 The model is too simple and limited in historical and cultural applications up to the
1950s. It is a product of its time.
 The model was developed when American cities were growing very fast in demographic
terms and when motorized transportation was still uncommon as most people used public
transit. Expansion thus involved reconversion of existing land uses. This concept cannot
be applied in a contemporary (from the second half to the 20th century) context where
highways have enabled urban development to escape the reconversion process and to
take place directly in the suburbs.
 The model was developed for American cities and has limited applicability elsewhere. It
has been demonstrated that pre-industrial cities, notably in Europe, did not at all followed
the concentric circles model. For instance, in most pre-industrial European cities, the
center was much more important than the periphery, notably in terms of social status. The
Burgess concentric model is consequently partially inverted.
 There were a lot of spatial differences in terms of ethnic, social and occupational status,
while there were low occurrence of the functional differences in land use patterns. The
concentric model assumed a spatial separation of place of work and place of residence,
which was not generalized until the twentieth century.
However, the Burgess model remains useful as a concept explaining concentric urban
development, as a way to introduce the complexity of urban land use and to explain urban
growth in American cities in the early-mid 20th century.

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b) Sector and Nuclei Urban Land Use Representations
A study of residential areas done by Hoyt (1939) in the North American context concluded that
the land use pattern was not a random distribution, nor sharply defined rectangular areas or
concentric circles, but rather sectors. Thus, the effect of direction and time was added to the
effect of distance. Transport corridors, such as rail lines and major roads, are mainly responsible
for the creation of sectors, thus transport has directional effect on land uses. Cities would thus
grow along major axis. The sector representation also includes concentric transitional processes
observed by Burgess, which is occurring along a specific direction.
Following Hoyt's development of a sectorial city, Harris and Ullman (1945) introduced a more
effective generalization of urban land uses. It was brought forward that many towns and nearly
all large cities do not grow around one CBD, but are formed by the progressive integration of a
number of separate nuclei in the urban pattern. These nodes become specialized and
differentiated in the growth process and are not located in relation to any distance attribute, but
are bound by a number of attributes:
 Differential accessibility. Some activities require specialized facilities such as port and
rail terminals. For instance, the retailing sector demands maximum accessibility, which is
often different from centrality offered in the CBD.
 Land use compatibility. Similar activities group together since proximity implies
improved interactions through the process of economies of agglomeration. Service
activities such as banks, insurance companies, shops and institutions are strongly
interacting with each other. This can be defined as centripetal forces between activities.
 Land use incompatibility. Some activities are repelling each-other such as high quality
residential and heavy industrial. This may be defined as centrifugal forces. This is one of
the main reasons why poorer neighborhoods tend to be located on the eastern side, at
least in industrial cities. Since in the northern hemisphere, prevailing winds tend to be
westerlies, so eastern sections of an industrial city tended to have a higher level of
exposure to industrial air pollution.
 Location suitability. Some activities cannot afford the rent of the optimal site for their
location. They are thus locating at cheaper places, which are not optimal, but suitable for
these activities.

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Source: adapted from H. Carter (1995) The Study of Urban Geography, Fourth Edition, London:
Arnold, p. 126 in Jean-Paul Rodrigue,2009
Figure 6.3 Sector and Nuclei Urban Land Use Representations

iii) Hybrid Land Use Representation

Since both the concentric, sectorial and zonal models had problems dealing with specific
conditions, hybrid representations of urban land uses were developed. They try to include the
strengths of each representation. One of the first to do so was W. Isard (1955). This model
illustrates that some urban land uses are oriented along major transport axis (sectors), while
others, notably industrial and commercial, are located in nuclei where they reach both scale and
agglomeration economies. The urban land use is thus an overlay of different transport effects, let
them be sectorial, zonal or nuclear.

Activity 6.3
For doing the activities undewr this section, read the three land use models
critically and then attempt it.
1. First read the above short note for this lesson. Moreover, findout
some other sources on similar issues and build you knowledge.
2. Form a small group after having individual reading
3. Discuss comparing Von Thune‟s Model, Burgess concentric model
and Sector and Nuclei models
4. Prepare a summary of report for class discussion

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6.4 Transportation / Land Use Modeling
6.4.1 The Lowry Model
What is the concepts of this model?
The Lowry model was one of the first transportation / land use model to be developed in 1964.
Even if its formulation is rather simple, it depicts well the relationships between transportation
and land use. Its premises were expended by several other models, known as "Lowry-type"
models.
The core assumption of the Lowry model
It assumes that regional and urban growth (or decline) is a function of the expansion (or
contraction) of the basic sector. Thus, the employment of a basic sector is in turn having impacts
on the employment of two other sectors-retail and residential.
Basic sector Employment:- Employment that meets non-local demand. It produces goods and
services, which are exported outside the urban area. It generates a centripetal flow of capital into
the city generating growth and surpluses. Most industrial sector employment is within this
category. It is generally assumed that this sector is less constrained by urban location problems
since the local market is not the main concern. This consideration is an exogenous element of
the Lowry model and must be given.
Retail sector Employment(non-basic sector):- This employment meets the local demand. It
does not export any finished goods and services and use the region as its main market area. It
accounts mostly for services such as retailing, food and construction. Since this sector strictly
serves the local / regional demand, location is an important concern. Employment levels are also
assumed to be linked with the local population. This consideration is an endogenous element of
the Lowry model.
Residential sector Employment:- The number of residents is related to to the number of basic
and retail jobs available. The choice of a residential area is also closely linked to the place of
work. This consideration is an endogenous element of the Lowry model.
Employment in the basic sector influences the spatial distribution of the population and of
service employment. This level of influence is related to transport costs, or the friction of
distance. The higher the friction of distance, the closer places of employment (basic and non-
basic) and residential areas are. Overall, the Lowry model has three assumptions:
 The residential sector, and thus urban land use, is a function of employment. This
function is calculated assuming multiplier effects of basic and non-basic employment.
Each job is thus linked to a number of people.

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  The total employment is a function of the employment in the basic sector. The retail
employment is thus the result of a multiplier effects on the basic sector.
 The location of the population is a function of the costs involved to go to their place of
work, a gravity-based friction of distance function.
Data Process Structure
The model aims to establish a representation of the residential structure, of employment and of
services in an urban area. With an exogenous spatial distribution of the basic sector
employment and a set of transport costs between zones, the model calculates total population
and employment by zone. It is composed of an economic sub-model and a spatial allocation sub-
model, which are subject to constraints.
 The first sub-model establishes the impacts of the basic employment over the non-basic
employment and over the population.
 The second sub-model establishes the distribution of the population in function of
attractivity and transport costs. This is done by a gravity-type spatial interaction model.
The two sub-models require a set of basic data and resolve the problem as follows:
1. The spatial distribution of basic employment is assumed as given.
2. The location of the basic workers is determined according to a location-probability
matrix, itself the result of a least friction of distance function.
3. Calculation of the residential sector per zone according to the population per worker
multiplier.
4. Calculation of the number of non-basic workers per zone to service the population. This
is the result of a non-basic worker per capita multiplier.
5. The location of non-basic workers is determined according to a location-probability
matrix.
6. Revision of the total population according to the population per worker multiplier.
7. Calculation of the total number of workers and the total population. This is the
summation of the basic and non-basic employment and of the basic and non-basic related
population.
8. The above processes (4 to 7) are repeated until a convergence is reached, that is an
optimization of the equation system of the model following a set of constrains such as
density.
The Lowry model has obviously complex and has several limitations. It is notably a static
model, which does not tell anything about the evolution of the transportation / land use system.

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Furthermore, current economic changes are in the service (non-basic) sectors, forming the
foundation of urban productivity and dynamics in many metropolitan areas. Under such
circumstances the model is likely to be inaccurate in the major service-oriented metropolitan
areas of today. A way to overcome this issue is to consider some non-basic service employment
as basic. The Lowry model does not consider movements of freight in urban areas, which are
very significant and have impacts on the friction of distance.

6.5 Telecommuting and Office Space

What is the realtion between Telecommuting and Transportation?

The emergence and diffusion of information and telecommunication technologies (ICT) have
several economic and social impacts, notably on functions related to information processing and
diffusion. It should be noted that ICT can offer a form of substitution for physical mobility.
Particularly, it can be expected that work-related movements can be mitigated through
telecommuting.
What is telecommuting then?
This concept may be difficult for you as it is new to you. The only thing you are requested is to
read the following short note.

Definition:-Telecommuting refers to using information and

telecommunication technologies to perform work at a location
away from the traditional office location and environment.

There are obviously various degrees of telecommuting ranging from a partial substitution where
a worker may spend one day per week performing work at another location, to a complete
substitution where the work is performed elsewhere. The later is much less likely as the great
majority of work tasks tend to be collaborative and require face-to-face meetings. Yet, with the
emergence of an information society, the transactional structures of the economy have changed
drastically towards a networked organizational form to which ICT support improved and more
intensive interactions. These interactions involve three major spheres:
 Personal:- ICT enables individuals to maintain contact through additional mediums (e.g.
email). This main lead to more interactions.
 Customer / Retailer:- Online retailing has opened a whole new array of commercial
opportunities as a complement or a substitution to conventional shopping. It does not
necessarily imply that there would be more consumption, but that a growing share of
retailing transactions take place online, resulting in parcels to be delivered.
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  Business to business:- The increasing scale and intensity of business transactions is
commonly linked with new efficiencies, particularly through supply chain management.

6.6 Telecommuting and Office Space

Location and larger building sizes have dominated retailing and offices since the Second World
War. Indeed, newer and larger stores overtook smaller rivals and established new distribution
structures based on mass retailing. The standard 2,000 square feet market of the 1950s, became
the 20,000 square feet supermarket in the 1960s and evolved into the 50,000 square feet
superstore of the 1990s. Following a similar trend, the small office of a company has become
several floors in a skyscraper located in downtown areas and in time the amount of space
devoted to administrative functions has increased significantly.
Competition and technological changes are forcing corporations to recognize real estate as an
undermanaged asset as occupancy cost is the second largest corporate expense after wages.
Telecommunications advances may lead to a change in the space needs of several corporations,
as more services can be performed with less office and branch space. Telecommuting workers
also tend to be more productive as they systematically spend more time working, mainly because
they are not spending that time commuting but also ICT makes them more available to perform
tasks.
Most corporations see telecommuting as a way to reduce costs, not necessarily to promote the
welfare of their office employees, even if they are doing both at the same time. The costs of
providing office space to employees is very high, far more than just the cost of leasing or
building the space and maintaining it. It also concerns for instance parking which tends to be
more expensive in high density areas often related with office activities
The impacts of telecommuting on office space and on the general urban environment can be
summarized by the following:
 The rapid proliferation of electronic communications, such as faxes, cellular phones,
intranets and teleconferencing, promotes the existence of telecommuting.
 Telecommuting is part of a paradigm where organizational structures are being
transformed for a hierarchy to a network of collaborators.
 Telecommuting is changing parts the retailing sector by rendering some location
structures obsolete and by minimizing inventory costs.
 Telecommuting helps lower office space requirements by decentralizing a set of tasks
to a low cost environment, such as the suburbs or at home. There are a corporate strategy
to improve the productivity of labor.
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 Telecommuting reduces the usage of the urban transport system because fewer trips
are generated and distances are shorter and may reduce congestion.
 Telecommuting improves the flexibility of office activities by offering a wider array of
locational choices.

Activity 6.4, 6.5, & 6.6

Reading first individually and then in groups is essential to perform the
following activities
1. Describe and discuss core assumption of the Lowry model
2. What realtions can be recognized between telecommuting and
transportation?
3. How can ICT support improved and more intensive interactions
between places? What are the major spheres of these interactions?
4. Discuss the impacts of telecommuting on office space and on the
general urban environment.

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Unit Seven: Economic and Spatial Structure of Transport
Systems
7.1 Introduction
Dear students! In unit, you will be made to be acquinted with the knowledge of economic and
spatial structure of transport systems. This is to make you learn the rerlatioship between
transport and economic development as transportation basically emerged to join far locations for
primarily economic integration.
Objectives
At the end this unit you will be able to:
 Discuss the economic impacts of transportation, the types of impacts and its economic benefits
 Define the concept of mobility
 Explain the relationship between transport and spatial organization considered from major
geographical scales-global, regional and local
 Explore the porpose of GIS in symbolization of transport

7.2 Transport and Economic Development

What Economic Importance does Transportation have for the society?
Dear students! Transport is a facilitoter of economic activity as it is a service by itself. Like
many economic activities that are intensive in infrastructures, the transport sector is an important
component of the economy impacting on development and the welfare of populations. When
transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that
result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment and
additional investments. When transport systems are deficient in terms of capacity or reliability,
they can have an economic cost such as reduced or missed opportunities. Transport also carries
an important social and environmental load, which cannot be neglected. Thus, from a general
standpoint the economic impacts of transportation can be direct and indirect:-

NB: - Direct impacts related to accessibility change where transport

enables larger markets and enables to save time and costs.
Indirect impacts related to the economic multiplier effects where the price
of commodities, goods or services drop and/or their variety increases.

Mobility is one of the most fundamental and important characteristics of economic activity as it
satisfies the basic need of going from one location to the other. This is a need shared by
passengers, freight and information. All economies and regions do not share the same level of
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mobility as most are in a different stage in their mobility transition. Economies that possess
greater mobility are often those with better opportunities to develop than those suffering from
scarce mobility. Reduced mobility impedes development while greater mobility is a catalyst for
development. Mobility is thus a reliable indicator of development.
Providing this mobility is an industry that offers services to its customers, employs people and
pays wages, invests capital and generates income.
Transportation links together the factors of production in a complex web of relationships
between producers and consumers. The outcome is commonly a more efficient division of
production by an exploitation of geographical comparative advantages, as well as the means to
develop economies of scale and scope. The productivity of space, capital and labor is thus
enhanced with the efficiency of distribution and personal mobility. It is acknowledged that
economic growth is increasingly linked with transport developments, namely infrastructures but
also managerial expertise is crucial for logistics.
How are Transportation and Economic Development related?
You might have attempted the above question. For more understanding, please read the
following elaboration on the question above.
Transportation developments that have taken place since the beginning of the industrial
revolution have been linked to growing economic opportunities. At each stage of human societal
development, a particular transport mode has been developed or adapted. However, throughout
history we shouldnot expect single transport that has been solely responsible for economic
growth. Instead, modes have been linked with the function and the geography in which growth
was taking place.
While some regions benefit from the development of transport systems, others are often
marginalized by a set of conditions in which inadequate transportation play a role. Transport by
itself is not a sufficient condition for development, however the lack of transport infrastructures
can been seen as a constraining factor on development. In developing countries, the lack of
transportation infrastructures and regulatory impediments are jointly impacting economic
development by conferring higher transport costs, but also delays rendering supply chain
management unreliable.
Dear students! It should be noted that an efficient transport system with modern infrastructures
favors many economic changes, most of them are positive. It provides market accessibility by
linking producers and consumers.

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 Now can you mention some Economic Benefits of Transportation?
There are a wide range of economic benefits conveyed by transportation systems, some direct
(income related) and some indirect (accessibility related), impacting transport supply and
demand and at the microeconomic (sector-wise) and macroeconomic (whole economy) levels.
The matter remains about what is the extent of the economic benefits for specific modes and
locations. Jean-Paul Rodrigue (1998) provides the following relationship between transport
development and economic growth.

Figure7.1 Relation between transport development and Economic growth

Source: Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009

Activity 7.2
Do the following activities in groups
1. How are transport and economic development related?
Discuss in groups ( refer Figure 7.1 for this purpose
2. Describe and discuss on the two impacts of transport on
economy

7.3 Transport and Spatial Organization

Transportation not only favors economic development but also has an impact on the spatial
organization. Throughout history, transport networks have structured space at different scales.
The fragmentation of production and consumption, the locational specificities of resources, labor
and markets generate a wide array of flows of people, goods and information. The structure of
these flows in terms of origin, destination and routing is closely related to spatial organization.
Space shapes transport as much as transport shapes space, which is a salient example of the
reciprocity of transport and its geography. This reciprocity can be articulated over two points:

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Reciprocity in location:- This relationship concerns the transport system itself. Since the
transport system is composed of nodes and links as well as the flows they are supporting, the
spatial organization of this system is a core defining component of the spatial structure. Even if
streets are not the city, they are shaping its organization in terms of locations and relations. The
same apply for maritime shipping networks, which are not international trade, but reflect the
spatial organization of the global economy.
Reciprocity in mobility:- This relationship concerns activities that are all dependent on
transportation at one level or another. Since every single activity is based on a level of mobility,
the relationship they have with transportation is reflected in their spatial organization. While a
small retail activity is conditioned by local accessibility from which it draws its customers, a
large manufacturing plant relies on accessibility to global freight distribution for its inputs as
well as its outputs.
The more interdependent an economy is, the more important transportation becomes as a support
and a factor shaping this interdependence. The relationship between transport and spatial
organization can be considered from three major geographical scales; the global, the regional
and the local, the last two are not covered here.
Let‟s see the features of Global Spatial Organization
At the global level, transportation supports and shapes economic specialization and productivity,
through international trade. Improvements in transport are expanding markets and development
opportunities, but not uniformly. The inequalities of the global economy are reflected in its
spatial organization and the structure of international transport systems. The patterns of
globalization have created a growth in spatial flows (trade) and increased interdependencies.
Telecommunications, maritime transport and air transport, because of their scale of service,
support the majority of global flows. The nature and spatial structure of these flows can be
considered from two major perspectives that seek to explain global differences in growth and
accessibility:
 Core / periphery:- This basic representation assumes that the global spatial organization
favors a few core areas that grow faster than the periphery. Differential growth creates acute
inequalities in levels of development. Transportation is thus perceived as a factor of polarization
and unequal development. From this perspective, parts of the global economy are gaining,
because they are more accessible, while other are marginalized and bound to dependency.
However, this trend can be reversed if international transport costs are significantly reduced.
This is evidenced by the substantial growth of many Pacific Asian countries that have opted for

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an export oriented strategy which requires good access to global freight distribution.
Consequently, the core / periphery relationship is flexible and relative.
 Poles:- Transportation is perceived as a factor of articulation in the global economy where the
circulation of passengers and freight is regulated by poles corresponding to a high level of
accumulation of transport infrastructures, distribution and economic activities. These poles are
subject to centrifugal and centripetal forces that have favored geographical concentration of
some activities and the dispersion of others. The global economy is thus based on the backbone
of freight distribution, which in turn relies on networks established to support its flows and on
nodes that are regulating the flows within networks. Networks, particularly those concerning
maritime shipping and air transportation, are flexible entities that change with flows of
commerce while nodes are locations fixed within their own regional geography.

7.4 Transport and Location

How do explain the importance of Transport in Location
In addition to being a factor of spatial organization, transportation is linked with the location of
socioeconomic activities, including retail, manufacturing and services. In a market economy,
location is the outcome of a constrained choice where many issues are being considered,
transportation being one of them. The goal is to find a suitable location that would maximize the
economic returns for this activity. There is a long tradition within economic geography in
developing location theories with a view to explain and predict the locational logic of economic
activities by incorporating market, institutional and behavioral considerations. The majority of
location theories have an explicit or implicit role attributed to transport. As there are no absolute
rules dictating locational choices, the importance of transport can only be evaluated with varying
degrees of accuracy.
Globalization has been associated with significant changes in business operations and markets.
Managing operations in such an environment has become increasingly complex, especially with
the territorial extension of production and consumption. Manufacturing strategies tend to use
different locations for each component of a product in order to optimize respective comparative
advantages. Transport requirements have proportionally increased as well in order to organize
the related flows. The requirement of faster long distance transport services has propelled the
importance of air transport, especially for freight. Air terminals have thus become a significant
location factor for globally oriented activities, which tend to agglomerate in the vicinity.
Additionally, the surge in long distance trade has made logistical functions, namely transport
terminals and distribution centers, at the forefront of locational considerations. Technological
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changes have also been linked with the relocation of industrial and even service activities.
Global telecommunication facilities can favor the outsourcing of several services to lower cost
locations, such as the case of call centers in India indicates.
Do think there is relationship between Accessibility and Location?
Dear students! Since accessibility is dominantly the outcome of transportation activities, namely
the capacity of infrastructures to support mobility, it presents the most significant influence of
transportation on location. Hence, it appears that location (accessibility) and economic activities
are intimately linked. Accessibility plays an important role by offering more customers through
an expanded market area, by making distribution more efficient (in terms of costs and time), or
by enabling more people to reach workplaces. While some transport systems have favored the
dispersion of socioeconomic activities (e.g. automobiles and suburbanization), others have
favored their concentration (e.g. container terminals). All systems are bearers of spatial
specialization and configuration. Among the main configuration forces are:

7.5 Symbolization of Transport Features in a GIS

Dear students! Let‟s first define the the two concepts: cartography and sysmbolization for
discussing their uses in GIS.
What is Cartography? and what is Symbolization?

Definition: - Cartography is the art and science of expressing

graphically the physical, economic and social features of the earth.
Cartography is therefore, a communication tool that conveys a
message to a public through a medium- known as the map.

Since many transport projects have a high visibility and significant capital costs, it is surprising
that the usage of visual resources, particularly of cartography, is often neglected or not used
properly. The cartographic quality of many transport analyses is commonly poor. This stems
from the fact that many transport practitioners are engineers or economists by training,
disciplines in which cartographic expression is not emphasized or even considered. Among
transport geographers using GIS-T (Geographic Information Systems for Transportation), the
cartographic output is also commonly neglected, again an outcome of the priority placed on
analytical methods. Even if cartography does not appear to be a feature which is analytically
strong (in contradiction to the GIS packages that produce them), proper cartographic expression
has become of crucial element of transportation research.

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Maps are using visual communication tools, thus implying that cartography is at the same time
an art and a technique. It is an art since it is a visual expression; every map is to some extent a
form of art that seeks to esthetically please its audience. Considering maps as an artistic
expression is often seen with a level of suspicion among practitioners. It is often perceived that
the quality of the container is inversely proportional to the quality of the content. Cartography is
also a technique since it abides to a set of rules and methods pertaining to the visual symbols it
uses; their placement, the choice of colors and their size for instance. Cartography is a process of
abstraction, also referred as symbolization, which uses a set of defined graphical elements to
communicate a message.

Definition:-Symbolization is the set of graphic methods used to

convert cartographic information into a visual representation.

Symbolization therefore, implies that the features on a map to be generalized and simplified
since not all possible elements are relevant to the message a map conveys. It helps the message
to be easier to understand. For instance, a map depicting an highway system often ignores all the
roads of lesser importance, thus underlining the feature it seeks to emphasize.
With the maturation of GIS in recent years, the generation of maps has become a simpler and
straightforward process. Graphic design capabilities, which were found lacking in earlier
packages, are more extensive. GIS enable to produce maps at a very low cost and in large
quantities. In addition, more information is available from a variety sources, particularly in
numerical format.
The rapid development and diffusion of GIS and the improvement in computerized visualization
techniques offers transport practitioners many opportunities to improve the visual quality of their
work. This begins with the usage of visual resources, mainly two basic ones:-
1) Color resources:- This considers the texture and intensity of colors. The texture is the
variety of patterns that can be used to fill a shape, such as hatches, cross-hatches or dot density.
The intensity is the relative saturation of a color, on a scale from bright to dull. Color resources
are particularly useful for category ranges.
2) Shape resources:- Considers the wide variety of geometric figures available. In a vector-
based GIS, shapes are mainly represented as points, lines and polygons. These shapes can be
modified in terms of their nature, size and orientation.

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Raster information, since it is grid-based, can only modified through its color intensity. For
cartographic purposes, visual resources can be used to represent location, direction, distance,
movement, function, process, and correlation.

Activity 7.4 & 7.5

The following activities are designed to be performed for sections 7.4. & 7.5
1. Discuss the concept of Reciprocity in location and Reciprocity in mobility
2. What is the concept and importance of the following in transport:
2.1. Core / periphery
2.2. Poles
3. What is meant by symbolization of transport features in a GIS/ Discuss!
4. Discuss the visual resources that GIS can produce in transport system
symbolization

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Unit Eight: Transport and Environment
8.1 Introduction
This unit is designed to acquint yo with the relationship between transport and environment.
This is because technological developments experienced so far have been resulting into
environmental degradation and pollution. This environment can be both physical and social
envirobnment. Thus, you need to be awre of such relations that can exist between transport
and the environment.

Unit Objective
At the end of this unit students will be able to:
 Discuss the relationship between transport and environment
 Elaborate the impact of transport on environment through different modes of transportation
 Explain the concept of Green logistics in transportation process

8.2 The Issue of Transport and the Environment

Dear students! The issue of transportation and the environment is paradoxical in nature. From
one side, transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and
freight, and this ranging from urban areas to international trade. On the other side, transport
activities have resulted in growing levels of motorization and congestion. As a result, the
transportation sector is becoming increasingly linked to environmental problems. With a
technology relying heavily on the combustion of hydrocarbons, the impacts of transportation
over environmental systems has increased with motorization. This has reached a point where
transportation activities are a dominant factor behind the emission of most pollutants and thus
their impacts on the environment. These impacts, like all environmental impacts, can fall within
three categories. These are:
Direct impacts:- The immediate consequence of transport activities on the environment where
the cause and effect relationship is generally clear and well understood.
Indirect impacts:- The secondary or tertiary effects of transport activities on environmental
systems. They are often of higher consequence than direct impacts, but the involved
relationships are often misunderstood and difficult to establish.
Cumulative impacts:- The additive or multiplicative consequences of transport activities. They
take into account of the varied effects of direct and indirect impacts on an ecosystem, which are
often unpredicted.

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The complexities of the problems have led to much controversy in environmental policy and in
the role of transportation. The transportation sector is often subsidized by the public sector,
especially through the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure which tend to be free
of access. Sometimes, public stakes in transport modes, terminals and infrastructure can be at
odd with environmental issues.
Total costs incurred by transportation activities, notably environmental damage, are generally
not fully assumed by the users. The lack of consideration of the real costs of transportation could
explain several environmental problems.
Dear students! You can say that the relationships between transport and the environment are
multidimensional. Some aspects are unknown and some new findings may lead to drastic
changes in environmental policies, as it did in regards of acid rain and chlorofluorocarbons in the
1970s and 1980s. The 1990s were characterized by a realization of global environmental issues,
espetially its effect on environmental and mainly climate change. Transportation also became an
important dimension of the concept of sustainability, which is expected to become the prime
focus of transport activities in the coming decades, ranging from vehicle emissions to green
supply chain management practices.
The main environmental dimensions of transportation are related to the causes, the activities, the
outputs and the results of transport systems. Establishing linkages between these dimensions is
a difficult undertaking. For instance, to what extent carbon monoxide emissions are linked to
land use patterns? Furthermore, transportation is imbedded in environmental cycles, notably over
the carbon cycle. The relationships between transport and the environment are also complicated
by two observations. These are:
 First, transport activities contribute among other anthropogenic and natural causes,
directly, indirectly and cumulatively to environmental problems. In some cases, they
may be a dominant factor, while in others their role is marginal and difficult to establish.
 Second, transport activities contribute at different geographical scales to environmental
problems, ranging from local (noise and CO emissions) to global (climate change), not
forgetting continental / national / regional problems (smog and acid rain).
Establishing environmental policies for transportation thus have to take account of the level of
contribution and the geographical scale, otherwise some policies may just move the problems
elsewhere and have unintended consequences.
Transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and freight, notably
in urban areas. But transport activities have resulted in growing levels of motorization and

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congestion. As a result, the transportation sector is becoming increasingly linked to
environmental problems. The most important impacts of transport on the environment relate to
climate change, air quality, noise, water quality, soil quality, biodiversity and land take.

Activity 8.1
After having read the above lesson, discuss on the issues that are
arising because of transport development and the environment.

8.3 Transportation and Energy

How transportation does relate with Energy?
Human activities are closely dependent on the usage of several forms and sources of energy to
perform work. Energy is the potential that allows movement and/or the modification of matter
(e.g. making steel by combining iron and carbon). Thus, the more energy consumed the greater
the amount of work realized and it comes as no surprise that economic development is correlated
with greater levels of energy consumption.
There are enormous reserves of energy able to meet the future needs of mankind. Unfortunately,
one of the main contemporary issues is that many of these reserves cannot be exploited at
reasonable costs, such as solar energy, or are unevenly distributed around the world, such as oil.
Industrial development places enormous demands on fossil fuels. At the turn of the 20th century,
the invention and commercial development of the internal combustion engine, notably in
transport equipment, made possible the efficient movement of people, freight and information
and stimulated the development of the global trade network. With globalization, transportation is
accounting for a growing share of the total amount of energy spent for implementing, operating
and maintaining the international range and scope of human activities. Energy consumption has a
strong correlation with the level of development. Among developed countries, transportation
now accounts between 20% and 25% of the total energy being consumed. The benefits conferred
by additional mobility, notably in terms of a better exploitation of comparative advantages, have
so far compensated the growing amount of energy spent to support it.
What is then the relationship between Transportation and Energy Consumption?
The relationship between transport and energy is a direct one, but subject to different
interpretations since it concerns different transport modes, each having a specific performance
level. There is often a compromise between speed and energy consumption, related to the desired
economic returns. Passengers and high value goods can be transported by rapid but energy
intensive modes since the time component of their mobility tends to have a high value, which
conveys the willingness to use more energy. Economies of scale, mainly those achieved by
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maritime transportation are linked to low levels of energy consumption per unit of mass being
transported, but at a lower speed. This fits relatively well the freight transport, particularly bulk.
Comparatively, air freight has high energy consumption levels linked to high speed services.
The impacts of transport on energy consumption are diverse, including many that are necessary
for the provision of transport facilities:
 Vehicle manufacture, maintenance and disposal:- The energy spent for manufacturing
and recycling vehicles is a direct function of vehicle complexity, material used, fleet size
and vehicle life cycle.
 Vehicle operation:- Mainly involves energy used to provide momentum to vehicles,
namely as fuels, as well as for intermodal operations. The fuel markets for transportation
activities are significant.
 Infrastructure construction and maintenance:- The building of roads, railways,
bridges, tunnels, terminals, ports and airports and the provision of lighting and signaling
equipment require a substantial amount or energy. They have a direct relationship with
vehicle operations since extensive networks are associated with large amounts of traffic.
 Administration of transport business:- The expenses involved in planning, developing
and managing transport infrastructures and operations involves time, capital and skill that
must be included in the total energy consumed by the transport sector.
 Energy production and trade:- The processes of exploring, extracting, refining and
distributing fuels or generating and transmitting energy also require power sources. The
transformation of 100 units of primary energy in the form of crude oil produces only 85
units of energy in the form of gasoline. Any changes in transport energy demands
influence the pattern and flows of world‟s energy market.
Energy consumption has strong modal variations. For example:
Land transportation accounts for the great majority of energy consumption. For instance, Road
transportation alone is consuming on average 85% of the total energy used by the transport
sector in developed countries and Rail transport accounts for 6% of global transport energy
demand.
Maritime transportation accounts for 90% of cross-border world trade as measured by volume.
The nature of water transport and its economies of scale make it the most energy efficient mode
since it uses only 7% of all the energy consumed by transport activities, a figure below its
contribution to the mobility of goods.

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Air transportation plays an integral part in the globalization of transportation networks. The
aviation industry accounts for 8% of the energy consumed by transportation. Air transport has
high energy consumption levels, linked to high speeds.
Further distinctions in the energy consumption of transport can be made between passenger and
freight movement. This is given as follows:
Passenger transportation accounts for 60 to 70% of energy consumption from transportation
activities.
Freight transportation is dominated by rail and maritime shipping, the two most energy
efficient modes. Coastal and inland waterways also provide an energy efficient method of
transporting passengers and cargoes..
Can describe alterative Fuels for Transportation?
Alternative fuels in the form of non-crude oil resources are drawing considerable attention as a
result of shrinking oil reserves, increasing petroleum costs and the need to reduce emissions of
harmful pollutants. The most prevalent alternatives being considered are:
Biogas such as ethanol, methanol and biodiesel can be produced from the fermentation of food
crops (sugar cane, corn, cereals, etc) or wood-waste. The choice of biomass fuel will largely
depend on the sustainability and energy efficiency of the production process.
Hydrogen is often mentioned as the energy source of the future. The steps in using hydrogen as
a transportation fuel consist in: 1) producing hydrogen by electrolysis of water or by extracting it
from hydrocarbons; 2) compressing or converting hydrogen into liquid form; 3) storing it on-
board a vehicle; and 4) using fuel cell to generate electricity on demand from the hydrogen to
propel a motor vehicle. Hydrogen fuel cells are two times more efficient than gasoline and
generate near-zero pollutants.
Electricity is being considered as an alternative to petroleum fuels as an energy source. A pure
battery electric vehicle is considered a more efficient alternative to hydrogen fuel propelled
vehicle as there is no need to convert energy into electricity since the electricity stored in the
battery can power the electric motor. Besides an all electric car is easier and cheaper to produce
than a comparable fuel-cell vehicle.
Hybrid vehicles consisting of propulsion system using an internal combustion engine
supplemented by an electric motor and batteries, which provides opportunities combining the
efficiency of electricity with the long driving range of an internal combustion engine. A hybrid
vehicle still uses liquid fuel as the main source of energy but the engine provides the power to
drive the vehicle or is used to charge the battery via a generator. Alternatively, the propulsion

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can be provided by the electricity generated by the battery. When the battery is discharged, the
engine starts automatically without intervention from the driver. The generator can also be fed
by using the braking energy to recharge the battery. Such a propulsion design greatly contributes
to overall fuel efficiency.
The costs of alternative energy sources to fossil fuels are higher in the transportation sector than
in other types of economic activities. This suggests higher competitive advantages for the
industrial, household, commercial, electricity and heat sectors to shift away from oil and to rely
on solar, wind or hydro-power. Transportation fuels based on renewable energy sources might
not be competitive with petroleum fuels unless future price increase is affected by different fuel
taxes based on environmental impacts.

Activity 8.2
Group discussion
What are the issues related to energy consumption by transport modes and
environment? Do it in groups

8.4 Transportation Pollutants and Environmental Externalities

What are the environmental externalities?
These might be difficult for you to explain easily as it is seemingly new concept. Don‟t worry.

Definition: - Externalities are an economic concept that refers to

activities of a group that have unintended consequences, positive or
negative, on other groups and most importantly that those
consequences, particularly if they are negative, are not assumed by
those causing them.

They are therefore "externalized". A common example of a positive externality concerns

technology since it obviously benefits the innovative firm but also the whole economy through
various productivity improvements. Negative externalities have a lot of relevance over
environmental issues, since many of the negative consequences of pollution are assumed by the
whole society.
For the environmental externalities of transportation they include the consideration of physical
measures of environmental damage and the evaluation of involved costs for the society.
Knowing the sources of environmental externalities is a relatively easy undertaking, while the
evaluation of damage and other costs has not yet reached comparative standards among
governmental and non-governmental agencies.

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The costs of environmental externalities can be considered from economic, social and
environmental dimensions. The basic types of transportation externalities attributed to the
environment fall within air pollution, water pollution, noise, and hazardous materials.
How do we assess environmental externalities?
For example, air pollution is the most important source of environmental externalities for
transportation. Although the nature of air pollutants is clearly identified, the scale and scope on
how they influence the biosphere are subject to much controversy. Air pollution costs are
probably the most extensive of all environmental externalities of transportation, mainly because
the atmosphere enables a fast and widespread diffusion of pollutants.
Thus, transportation has a wide array of environmental externalities, some of which can be
reasonably assessed while others are mostly speculation (often taken as facts by environmentalist
groups). Externalities are also occurring at different geographical scales, and some may even
overlap over several. The bottom line is that better transport practices, such a fuel efficient
vehicles, that reduce environmental externalities are likely to have positive economic, social and
environmental consequences. The matter remains about which strategy is the most beneficial as
in all environmental matters.

8.5 Transportation, Land Use and the Environment

Dear students! This section attempts to explore the different land-use patterns of transport and its
relation with the environment.
The structure of urban land use has an important impact over transport demand and over the
capacity of transportation systems to answer such needs. This involves three dimensions, which
influence the environmental impacts of transportation and land use. These are:
Spatial form:- Refers to the spatial arrangement of a city, particularly in terms of the orientation
of its main axis of circulation. This form thus conveys a general structure to urban transportation
ranging from centralized to distributed. The prevailing influence has been expansion and
motorization.
Spatial pattern:- Refers to the organization of the land use in terms of location of major socio-
economic functions such as residence, commercial and industrial. The prevailing trend has been
a growing disconnection and fragmentation between land uses. Also, different types of land use
can be incompatible with their adjacency the source of additional externalities. For instance,
residential land use is incompatible to the majority of industrial, manufacturing and warehousing
activities as they generate noise and congestion externalities to which residents are highly
susceptible.
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Spatial interaction:- Refers to the nature and the structure of movements generated by urban
land uses. The prevailing trend has been a growth in urban interactions in terms of their volume,
complexity and average distance.

Activity 8.4
Poits for Discussion
1. What do you understand by Transportation Pollutants and Environmental
Externalities
2. Mention and discuss the three dimensions, which influence the environmental
impacts of transportation and land use.

8.6 Air Pollutants Emitted by Transport Systems

Air pollution and its externalities can be immediately felt at the local and regional levels as a
geographical dimension of it. The higher the level of concentration of transport activities, the
higher their environmental impacts are being felt by the local community. This is particularly the
case for large transport terminals, such as ports, rail yards and airports. A salient example is
Hong Kong, one of the world's most important container port. The container terminals are
centrally located with with an acute concentration of large ships and tens of thousands of truck
movements per day. Many pollutants identified as being closely related to transportation include:
Carbon Monoxide CO
 Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas, the result of the incomplete combustion
of hydrocarbons.
 Transportation accounts for 70 to 90% of total carbon monoxide emissions. It is thus the
air pollutant the most strongly associated with transportation. Carbon monoxide is often
present near major traffic intensive arterials, notably in urban areas. Carbon monoxide is
a poisonous gas.
 When inhaled, it combines with hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin, preventing
absorption of oxygen and resulting in asphyxiation. 0.5% of carbon monoxide in air may
prove fatal in less than half an hour by transforming over 50% of the hemoglobin in
carboxyhemoglobin. Lower concentrations of carbon monoxide may cause poisoning
symptoms and affect people with heart, lung and circulatory system weaknesses. It also
effects the respiration of plants by inhibiting photosynthesis.
 Since carbon monoxide is not chemically very stable, direct global effects are strongly
limited (probably non existent). Indirectly, carbon monoxide contributes to the formation
of greenhouse gazes as a catalyst.
Nitrogen Oxides NOx
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  Nitrogen oxide (NO or NO2) is a brown, odorless gas. A by-product of combustion when
energy is used to oxide nitrogen instead of an hydrocarbon.
 Transportation accounts from 45 to 50% of total emissions of nitrogen oxides. Other
sources are chemicals (notably nitrates) industrial production and combustion of fossil
fuels in thermal power plants.
 Nitrogen oxides are not very harmful to humans (particularly NO), but when released
from an internal combustion engine, high concentrations are often toxic. It irritates and
infects the respiratory system and the eyes. Some decreases in the ability to resist
bacterial infection were also observed when the subject is exposed to significant
concentrations of nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen oxides are known to prevent the growth of
crops and thus reduce agricultural yields.
 Nitrogen oxides are known to be associated with several global effects and have
increased at a rate of 0.2% annually over the last decades. They are a catalyst for ozone, a
component of acid rain and a component of smog. Depositions of nitrogen oxides
influence the nitrate cycle, particularly in water where it influences algae blooms.
Hydrocarbons and Volatile Organic Compounds - (HC/VOC)
 Hydrocarbons (HC) are a group of chemical compound composed of carbon and
hydrogen. When in a gaseous form, HC are called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC).
Several HC and VOC are heavy gazes or volatile compounds with a strong odor. They
are mostly the result of the incomplete combustion of gasoline or by-products of the
petrochemical industry. They include methane (CH4), gasoline (C8H18) and diesel vapors,
benzene (C6H6), formaldehyde (CH2O), butadiene (C4H6) and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO).
 Transportation accounts from 40 to 50% of total emissions of HC/VOC. They can be
emitted by incomplete combustion (70%), during refueling (10%) or by evaporation from
storage units (20%), particularly gas tanks. For instance, a car parked overnight during
summer emits approximately 4 grams of HC/VOC. Other important sources are
petrochemical (plastics and solvent) industries.
 All HC/VOC are carcinogen (cases of leukemia linked with benzene) to some extent,
fatal at high concentrations, harmful to crops and accumulates within the food chain
(poisoning). However, heavy hydrocarbons (like benzene) are far more carcinogen than
light hydrocarbons (like methane).
 All HC/VOC have several global effects. They are components of smog, catalysts for
ozone and components of acid rain.

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Particulates
 Particulates include various solids in suspension in the atmosphere such as smoke, soot,
and dust and results of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, notably coal. They may
also carry traces of other toxic substances like HC/VOC.
 Transportation accounts for around 25% of total emissions of particulates. Diesel
engines are the main emitters. Other important sources are thermal power plants using
coal.
 Particulates are carcinogen. They are also harmful to lungs tissue and worsen respiratory
and cardiovascular problems, notably if their size is smaller than 5 microns. Particulates
depositions may alter the aesthetic of structures.
 The accumulation of particulates in the atmosphere and deposition on leafs may reduce
photosynthesis and plant growth.
Smog
 Mixture of solid and liquid fog and smoke particles formed through the accumulation of
carbon monoxide, ozone, HC/VOC, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, water, particulates, and
other chemical pollutants. Photochemical smog are those with a higher concentration of
ozone and HC/VOC.
 Smog is strongly linked with transportation and industrial activities, notably in urban
areas. Smog is particularly dense during a thermal inversion (static regional air masses
that enable the accumulation of pollutants).
 The effects of smog are the conjunction of those of its major components (see the effects
of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, HC/VOC, particulates and ozone).
Based upon historical observations (like London in the 50s), the number of deaths among
susceptible persons (respiratory and cardiovascular problems) grows sharply during
thermal inversions.
 Several large cities (like Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mexico) have serious smog problems
to the point that emissions reduction policies are established. Smog impairs visibility
considerably and causes different annoyances (odors, irritations, etc.). Because of its
components, smog is highly associated with acid rains and greenhouse effects.
Lead (Pb)
 Lead is a toxic metal mainly used as an anti-knock agent in gasoline (Lead tetraethyl -
Pb(C2H5)4) and in batteries (lead dioxide as an anode and lead as a cathode).

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  Until recently, lead tetraethyl was a main source of atmospheric lead emissions in
developing countries. This contribution has dropped in absolute numbers but still
accounts for 30 to 40% of total emissions. Batteries are now an important source of lead
for transportation, but a very limited amount of this lead is carried through the
atmosphere (see water pollution).
 Extremely poisonous metal. Lead has effects on the metabolism and accumulates in
living tissues. May causes anemia, and mental retardation for young children. For
instance, an extremely high occurrence of mental retardation in some parts of Mexico
city was directly linked with lead poisoning. Small doses may cause behavioral changes.
 Lead is fixed by plants and animals and re-contaminate the food chain. It has a high
potential to accumulate in the environment. Lead can also be transported in the
atmosphere over wide distances.
Odors
 Odors are the subjective perception of the sense of smell. They exists different "shapes"
of odors perceived as pleasant, neutral, or unpleasant. A long run exposition to specific
odors will attenuate their perception.
 Diesel and gasoline engines are the major sources of odors accounted by
transportation. Odors are particularly prevalent during smog conditions. Odors are at
worst an annoyance, but they are linked with the presence of harmful air pollutants like
sulfur dioxide, ozone and HC/VOC. People tend to stay or move away from areas having
a significant prevalence of odors.
Moreover the following are such pollutants which have depicted global impact in addition to
local and regional impacts, and their scope is more global.
Carbon Dioxide CO2
 Carbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that composes 0.04% of the atmosphere.
Whenever there is combustion (oxidation) of fossil fuels, there is an emission of carbon
dioxide. Important temperature regulator for the atmosphere, keeping it a +15oC instead
of -15oC if carbon dioxide was absent.
 Transportation accounts for around 30% of total carbon dioxide emissions in
developed countries (15% worldwide).
 About 66% of carbon dioxide emissions from transportation come from the combustion
of gasoline, 16% from diesel fuel and 15% from jet fuel. Carbon dioxide emissions by
transportation have the following modal breakdown: cars (43%), light trucks (20%),

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 heavy trucks (14%), airplanes (14%), rail and marine (7%) and non-oil based (2%). Other
significant natural sources are volcanic eruptions and the metabolic respiration of living
organisms (including decomposition).
 Carbon dioxide is a harmless gas and an essential element of photosynthesis. Although
limited concentrations of carbon dioxide have no effects on human beings, high
concentrations (5000 ppm) may be harmful by causing breathing disorders. Growing
quantities of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are assumed to be linked with the
greenhouse effect.
Sulfur Dioxide SO2
 Sulfur dioxide is a heavy, colorless gas with a strong odour. It is the result of the
combustion of fossil fuels like coal (particularly bituminous coal) and hydrocarbons.
 Transportation accounts for around 5% of total sulfur dioxide emissions. Although
transportation is a minor source of SO2, related activities like steel and petrochemical
industries are important emitters. One of the most important artificial source are thermal
power plants using low quality coal. Volcanic eruptions are an important natural source
of sulfur dioxide.
 Sulfur dioxide causes and worsens respiratory and cardiovascular problems. In sufficient
concentration, it irritates the eyes and causes discomfort (odor). Sulfur is an essential
nutrient for plants but sulfur dioxide is regarded as an inhibitor of physiological activity.
Most affected plants are those having a high physiological activity like crops and
commercial timber forests.
 A major component favoring the genesis of acid rain. Sulfur dioxide has a counter effect
on greenhouse gases by blocking radiation. This effect is significant enough to be
included in climatic models.
Ozone
 Ozone is a pale blue gas with a strong odor and a powerful oxidant. It is the most
common photochemical oxidant. Ozone is created naturally in the high atmosphere when
an oxygen molecule is broken apart by ultraviolet radiation and combines with another
oxygen molecule.
 Ozone is also the result of the action of light over a mixture of HC/VOC and nitrogen
oxides in the lower atmosphere. It is thus directly linked with transport emissions,
notably in urban areas.

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  Ozone is poisonous, hampers breathing and irritates the eyes and the respiratory system
at concentrations higher than 0.15 ppm. The normal/natural concentration is around 0.01
ppm at ground levels. It degrades structures (metal and concrete) through oxidation. It
damages crops and vegetation and leads to losses of leafs. Depending on the crops and
the concentration involved, ozone may reduce yields from 1 to 20%. Ozone impairs
visibility.
 Ozone is essential in the upper atmosphere, as it absorbs light in the ultraviolet band. A
drop of 5% in the concentration of ozone may lead to an increase of 10% of skin cancer
and eye cataracts.
Acid Rain and Acid Depositions (Sulfuric and Nitric Acid - H2SO4, HNO3)
 Sulfuric acid is a corrosive, oily colorless liquid, which forms when sulfur oxides and
water vapors are mixed. Nitric acid is a corrosive and colorless liquid and forms when
nitrogen oxides and water vapor are mixed. The level of formation of acid (sulfuric and
nitric) is influenced by the level of exposition to sun light. It may also exists in dry form,
which is called acid deposition. When dissolved in water, sulfuric and nitric acids lower
the pH (higher concentrations of hydrogen ions). The standard pH of fresh water ranges
between 6.5 and 7.5.
 Since transportation accounts for 5% of sulfur dioxide emissions, 45% of nitrogen
oxides emissions and for 40% of HC/HOV emissions, sources may range from 10 to
30% of acid rains, depending on regions. This figure is of 25% in Western Europe.
 Sufficient concentrations of sulfuric of nitric acids are known to damage artificial
structures, thus historical monuments are particularly vulnerable. When inhaled as a mist,
may cause respiratory organs irritation.
 Change the chemical composition of soils by breaking down complex organic matter in
simpler elements. At a small scale, this is beneficial, but at a large scale, it reduces the
available biomass. By altering the pH of fresh water, acid rains gradually destroy life in
lake and rivers.
 Sulfuric and nitric acids are carried over large distances through weather systems. It later
falls down either as rain or fog. Acid rain and acid depositions are known to alter the
ecological balance of continental ecosystems, notably in industrialized areas.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

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  CFCs are colorless and poisonless gases (or liquids). They are very stable, non-
flammable and non-toxic components and they have been widely used as dispersing
agents (aerosols) or as refrigerants (notably Freon, R-12).
 For transportation, motor vehicle air-conditioning systems are the main source and
account for about 20% of all CFCs emissions. In fact, during its life cycle, an air-
conditioning system will release 100% of its CFCs in the atmosphere. With recent
legislations, CFCs emissions have considerably subsided in developed countries but not
in developing countries.
 Because of its chemical properties (stable and non-toxic), CFCs have no noticed effects
on living organisms.
 Current concentrations of CFCs in the atmosphere reach about 0.35 ppm (all types of
CFCs) but the most widely used type, R12, has 20,000 times more infrared absorbency
than carbon dioxide. Thus one ton of Freon will have the same greenhouse effect than
2,000 tons of carbon dioxide. CFCs reduce the concentration of stratospheric ozone,
which absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays. CFCs may stay in the atmosphere from 70 to 200
years, due to their extremely stable properties. They are a long term component of the
atmosphere. CFCs emitted in the 1990s are likely to damage the ozone layer for 200
years.
 Indirect effects of CFCs (increase in ultraviolet rays exposition) include growths in the
incidence of skin cancer, eye cataracts, damage to crops and plants, deficiencies of the
immune system and increase of ozone at ground levels (through photochemical smog).
Even though transportation contributes significantly to the emission of air pollutants new
technologies (catalytic converters) and policies have reduced emissions significantly, notably in
the United States.

Activity 8.5
Discuss on the types and extent of air pollutants
because of transport development

8.7 Water Pollutants Emitted by Transport Systems

Dear students, transportation has considerable impact on the water bodies through different
ways. Jean-Paul Rodrigue(1998) identified the following impacts of transport as a result of
pollutants of water emitted from transport systems:

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8.7.1 Modal Impacts
Transportation contributes significantly to the pollution of the hydrosphere in various ways
ranging from air pollution fallouts to the construction and maintenance of infrastructure such as
roads, railways and ports. The first type of impacts are related to the transport modes. These are
given below:
a) Air Pollution Fallouts
Fallouts occur when a pollutant goes from an airborne state (gas, solid or liquid) towards a solute
or colloidal state. Water is a very good solvent for several pollutants, notably acid depositions.
Fallouts are accelerated and concentrated in an area by rainy conditions.
As an important source of air pollution, transportation accounts on a similar scale for fallouts. In
some areas transportation may account for up to 25% of nitrogen fallouts in water. It is estimated
that acid rains may account for more than 75% of the growth of acidity of lakes.
Since fallouts are a continuous accumulation and occur over a longer period than most water
pollution sources, they have a higher impact on still-water (lentic) environments than running-
water (lotic). The most notable and destructive fallouts are sulfuric and nitric acids that may alter
the pH of water if they are present in sufficient concentrations. Several northeastern United
States and eastern Canadian lakes have seen their entire fish population destroyed as a result of
increased acidity levels. It also includes damage to forests like reduced photosynthesis (sparse
foliage) and acidified soils (limited nutrients). Nitrous oxides may affect the ecological balance
of marine life by favoring algae blooms. A long term accumulation of air pollution fallouts of
various nature will contaminate and disrupt whole aquatic ecosystems.
b) Marine Vessels Discharges and Spills
After unloading their bulk loads like oil, coal, nitrates and mineral products, marine vessels
require cleaning. Since this practice is restricted in several port and coastal areas, operators wait
until they are in international waters to proceed. Oil products residuals carried by tankers are the
major source for discharges.
It is estimated that for every million tons of oil carried, one ton is spilled through washouts.
Once a spill has occurred, it is extremely difficult to contain it. From 1989 to 1992, 105
accidental oil spills by tankers were accounted worldwide, totaling 991,000 tons of oil being
spilled. Annually, an average of 1.1 million tons of oil comes from discharges and 400,000 tons
are spilled. They depend on the nature of the residue discharged.
c) Petroleum products

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These are the most harmful and include environmental effects like the destruction or disruption
of aquatic plant or animal life and off shore ecosystems. Since most marine life is in neritic
(continental shelf) and epipelagic (less then 100 meters) zones, it is particularly vulnerable to
marine vessels discharges.

8.7.2 Infrastructure Impacts

The second type of impact involves construction and maintenance of Infrastructures. Several
transportation infrastructures have important ecological impacts. When a transportation
infrastructure is built over a hydrological environment like a river, wetland or a coastal area,
disruption occurs. The maintenance of transportation infrastructure, particularly harbor and
waterways, have also a significant impact. Each mode needs a specific set of infrastructure that
interfere with hydric systems.

8.8 Noise Pollution Emitted by Transportation Systems

What are the sources of noise pollution in relation to transport system?
Dear students! This question may be easy for you to answer. However, read the following in
order to build your knowledge more. Jean-Paul Rodrigue (1998) discusses the following sources
of noise pollution:
1. Road Transportation Noise:- Road accounts for approximately 70% of total noise emissions
by transportation. It must be noted that different road transportation modes have different scales
of noise emissions.
2. Rail Transportation Noise:- Rail accounts for 10% of total noise emissions by
transportation.
3. Air Transportation Noise:- Air transportation accounts for 20% of total noise emissions by
transportation. As air transportation took a growing importance in inter-city transportation and
that jet engines were predominantly used, noise emissions have increased significantly to the
point of becoming a major concern near airports.

8.9 Green Logistics

What are logistics? What is greenness of these logistics?
Note the following definition after attempting the question above.

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 Definition: - Logistics are at the heart of the operation of modern transport
systems and implies a degree of organization and control over freight movements
that only modern technology could have brought into being. It has become one of
the most important developments in the transportation industry. Greenness has
become a code word for a range of environmental concerns, and is usually
considered positively. It is employed to suggest compatibility with the
environment, and thus, like logistics is something that is perceived as beneficial.
When put together the two words suggest an environmentally friendly and
efficient transport and distribution system (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2009).

Therefore, Green Logistics supply chain management practices and strategies that reduce the
environmental and energy footprint of freight distribution. It focuses on material handling, waste
management, packaging and transport.
In common with many other areas of human endeavor, greenness became a catchword in the
transportation industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It grew out of the growing awareness
of environmental problems, and in particular with well-publicized issues such as acid rain, CFCs
and climate change. The developing field of logistics was seen by many as an opportunity for the
transportation industry to present a more environmentally friendly face.
How the logistics industry has responded to the environmental imperatives is not unexpected,
given its commercial and economic imperatives, but by virtually overlooking significant issues,
such as pollution, congestion, resource depletion, means that the logistics industry is still not
very „green‟.

Activity 8.6, 8.7 & 8.8

Do the following after reading the lesson above in groups
1. Discuss on the concepts of Green logistics, types of water, noise and
air popllutants and the extent of their impacts.

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Unit Nine: Transport Planning and Policy
9.1 Introduction: Definitions
Dear students! Transportation is such an important component of contemporary society, capable
of producing significant benefits. On contrary, it gives rise to many negative externalities. As a
result, appropriate policies need to be devised to maximize the benefits and minimize the
inconveniences. At the same time the allocation, design and construction of transport
infrastructure and services must be subject to careful planning, both by public and private
agencies. Now, it is essential first to define the two terms that will frequently appear in this
lesson.
Objectives
At the completion of this unit the students will be able to:
 Distinguish between policy and planning of transportation
 Examine the major features of the policy and planning processes
 Identifyy the fundamental changes reflected in society and contemporary issues and problems,
policies and planning change.
 Describe the changing orientation of public policy
 Explore the evolving nature of urban transport planning and intervention methods
 Appreciate the benefits and functions of a policy ans planning.

What is a policy and planning?

Dear students! Policy and planning are popular concepts you hear in your everyday life. As a
result, you can surely define each of them, correctly. However, for more understanding compare
your definition with the following.
The terms "policy" and "planning" are used very loosely and are frequently interchangeable in
many transport studies. Mixing them together is misleading. Policy and planning represent
separate parts of an overall process of intervention. There are circumstances where policy may
be developed without any direct planning implications, and planning is frequently undertaken
outside any of direct policy context. However, precise definitions are not easily derived. For
example here are two definitions of policy as qouted by Jean-Paul Rodrigue,1998.
"A set of principles that guide decision-making or the processes of problems‟ resolution"
[Studnicki-Gizbert, 1974 in Brian Slack, 1998 ]
"The process of regulating and controlling the provision of transport" [Tolley and Turton, 1995
in Brian Slack, 1998].
Now, we can give simple definitions of policy and planning as following:-
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 Definition: - Policy refers to a set of principles that guide decision-making
activities or is a set of guidelines that help orderly accomplishment of tasks.
Whereas, planning can be defined as the process of orderly organization of
activities, resources required to perform them-including time and money and
means of following and evaluating the results.

Likewise, transport policies and planning share similar conceptual issues related to their
definition.
The following definitions are used by Brian Slack, 1998 in Jean-Paul Rodrigue,1998.
Transport policy:- refers to the development of a set of constructs and propositions that are
established to achieve particular objectives relating to social, economic and environmental
development, and the functioning and performance of the transport system.
Thus, transport policy can be concomitantly a public and private endeavor, but governments are
often the most involved in the policy process since they either own or manage many components
of the transport system.
Public policy:- is the means by which governments attempt to reconcile the social, political,
economic and environmental goals and aspirations of society with reality. These goals and
aspirations change as the society evolves, and thus a feature of policy is its changing form and
character. Policy has to be dynamic and evolutionary.
Transport planning:- deals with the preparation and implementation of actions designed to
address specific problems of transportation.
Now, a major distinction between the planning and policy is that the latter has a much stronger
relation with legislation. Policies are frequently, though not exclusively, incorporated into laws
and other legal instruments that serve as a framework for developing planning interventions.
Planning does not necessarily involve legislative action, and is more focused on the means of
achieving a particular goal (Brian Slack, 1998 in Jean-Paul Rodrigue,1998).

Activity 9.1
After reading the lesson above, explain the concept of policy and related terms as
given by different scholars.

9.2 The Need for Transport Policy

Why Transport Policy?
Transport policies arise because of the extreme importance of transport in virtually every aspect
of national life. Transport is taken by governments of all types, from those that are

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interventionalist to the most liberal, as a vital factor in economic development. Transport is seen
as a key mechanism in promoting, developing and shaping the national economy. Governments
also seek to promote transportation infrastructure and services where private capital investment
or services may not be forthcoming. Paradoxically, academics question the directness of the
links between transport and economic development.
Transport frequently is an issue in national security. Policies are developed to establish
sovereignty or to ensure control over national space and borders. Security was at the heart of the
recent imposition of requirements on document clearance prior to the departure of freight from
foreign countries to the US.
Transport raises many questions about public safety and the environment. Issues of public
safety have for a long time led to the development of policies requiring driving licenses, limiting
the hours of work of drivers, imposing equipment standards, establishing speed limits,
mandating highway codes, seat belts and other accident controls. More recently, environmental
standards and control measures are being instituted, in response to the growing awareness of the
environmental impacts of transport. Examples include banning leaded gasoline and mandating
catalytic converters in automobiles.
Transport policy has been developed to prevent or control the inherent monopolistic tendency
of many transport modes. Unrestrained competition leads to market dominance by a company
thereby achieving monopoly power. Such dominance brings into question many issues affecting
the public interest such as access, (in a port, would smaller shipping lines be excluded?),
availability (would smaller markets continue to receive air service by a monopoly carrier?) and
price (would the monopolist be in a position to charge high prices?).
In recent years, four trends had significant consequences over the context in which transport
policy takes place:
 Deregulation and privatization.
 A more broad focus of policies, particularly in light of intermodalism and
multimodalism.
 A move towards social and political issues behind transport projects as opposed to
technical and engineering issues.
 Globalization increased interactions at the international level, both for freight and
passengers.
Policy Instruments
Governments have a large number of instruments at their disposal to carry out transport policy.

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An extremely important instrument is public ownership. The direct control by the state of
transportation is very widespread. Most common is the provision by public agencies of transport
infrastructure such as roads, ports, airports, canals. Public ownership also extends to include the
operation of transport modes. In many countries airlines, railways, ferries and urban transit are
owned and operated by public agencies.
Subsidies represent an important instrument used to pursue policy goals. Many transport modes
and services are capital intensive, and thus policies seeking to promote services or infrastructure
that the private sector are unwilling or unable to provide may be made commercially viable with
the aid of subsidies. Private railroad companies in the Nineteenth Century received large land
grants and cash payments from governments anxious to promote rail services. In the US, the
Jones Act, that seeks to protect and sustain a US-flagged merchant fleet, subsidizes ship
construction in US shipyards. Indirect subsidies were offered to the air carriers of many
countries in the early years of commercial aviation through the awarding of mail contracts.
Dredging of ship channels and the provision of other marine services such as pilotage and
navigation aids are subsidies to facilitate shipping. Both public ownership and subsidies
represent instruments that require the financial involvement of governments. Revenue generation
is becoming an increasingly important instrument in transport policy.
Regulatory control represents a means of influencing the shape of transportation that is very
widely employed. By setting up public agencies to oversee particular sections of the transport
industry, governments can influence the entire character and performance of the industry. The
agencies may exert control on entry and exit, controlling which firms can offer transportation
services, at what prices, to which markets. Thus while the actual services may be offered by
private firms, the regulator in fact plays a determining role. Regulatory agencies in the US such
as the Civil Aeronautics Board played a critical role in shaping the US airline industry for
decades.
Other policy instruments are less direct, although in many cases can be as equally important as
the three discussed above. Many governments are major promoters of research and
development in transportation. Government research laboratories are direct products of state
investments in R&D, and much university and industry R&D is sustained by government
contracts and programs. The fruits of this research are extremely important to the industry. It is a
vital source for innovation and the development of new technologies such as intelligent vehicles
and intelligent highway systems.

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Labor regulations pertaining to conditions of employment, training, and certification may not
be directed purposefully at influencing transport, but as a policy they may exert a significant
effects over the industry.
Safety and operating standards, such as speed limits, may have a similar effect. The
restrictions on limiting the number of hours a truck driver may work may be instituted for safety
reasons and for enhancing the working conditions of drivers, but they shape the economics of
truck transport. In the same fashion speed limits help fix the distance of daily trips that one
driver may undertake, thereby shaping the rate structure of the trucking industry.
Trends in Policy Development
Public policies reflect the interests of decision makers and their approaches to solving transport
problems. These interests and approaches are both place specific (they apply to a particular area
of jurisdiction) and time specific (they are established to reflect the conditions of transport and
the intended solutions at a point in time). Policies change and evolve, therefore, as the conditions
change and as the different sets of problems are recognized. Policies are dynamic.
The dynamic nature of policy is reflected in the way the policy instruments have been
employed over the years. In the 19th Century, when many of the modern transport systems were
being developed, the prevailing political economy was one of laissez-faire, in which it was
believed that the private sector should be the provider of transport services and infrastructure.
Examples of private transport provision include:
 Turnpikes:- The first British modern roads in the 18th century were the outcome of
private trusts aiming a deriving income from tolls on roads they built and maintained. It
was likely the first massive private involvement in transport infrastructure provision.
 Canals:- Many of the earliest canals were built with private capital. One of the first
canals that helped spark the Industrial Revolution in Britain was the Bridgewater Canal,
built by the Duke of Bridgewater between 1761 and 1765 to haul coal from his mines to
the growing industrial city of Manchester.
 Urban transit. In most North American cities public transit was operated by private
firms. The earliest examples were horsecars that followed rail lines laid out on city
streets. With electrification at the end of the 19th century, the horsecars were converted
to streetcars and the network was greatly expanded. In the 20th century busses were
introduced by private companies operating on very extensive route systems (Muller,
2004).

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  Ships. Most maritime companies were private enterprises. Many were family businesses,
some of which became large companies, such as the Cunard Line in the UK. The main
government involvement concerns military navies and ferries.
 Railways. Railways were developed by private companies during the 19th century,
including such famous companies as Canadian Pacific and Union Pacific. In the US this
has continued to the present day.
This situation was not completely without public policy involvement, however. The massive
subsidies that were granted to US and Canadian railroads are an example of state intervention. In
the early 20th the overprovision of rail lines, competition between carriers and market failures
led to a crisis in many parts of the transport industry, particularly after 1918. This led to a
growing degree of government involvement in the transport industry, both to offset market
failures, jurisdictional conflicts and to ensure that services could be maintained for the sake of
the "public good":
 In many cities private bus companies were taken over by municipally controlled transit
commissions in the 1930s and 1940s.
 The airline industries in many countries were placed under the control of a national
public carrier, for example Air France, Trans Canada Airlines, British Overseas
Airways Corporation.
 Railways were nationalized in Europe after World War Two, and in the US, after the
collapse of the Penn Central Railroad and several other lines, a publicly-funded
passenger system (Amtrak) was set up, and a publicly owned freight railroad was
established (Conrail).
In addition to the public ownership of transport modes, there emerged in the 20th century a
growing amount of regulatory control. The airline and the trucking industries saw entry limited
by permits, and routes and rates were fixed by regulatory boards that had been set up to control
the industries. At the same time greater safety regulations were being imposed and working
conditions were increasingly being shaped by labor legislation. By the 1960s therefore,
transportation had become under the sway of public policy initiatives that exerted an enormous
influence on the industries and their spatial structures.
By the 1960s, however, there was a growing body of evidence that indicated that public
ownerships and regulation were not always in the public interest. Transportation costs that were
fixed by the regulatory authorities were maintained at higher levels than were necessary.
Research demonstrated that many regulatory boards had been "captured" by those they were

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supposedly regulating, so that they were frequently acting to protect the industries rather than the
public. At the same time there was a crisis of public finances in many countries, where the costs
of operating the state owned transportation industry were seen to be unsustainable. Some
economists espoused the theory of contestability, which repudiated traditional economic theory
concerning monopoly power (Bailey and Baumol 1984). Contestability theory argued that the
threat of entry of a new actor was sufficient to thwart a monopolist‟s ability to impose monopoly
pricing. The key, therefore, is to relax entry thresholds, by allowing new firms to start up,
something the regulatory boards were impeding.
This evidence was brought into the public policy arena by politicians who espoused market-
oriented views, notably President Reagan in the US and Prime Minister Thatcher in the UK.
Although President Carter had initiated the first steps towards deregulation in the US in the mid-
1970s, it was in the 1980s during the Reagan presidency that trucking, the airline industry, and
the railways were largely deregulated. In the UK, in addition there has been a massive move to
privatize most sectors of the transport industry, including state and most municipally-owned bus
companies, the national airline, trucking, the railway, airports and most seaports.
Deregulation and privatization policies have spread, unequally, to many other parts of the world.
New Zealand has perhaps the most open transport policy, but many others, such as Canada and
Australia have made significant steps in this direction. In the EU, the pace of deregulation and
privatization is proceeding unevenly. Subsidies to state owned transport companies have been
terminated, and many airlines have been privatized. The government-owned railroads still exist
in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, but the tracks have been separated from the traction and
rail service operations, and have been opened up to new service providers. In Latin America,
most of the state-owned transport sector has been deregulated. While the former centrally-
planned states have had to make the furthest adjustments to a more open market economy,
several, such as China, have opened up large sections of the transport industry to joint ventures
with foreign private enterprises. In China, many new highways and most of the major ports are
being developed with private capital. Thus, at the beginning of the 21st Century, transportation is
under less direct government economic control worldwide than at any period over the last 100
years.
Changing nature of policy interventions
The recent trends in transport policy towards liberalization and privatization have not necessarily
weakened government interventions. Controls over monopoly power are still in place, and even

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in the most liberal of economies there is still strong evidence of public policy intervention even
in such capitalist countries as the US, for example:
 Ownership of ports and airports in the United States. Terminals continue to be largely
under State or municipal ownership. Thus the Port of Los Angeles is a department of the
City of Los Angeles; the port of Hampton Roads is owned by the Virginia Port
Authority; New York‟s three major airports are owned by the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey.
 Highway provision, upgrade and maintenance remains one of the most significant and
enduring commitment of public funds. However, the general public tends to perceive
infrastructure investment as a waste of public funds mainly because of an history of
earmarks and allocation to trivial or even frivolous projects.
 The Surface Transportation Board, the new regulatory agency controlling the railways,
refused to sanction the proposed merger between Canadian National and Burlington
Northern and Sante Fe Railroads in 2002. This was the first time in 20 years that the
regulator had turned down an application for merger. It cited concerns of concentration of
ownership.
Government policy orientations have changed, however. Governments are beginning to exert
greater control over environmental and security concerns, issues that are replacing former
preoccupations with economic matters. The environment is becoming a significant issue for
government intervention. Coastal zone legislation has made it increasingly difficult for ports to
develop new sites in the US. Air quality is a major factor influencing the allocation of US federal
funds for urban transport infrastructure. In Europe, environmental issues are having an even
greater influence on transport policy. The EU Commission is promoting rail and short sea
shipping as alternatives to road freight transport. Projects are assessed on the basis of CO2
reduction. All transportation projects are subject to extensive environmental assessments, that
may lead to a rejection of proposals, despite strong economic justification, such as the case of the
Dibden Bay proposal for expanding the port of Southampton in the UK. As a major source of
atmospheric pollution and environmental degradation, the transportation industry can anticipate
many further government environmental policy interventions.
Safety has always been a policy issue. Legislation imposing speed limits, mandating seat belts,
and other measures have sought to make travel safer. These continue to proliferate. However, it
is the area of security that the most recent set of policy initiatives have been drawn. Screening of
people and freight has become a major concern since 9/11. Both the US government and such

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international organizations as the International Maritime organization (IMO) and the
International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) have instituted new measures that impact on
operations, and represent additional costs to the transport industry.
While there may have been some reduction of policy involvement involving economic
regulations, the influence of public policy on transport overall is still powerful.

9.2 The Policy Process

Dear students! Let‟s start by defining the problem underlying policy i.e. why policies need to be
defined? Why are they important? etc. Generally, policy formulation processes involve the
following steps (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1998)

9.2.1 Problem Definition

Dear students! Policies are developed in response to the existence of a perceived problem or an
opportunity- i.e. they never exist in a vacuum. The context is extremely important because it will
shape the kinds of actions considered. For example:
 Who has identified the problem? Is it widely recognized by society as a whole or is
limited in scope to a local pressure group for example? In the case of the former there
may be a greater willingness to intervene than in the latter, depending on the political
power exerted by the pressure group.
 Do the public authorities have the interest or will to respond? There are usually many
more problems than the policy makers are willing to address. Many issues remain
unaddressed.
 Do the public authorities wish to wield the instruments necessary to carry out a policy
response? The problem may be recognized, but public authorities may have little ability
to effect change. Such is the problem of many environmental problems that require
global solutions.
 What is the timescale? How pressing is the problem, and how long would a response
take? Policy makers are notoriously prone to attempt only short-term interventions, since
their mandates are usually of relatively short duration. Long term issues may not attract
policy makers because the results of any policy intervention may be decades away.
These questions lie at the heart of the need to correctly identify the problem or opportunity. No
policy response is likely to be effective without a clear definition of the issue. The following
elements need to be considered in defining a problem:

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  Who has identified the problem, and why should be seen to be a problem? Many
problems exist, but few are taken up because they are not brought before a wide
audience.
 Is there agreement on the problem? If there is no agreement that a problem exists, it is
unlikely that a strong policy response will be forthcoming. Effective policies are more
likely to be formulated if there is widespread recognition of a problem and its causes. A
problem for the Kyoto Accord on global warming is that decision-makers in the US have
not been convinced that the problem is due to human-induced carbon dioxide emissions.
 Is it an issue that can be addressed by public policy? The price of oil is regarded by many
as a problem, but individual counties have no power to affect the price of this
commodity.
 Is it too soon to develop a policy? This argument was used by the lobby in California that
opposed stricter emission controls on vehicles in the early 1990s, based on the argument
that the technology of alternative energy for vehicles was not sufficiently advanced.
 Is the problem seen differently by groups with different values? Environmentalists see
many transport issues differently than many other interest groups. Divergence of opinions
may affect how the problem is addressed.
 Is the problem fully understood? Do we know the causal relationships that may be
necessary to provide a solution? Transport and development, the role of transport in
global warming are issues around which there is a debate.
 Can the relationships between the factors that make up the problem be quantified?
Problem definition is better when it is possible to measure the scale and scope of the
issues involved.
In defining the problem or opportunity and to help address the questions above, background
studies are required. The state of affairs needs to be provided which will identify the actors, the
issues and the possible means that are available. It is also important to forecast trends in order to
identify whether the issue is likely to change.

9.2.2 Policy Objectives and Options

The eventual success of a policy depends upon establishing clear goals. If there are multiple
objectives they must be consistent. They must be flexible enough to change over time as the
circumstances evolve. In simple terms the objectives must:
 Identify the present conditions and situation.
 Indicate what the goals are.
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  Identify the barriers to achieving the goals.
 Identify what is needed from other agencies and the private sector.
 Determine how success will be judged and measured.
 Identify what steps are required to achieve success.
Having defined the problem and objectives, policy options must be formulated and evaluated. In
many cases more than one solution has to be considered for policy adoption. The objectives may
be realized in many different ways. By evaluating the options it may be possible to identify the
one that best meets the goals that have been established and at the same time is the best fit for
local circumstances.The outcomes are then assessed even before the policy is put into practice.
Although one can never completely anticipate the outcome of different prospective policy
options, the evalustions are capable of bringing to light what problems may develop when the
preferred option is implemented. Thus, when the future policy is to be evaluated, problems of
data, reporting, and identification of success criteria may have been already anticipated and
resolved through an earlier assessment.
Many types of evaluation methods are employed in assessments. These may include:-
 Cost-benefit analysis,
 economic impact analysis and,
 Multi-criteria analysis, etc
Because evaluation takes place at several steps in the policy process, it is now regarded as a
critically important issue. It means in the policy process, a great deal of attention has to be paid
as to how the goals, results, and beneficiaries are to be measured. The selection of indicators has
to be agreed upon by policy managers from the inception.

9.2.3 Policy Implementation

The implementation of the selected option represents a critical aspect of the policy process. The
most carefully designed policy that is widely accepted by those it affects can fail because of
improper implementation. It is impossible to define an optimal implementation procedure
because of the wide range of socioeconomic circumstances that policies are applied, and also
because of the diversity of policies themselves. However, a ten step model of policy
implementation can be considered (Hogwood and Gunn, 1984 in , Jean-Paul Rodrigue,1998):
1. Policies must not face external constraints. By this is meant that the policy must not exceed
the jurisdictional or constitutional limits of the agency. This is a common issue in federal
states, where different transport modes may be under different jurisdictions.
2. In implementing the policy, there must be an adequate time frame and resources.
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3. The implementing agency must have adequate staff and resources to carry out the policy.
4. The premises of policy and theory must be compatible. At one time public ownership was
seen as a valid policy alternative. Today it may be a valid option in theory in some
circumstances, but is not politically acceptable.
5. Cause and effect relationships in the policy must be direct. A successful policy must be
seen to be based on clear and unambiguous relationships. Complex policies are more likely to
be misunderstood.
6. Dependency relationships should be kept to a minimum. If the agency in charge of
implementing the policy has to rely on others to it carry out, the more fragmented will
become the authority. The implementing agency will become more dependent on others with
not necessarily the same interests.
7.The basic objectives of the policy need to be agreed upon and understood. All actors in the
policy process must possess a clear understanding of the policy and what is required to carry
it out. It goes without saying that all those involved must understand the policy and have
knowledge about their roles in carrying it out. Information and training are essential elements
in the policy process.
8.Tasks must be specified in an appropriate sequence. Implementation is a process with
connected steps from conception to the end. If the steps are not carried out in the correct
sequence the policy may fail. Difficulties may arise, for example, if evaluation is completed
without the indicators of success being agreed upon beforehand, or if another agency is
involved before necessary pre-conditions for its participation have been completed.
9. Communication and coordination need to be on the same wavelength. Those
implementing the policy have to possess the same information base, have to interpret it in the
same way, and to communicate well with each other.
10. There must be compliance. Those agencies involved in implementing the policy must work
towards total compliance. Many times policies are formulated but their compliance is lacking.

9.2.4 Policy Evaluation and Maintenance

The implementation stage is not the final step in the policy process. The effectiveness of the
policy needs to be assessed after a certain period of time, and steps must be taken to ensure that
there are resources and means to maintain a successful policy. In the past, this tended to be
overlooked, and after a while policies would be sidetracked by other newer initiatives. The long
term effect was the presence of many different policy initiatives frequently with conflicting

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goals. The result was that policies in place frequently conflicted with each other in terms of goals
or implementation measures.
On-going program evaluation is thus central to the maintenance of policy. This has tended to be
a difficult issue for managers who today find their programs being assessed by methods and data
requirements that were never built into the policy initially.

Activity 9.2
After having detai reading perform the following activities

1. How did policies evolve through time? Discuss in a small group

2. Expalin the kinds of actions that can be shaped by policies in relation to
transportation.
3. What are the elements needed to be considered in defining a policy problem?
Discuss it in detail.
4. Mention and discuss the policy processes in general and transport policy in
particular. What should be done in each of the steps of policy processes?
5. Why is transport policy needed? Discuss this issue in detail first individually and
then in groups.
6. Make overall discussion with your classmates.

9.3 Transport Planning

Dear students! You have seen the definition of tansport planning earlier. Now, you need to
further learn the concept so as to understand more the different types of planning.
Jean-Paul Rodrigue (1998) identified the following types of transport planning processes:-

9.3.1 The Traditional Transport Planning Process

Transport planning is usually focused on specific problems or on broad transport concerns at a
local level. It has been traditionally a preoccupation of lower tier (level) governments, such as
the state or municipality. Because of this fact, transport planning is most developed in the urban
sphere, and it is there where most experience has been gathered. The planning process, however,
has a number of similarities with the policy process. Identifying a problem, seeking options and
implementing the chosen strategy are essential steps in planning too. Because, it tends to deal
with localized problems, the solutions adopted in transport planning tend to be much more exact
and specific than policy directives.
For a long time, transport planning was a field dominated by traffic engineers who gave it a
distinctly mechanistic character, in which the planning process was seen as a series of rigorous

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steps undertaken to measure the likely impacts and to propose engineering solutions. There were
four major steps:-
- Trip generation -Modal split and
-Trip distribution -Route selection
They involved the use of mathematical models, including regression analysis, entropy-
maximizing models, and critical path analysis.
There are many reasons why the results of these models should be treated with caution:
 They are only as good as the data they manipulate and many times the data is inaccurate
or incomplete;
 They are based on assumptions that the mathematical relationships between variables
remain constant;
 They can be manipulated to produce the outcome that the analyst knows the client
prefers;
 Because the predictions were rarely subjected to subsequent evaluation, their validity is
largely questioned, and the modeler is happy to predict the future since projections rarely
question the validity of the methodology.
The predictions of future traffic flows produced by the four stage sequence are then used to
identify planning options. Since the most common prediction of the modeling is that present
capacities will be unable to cope with traffic growth, the tendency has been to produce planning
solutions that call for an expansion of capacity.

9.3.2 Contemporary Transport Planning

In cities traffic problems have increased significantly over the last 50 years, despite a great deal
of urban transport planning. There is a growing realization that perhaps planning has failed and
that the wrong questions have been asked. Rather than estimate traffic increases and then provide
capacity to meet the expected growth, it is now accepted that what is required is better
management of the transport system through new approaches to planning. Just as urban
planning requires the inputs of many specialists, so transport planning is beginning to utilize
multi-disciplinary teams in order to broaden the scope of the planning process. Planning is still
a multi-step process, but it has changed considerably over the last twenty years. These are:-
i) Goals and objectives:- While the goal of traditional transport policy, improving accessibility,
is still useful, it has to be considered in the context of other desirable goals. For instance
improving safety and health, reducing emissions from vehicles, improving equity, enhancing
economic opportunities, improving community livability, promoting mobility are all valid. But
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 which goal(s) are pursued results in a very different planning process. Defining goals becomes a
much more complicated stage in contemporary planning. Increasingly goals have turned to
consider managing demand, rather than trying to build capacity.

ii) Options:- Given the possible range of goals that transport planners have to consider, it
becomes necessary to provide a set of possible options. Several objectives may be desirable,
and thus it is important to consider what they imply. Several scenarios may have to be
considered, and they must become important components of the planning process.

iii) Identification of actors, institutions, stakeholders:- Given that transport planning has the
potential to influence so many elements of society –economic wellbeing, environmental
conditions, social integration – it is important that those affected by the transport problem and
its potential resolution should be identified so that they can be engaged. This would be a much
wider list of affected parties than simply those involved in transportation activity itself, and
requires recognizing a role for citizen participation.

iv) Predicting outcomes, identifying benefits, and assessing costs:- The stage of predicting the
outcomes for each of the options is a critical step in the process. Models continue to play an
important role, but whereas the traditional models were based on the number of trips,
increasingly modeling is becoming more activity based. Transport is seen in the context of
scheduling household decisions in time and space. Demographic and social data are used
extensively, and the mathematical models have become more sophisticated. The predicted
outcomes must then be assessed as to their benefits and costs.

v) Choosing course of action:- Evaluation of the scenarios has to consider the costs and
benefits from the frequently conflicting perspectives of the stakeholders and actors.
Extensive public consultation may be required. The information has to be disseminated
and explained so that an informed public can participate in the debate. Ultimately it will
be the politicians who decide, but they are swayed by the strength of the arguments
presented by the transport professionals.

Activity 9.3
After having detail reading, perform the following activities individually and then later on
share ideas in groups
1. Discuss transport planning processes comparing the traditional and contemporary
planning processes.
2. Discuss and share ideas among yourselves about the multi-step contemporary
transport planning.
3. Present your concensus in you class and discuss with the whole class. 156
9.4 Sustainabile Transport
Dear students! It is essential to define first sustainable development as it implies any aspect of
development issues in sustainable manner.
What is therefore sustainable development?
Jean-Paul Rodrigue (1998) explained the concept of sustainable development as follows:
An issue that has triggered concerns over the recent decades relates to the capacity of the global
economy to accommodate an enduring demographic, economic and resource consumption
growth. Since the 1970s, many statements have been made asserting that the world would be
unable to sustain such growth without a possible socioeconomic and/or environmental
breakdown. This context was well underlined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 which
defined sustainable development as
"Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs".
As the above quote suggests, sustainable development is a vague concept that is subject to
numerous interpretations of what are present needs and what would be the needs of future
generations. It is not surprising that the subject is prone to confusion in terms of its nature,
consequences and appropriate response. It is however generally agreed that a sustainable society
favors conditions that benefits the environment, the economy and the society without
compromising the welfare of future generations. The problems remains how to define and assess
the welfare of future generations, which is essentially impossible. Still, as history clearly
demonstrates, the conditions of future societies will largely depend upon the legacy of current
societies on resources and the environment. All form of assets (capital, real estate,
infrastructures, resources) passed on to the next generation should be at least of equal value
(utility) per capita. The basic definition of sustainability has been expanded to include three
major elemnts (often referred as the three Es- Equity of society, Economic Efficiency and
Environmental responsibilty).
What does each of these dictate?
The concepts are popular and you can explain them correctly. However, you can read the
following meaning of the three Es for further understanding.
Social equity:- is related to conditions favoring a distribution of resources among the current
generation based upon comparative levels of productivity. This implies that individuals or

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institutions are free to pursue the ventures of their choice and reaps the rewards for the risk they
take and the efforts they make.
Economic efficiency:- Concerned with conditions permitting higher levels of economic
efficiency in terms of resource and labor usage. It focuses on competitiveness, flexibility in
production and providing goods and services that supply a market demand. Under such
circumstances, factors of production should be freely allocated and markets open to trade.
Environmental responsibility:- Involves a "footprint" which is lesser than the capacity of the
environment to accommodate. This includes the supply of resources (food, water, energy, etc.),
but also the safe disposal of numerous forms of wastes. Its core tenets (principles) include the
conservation and reuse of resources.
Dear students! Now, you should be aware that societies do not contribute to environmental
problems at the same level. For example, a comparison between developed countries and
developing countries reveals that the developed world consumes 70% of the world‟s energy,
75% of minerals and 85% of wood.
Since a growing share of the global population is urbanized, sustainability has increasingly
become focused on urban areas. Major cities are requiring a vast array of supporting
infrastructures including energy, water, sewers and transport. A key to urban sustainability issues
is linked with the provision and maintenance of a wide range of urban infrastructure. Every city
has specific infrastructure and environmental problems. For instance, cities in developing
countries have chronic deficiencies in the provision of the most basic infrastructure while their
environmental conditions are deteriorating.
What does transportation sustainability refer to?
Transportation, as a core component supporting the interactions and the development of
socioeconomic systems, has also been the object of much consideration about to what extent it is
sustainable. Thus, sustainable transportation can be defined as:
"The ability to meet today‟s transportation needs without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their transportation needs." (Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1998).
Transportation in this context should rely on much more environmentally sound modes such as
rail and maritime transport although others are inevitable.
Transportation and sustainability for both passengers and freight must also contend with
mitigation versus adaptation issues.

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 What is meant by mitigation and adaptation?
 Mitigation is concerned with the improvement of productivity and efficiency of existing
modes, terminals and managerial approaches so that environmental externalities are
reduced.
 Adaptation is a change in the level of use and the market share of respective modes to
better reflect a long term trend, such as higher energy prices and stricter environmental
regulations.
In any cases, the challenges of sustainability lean on coping with changes in transport demand
while improving transport supply.

Activity 9.4
Do in groups the following activity and finally report it to your classmates
1. Make a detailed discussion on the concept of transport
sustainability.
2. What do three Es mean? Discuss in group and present short report
to your classmates.

9.5 Traffic Counts and Traffic Surveys

Dear students! Transport planning at all levels requires understanding of actual conditions. This
involves determination of vehicle or pedestrian numbers, vehicle types, vehicle speeds, vehicle
weights, as well as more substantial information such as trip length, trip purpose and trip
frequency. The first group of data dealing with the characteristics of vehicle or people movement
is obtained by undertaking traffic counts. Those related to measuring trips involving knowledge
of origin and destination require more detailed surveys. Here, the question is how these counts
and surveys can be conducted. The following traffic counting and surveying methods are
suggested by Jean-Paul Rodrigue (2009):
Traffic counting methods can be done in two methods:
Intrusive –vs-non-intrusive methods and Survey methods
i) Intrusive –vs-non-intrusive methods
There is a wide range of counting methods available. It is useful to distinguish between intrusive
and non-intrusive methods. The former include counting systems that involve placing sensors in
or on the roadbed; the latter involve a remote observational techniques. In general the intrusive
methods are used most widely because of their relative ease of use and because they have been
employed for decades. The only widely used non-intrusive method is manual counting, which
enjoys wide application because of its ease. Intrusive methods, however, have evolved little over
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the last decade, but in the US, with federal transport policy emphasis on IT solutions to traffic
management, progress is being made in the development of non-intrusive methods.
The major intrusive methods include:
 Bending plate:- a weight pad attached to a metal plate embedded in the road to measure
axel weight and speed. It is an expensive device and requires alteration to the road bed.
 Pneumatic road tube:- a rubber tube that is placed across the lanes that uses pressure
changes to record the number of axle movements in a counter placed on the side of the
road. The drawback is that it has limited lane coverage, may become displaced, and can
be dislodged by snow ploughs.
 Piezo-electric sensor:- a device that is placed in a groove cut into the roadbed of the
lane(s) being counted. This electronic counter can be used to measure weight and speed.
Cutting into the roadbed can affect the integrity of the roadbed and decrease the life of
the pavement.
 Inductive loop:- a wire embedded in the road in a square formation that creates a
magnetic field that relays the information to a counting device at the side of the road.
This has a generally short life expectancy because it can be damaged by heavy vehicles,
and is also prone to installation errors.
The major non-intrusive methods include:
 Manual observation:- a very traditional method involving placing observers at specific
locations to record vehicle or pedestrian movements. At its simplest, observers use tally
sheets to record, but numbers, on the other hand there are mechanical and electronic
counting boards available that the observer can punch in each time an event is observed.
It can record traffic numbers, type and directions of travel. Manual counts give rise to
safety concerns, either from the traffic itself or the neighborhoods where the counts are
being undertaken.
 Passive and active infra-red:- a sensor detecting the presence, speed and type of
vehicles by measuring infra-red energy radiating from the detection area. Typically the
devices are mounted overhead on a bridge. The major limitation is the performance
during inclement weather, and limited lane coverage.
 Passive magnetic: magnetic sensors that count vehicle numbers, speed, and type are
placed under or on top of the roadbed. In operating conditions the sensors have difficulty
differentiating between closely spaced vehicles.

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  Microwave- Doppler/ Radar:- mounted overhead the devices record moving vehicles
and speed. With the exception of radar, devices they have difficulty in detecting closely
spaced vehicles and do not detect stationary vehicles. They are not affected by weather.
 Ultrasonic and passive acoustic:- devices that sound waves or sound energy to detect
vehicles. Those using ultrasound are placed overhead to record vehicle presence but can
be affected by temperature and turbulence; the acoustic devices are placed alongside the
road and can detect numbers and vehicle type.
 Video image detection:- use of overhead video cameras to record vehicle numbers, type
and speed. Various software is available to analyze the video images. Weather may limit
accuracy.
ii) Surveys
Traffic counts may provide some precise information about numbers of vehicles, their type,
weight or speed, but they cannot provide other data that are essential in transport planning, such
as trip purpose, routing, duration etc. Collecting these data requires more extensive survey
instruments. These instruments include:
 Mailed questionnaires:- This can include a wide range of questions. This is relatively
cheap to administer to large numbers of people, although preparation can be expensive;
the main problem is the generally low response rate.
 Travel diaries:- This involves soliciting respondents to keep a diary of the trips
undertaken, times, purposes, modes etc.; extremely useful instrument constrained largely
by the number of people willing to complete such a detailed inventory.
 Telephone surveys:- with automated dialing this can achieve extensive coverage, but
response rates are usually low.
 Face-to-face home interviews:- can overcome many of the errors based on
misunderstanding of questions in mail surveys, but are extremely time-consuming and
costly.
NB: - Extensive traffic surveys began to be developed in the 1950s. One of the earliest was the
Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) that was undertaken in 1956, providing detailed
data on trip length, purposes, modes of travel, and travel patterns. This was followed in 1960
with the US Census‟s first attempt to collect journey to work travel data in urban areas.

Activity 9.5
For this activity, first read and be clear with the overall content of the sub-sections and
do the following
1. Discuss the concept of traffic counting.
2. What are the major intrusive and non-intrusive traffic counting methods 161
3. What do survey methods for traffic counting involve?
Unit Ten: Issues and Challenges in Transportation Geogaphy
10.1 Introduction
Dear students! The issues related to transportation and its spatial characterstics have been
exhuostively discussed in the previous sections. However, transportation is not always
accompanied with positive outcomes. In other words, there are various challenges associated
with transportation. The following ponts can be learnt in this section.

Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
 Discuss the issues and problems related to transpt problems
 Explain the role of geographers in solving the problems of transport
 List major consequences of transport development

10. 2 Congestion

The causes of congestion are well understood, even if the solutions are not. Congestion arises
from two causes. Most important is when demand for mobility exceeds the capacity to support it.
It can also occur when random events bring about a temporary disruption to service, such as an
accident or a natural hazard such as flooding. In the case of the second set of causes, it is
possible to mitigate their effects if the occurrence is frequent, such as accidents, or if the risks
are great, as for example of flooding in a flood plain. In the first case a solution is to increase
capacity.
The issue of congestion is likely to remain as one of great ongoing issues in transport geography
because there are unprecedented demands for transportation being generated by a global
economy that is ever more dependent upon the transport industry. The growth of demand is
likely to have major impacts on the nature and form of the future transport industry.
Congestion is not limited to internal urban-generated traffic. International trade is likely to
continue to be dominated by maritime transport (in terms of weight) and air transport (in terms
of value). This has already led to a concentration of traffic a relatively small number of hubs,
which are capable of extracting scale economies.
Congestion is a phenomenon that is spatially bound. It takes place in specific locations with
impacts at a multitude of scales, from a particular highway intersection that may delay traffic
over a few hundred meters, to blockage in a port that may disrupt the flow of goods over half a
continent. Each event produces a spatial response, from the car driver who searches out an
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alternative route in future to the shipper who selects a different mode or point of entry for
succeeding shipments.
Increased demand and the rising likelihoods of congestion will intensify new spatial responses
and thus it appears very likely that new spatial flows and structures will come into being. What
will be the effects? What kinds of impact will be evident at the local, regional or global scales?
Will congestion be sufficient to counteract the strong forces favoring concentration? Already
there is evidence in air transport for growth in passengers and freight in some smaller airports.
Will congestion in the newly industrializing countries act as a break on development?

10.3 Infrastructure
This is also another challenge. Regardless of the specific solutions to congestion that are
considered, increasing demand is placing unprecedented requests for investments on transport
infrastructures. A major question confronting all countries of the world is how to finance the
construction and maintenance of transport infrastructures. Governments have traditionally been
the primary source of funding in the transport sector, but the costs of keeping pace with the
growth in demand are making it difficult for even the richest countries to countenance public
funding on the scale required.
The difficulties are not to be underestimated, however. Most transport infrastructure projects are
long term, but are the heaviest capital investment requirements being incurred over a short initial
phase. Most private enterprises cannot take a long term perspective, because they need to cover
their expenses over short period of time.

10.4 Environmental Challenges

The issue of sustainability has become an increasing important consideration for the transport
industry. It is now broadly recognized that there needs to be a balance between economic
efficiency, social factors and the environment. Of these three, the issue of economic efficiency
has always been to the forefront, and governments have been important in regulating social
conditions (safety, security, and working conditions). Despite the strong historic relationships
between transport and the environment, the latter has tended to be overlooked by the industry.
This is changing, and environmental issues are likely to play an ever more important role in the
transport industry, particularly over three core dimensions:
 Transport and atmospheric pollution:-

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Air quality standards are being implemented with increasing rigor in more and more countries
around the world. There are still striking differences between regions and between the modes.
For example, most of the countries of the developing world still have to go a long way to fixing
and enforcing standards.
 Transport and water quality:- The contribution of transport to the pollution of rivers and
oceans is considerable, and is only recently being addressed by international legislation.
Considerable progress has been made in a number of areas such as ballast water, waste and oil
spills. As the legislation increases in its comprehensiveness, the more the transport industry is
impacted. This is particularly evident in matters relating to dredging, where environmental
constraints are placing a growing financial burden on ports that are seeking to deepen channels
in order to keep pace with the growth of vessels size.
Transport and land take:- Increased demand for transport is already placing enormous pressures
for new infrastructures. Many of these transport facilities such as airports and ports require very
large amounts of land for their own internal operations and for the external transport links that
have to be provided.

10.5 Management of Transport Systems

The transportation industry is changing so significantly in form and function that it is easy to
overlook the very important changes in the way it is organized and managed. Yet it is through
different management practices that the spatial manifestations of the industry are expressed. It is
perhaps easiest to see the changes in management through the lens of governance, where an
industry that used to be largely managed and controlled by the state, has become increasingly
controlled by the private sector. The privatization of transport companies and infrastructures has
been an important feature of the last decade, and is likely to continue further into the present
century. However, there are still many questions about the role of the state in transportation.
Under what conditions and in what circumstances should continued state control be maintained
and even strengthened? What are the best models of public-private partnerships in the transport
industry?
The growing role of the private sector over an industry that is becoming global and multi-
functional has necessitated a shift in management and ownership relationships that are still
evolving. The emergence of horizontally linked global corporations that through a series of
acquisitions and mergers have bought up similar operating companies in different markets

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10.6 Energy, Safety and Security
The macroeconomic and policy environment in which the transport sector evolves has
substantially changed in recent years, bringing concerns which before were rather secondary.
With the expected increases in energy costs, significant adjustments in transport modes may be
expected in the future. While technologies may make alternative fuel vehicles a commercial
option to the internal combustion engine, the main question is the effect of higher prices on
automobiles and trucks. As the costs are passed on to users, how global production systems that
depend upon cheap transport be impacted? How will the logistics industry that exploits the most
energy inefficient modes be affected? Will a modal shift to more energy efficient modes, such as
rail or shipping, take place? What forms of transport and mobility will take shape as the energy
transition away from fossil fuels takes place?
Another prevalent matter concerns security practices that are now part of the business
environment in which passenger and freight transport systems are evolving. Most of these
measures are imposed by regulatory agencies with consequences often difficult to assess, but
always involving additional costs and delays for transport operators. A balance between security
measures and the efficient flow of passengers and freight will need to be achieved through a
variety of regulatory, operational and technological innovations.

10.7 The Role of Geographers

What are the roles played by the geographers in solving transport challenges as
professionals?
Dear students! Surely you can mention the contribution of geographers this regard. For more
information read the following carefully.
Geographers have played a relatively small role in the field of transport studies. Rather the field
has been dominated by engineers and economists. This was due in part to the needs of the
industry being focused on providing infrastructures and technologies, at what cost and benefits
and at what level of pricing. The contemporary industry is much more complex, with issues as
varied as safety, aesthetics, working conditions, equity, deprivation, the environment, and
governance being necessary considerations.
Dear students! A much broader set of skills are required therefore, and transport studies are
essentially multi-disciplinary today. Geographers thus have important opportunities to contribute
to transport studies, transport planning and transport operations. This is in part because of the
breadth of the approach and training. Still, transport geography, like the field of transportation in
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general, does not receive a level of attention in academic proportional to its economic and social
importance.
It is also a fundamental fact that transport is a spatial activity. It has always been a space
adjusting service. But, over the last few decades it has become increasingly global in scope.
Contemporary transport operates at a wider range of scales than ever before. There are complex
interactions between the local and the global. For example, the issues surrounding the expansion
of an airport are usually decided at the local level, and the impacts are likely to be felt locally,
namely its externalities such as noise and congestion. However, the effects on passenger and
freight flows may have a global impact. The spatiality of transport and the many scale levels at
which it operates are elements that are the particular concerns of Geographers. No other
discipline has as its core interest the role of space in shaping human activities.

One reason for the success of engineers and economists in transport studies and applications is
that their training has been rigorous in the application of mathematics and multivariate statistics.
They have demonstrated the ability to provide precise answers to the questions that decision
makers have required i.e. what to build, at what cost, with what cost effects. There has evolved a
culture in the transport industry that unless it can be quantified, it is of little value. Many
transport geographers have the quantitative skills that have made their work accepted by the
broader scientific community. There is little doubt that training in modeling, graph theory, and
multivariate statistics is required. However, there are newer techniques that provide geographers
with opportunities to contribute to transport studies. GIS-T, in particular should be an essential
element in the training of a transport geographer. The multi-scalar, multivariate nature of the
transport industry makes GIS-T an invaluable tool, and one that will raise the profile of
geographers in the transportation industry.
One of the great challenges in transport studies is data availability. Many times official census
and survey data are inadequate or unavailable in the form required. Knowledge of survey
techniques and their limitations are an important part of the transport geographer‟s toolkit. Many
of the traditional tools and approaches of geographers are still relevant. They allow us to address
problems that are frequently overlooked by other disciplines because of the lack of data.
Questionnaires and interviews represent a vital source of information in many situations. Content
analysis is extremely useful in providing quantified data from non-quantified sources. At the
same time, field work provides the opportunity to obtain detailed understanding of the

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particularities of the local conditions that cannot be obtained from reading texts and official
documents.
The prospects for transport geography and transport geographers appear to be excellent. A look
back at the subject matter and topics covered in this book indicates an industry that is growing in
significance and changing. The kinds of issues that are achieving greater importance –
sustainability, congestion, governance and management – are ones to which geographers have
the opportunity to contribute. As the transport industry becomes more complex, old approaches,
focusing on a narrow range of factors, have to be replaced by more nuanced analysis and
solutions. In the transport industry itself, in public planning, and in research institutions, the
scope for geographers appears bright.

Activity 10
Read the above lesson first and perform the following activities
1. Form a small group randomly and assign chairperson and reporter of the activity
2. Raise issues related to the following points by the chairperson for discussion:
3. Major Issues and Challenges in Transportation Geogaphy
3.1 Congestion and its probles
3.2 Infrastructure and associated problems to transport development
3.3 Environmental Challenges
3.4 Management of Transport Systems
3.5 Energy, Safety and Security
4. What are the Role of Geographers in addressing these issues and challenges?
5. Describe and discuss the roles of geographers in the field of transportation.

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References

A.S. Bhalla (1998). Globalization, growth & marginalization, IDRC, by Bhalla, 1998 editor

Ababa, Ethiopia.

B. Hoyle and R. Knowles (1998). Modern Transport Geography; Second Edition, Revised
Edition, John Wiley & Sons; New York
Bekure W/S. (2007). Transport and Development, AAU
David Waugh (2000). Geography: an Integrated Approach

Ethiopian Economic Association (1998/99) Annual report on the Ethiopian economy, Addis

http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch1en/ch1menu.html: Transportation and Geography

Manfred B. Steger (2003). Globalization: A Very Short Introduction Oxford University Press

McDonald, John F (1997). Fundamentals of Urban Economics; Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle
River

Ministry of Economic Development (1999) Survey of the Ethiopian economy, 1992 -1998,

O'Sullivan, Arthur (2003). urban economics; McGraw-Hill/Irwin, Boston

Robert Fatton Jr.( 2001). Globalization, Poverty, and Terror

Susan Mayhew (1997). A dictionary of geography, Second Edition, Oxford University press,
New York

T.A. Hartshorn & J. W. Alexander (2004).Economic geography, Third Edition; New Delihi

Jean-Paul Rodrigue( 1996). Transport Geography. First Edition

Jean-Paul Rodrigue (2009) Transport Geography. Second edition Edition

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 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION TO THE MODULE ......................................................................................... 1
Unit one: Transportation and Geography ....................................................................................... 2
1.1 Introduction:-Definitions and concepts .............................................................................................. 2
1.2 Transportation and Space .................................................................................................................10
1.2.1 Topography .................................................................................................................. 10
1.2.2 Hydrology .................................................................................................................... 10
1.2.3 Climate ......................................................................................................................... 11
1.3 Historical Geography of Transportation ...........................................................................................14
1.4 Methods in Transport Geography .....................................................................................................23
1.4.1 Transport-Related Methods ......................................................................................... 24
1.4.2 Multidisciplinary Methods ........................................................................................... 24
1.5. The Notion of Accessibility, Accessibility Problems and Route Selection ........................................27
1.5.1. Accessibility................................................................................................................ 27
1.5.2 Accessibility Problems and Route Selection ............................................................... 29
1.6 Geographic Information Systems for Transportation (GIS-T) ...........................................................32
Unit Two: Transportation Systems and Networks ........................................................................ 37
2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................37
2.2 Transportation and Commercial Geography ....................................................................................37
2.3 Transport Costs .................................................................................................................................38
2.4 The Geography of Transportation Networks ....................................................................................41
2.5 Transport Supply and Demand .........................................................................................................45
2.6 Graph Theory: Definitions, Properties, Measures and Indices ........................................................46
2.6.1 Graph Theory: Definition and Properties .................................................................... 46
2.6.1.1 Basic Graph Definition ........................................................................................................46
2.6.1.2 Graph Theory: Measures and Indices .................................................................................48
2.7 Net-work Data Models ......................................................................................................................52
2.7.1 Nature and Utility ........................................................................................................ 52
2.7.2 Basic Representation................................................................................................... 54
2.7.3 Layer-Based Approach ................................................................................................ 54
2.7.4 Object-Oriented Approach ........................................................................................... 55
Unit Three: Transport Modes ...................................................................................................... 57
3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................57
3.2 Transport Modes:-An Overview ........................................................................................................57
3.2.1 Land Transport ............................................................................................................. 58
3.2.1.1 Rail transportation ..............................................................................................................58
3.2.1.2 Road transportation ............................................................................................................60
3.2.1.3 Pipeline Transportation.......................................................................................................61
3.2.2 Maritime (Water) transportation .................................................................................. 62
3.2.3 Air transportation ......................................................................................................... 63
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 3.3 Intermodal transportation ................................................................................................................64
3.3.1 Concept ........................................................................................................................ 64
3.3.2 Technical Performance Indicators of Transport Modes .............................................. 66
3.3.3 Transport Economic Indicators .................................................................................... 67
3.4 The Specialization Index ....................................................................................................................68
3.5 The Location Coefficient ...................................................................................................................69
3.6 The Containerization of Commodities ..............................................................................................70
Unit Four: Transport Terminals .................................................................................................... 71
4.1 Introduction: Definitions and Types..................................................................................................71
4.1.1 Port Terminals.............................................................................................................. 71
4.1.2 Rail Terminals.............................................................................................................. 72
4.1.3 Airport (Terminals) ...................................................................................................... 73
4.1.4 Lorenz Curve and Terminals ....................................................................................... 74
4.1.5 Gini's Coefficient (GC) ................................................................................................ 75
Unit Five: International and Regional Transportation .................................................................. 78
5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................78
5.2 The Strategic Space of International Transportation ........................................................................78
5.3 Transportation, Globalization and International Trade ....................................................................80
5.4 Commodity Chains and Freight Transportation ................................................................................83
5.5. Logistics and Freight Distribution.....................................................................................................88
5.6 Spatial Interactions ...........................................................................................................................91
5.7 The Gravity Model.............................................................................................................................92
5.8 International Oil Transportation .......................................................................................................92
5.9 UPS: Logistical Management of Distribution Networks ....................................................................95
5.10 Commodity Chain Analysis ..............................................................................................................97
5.11 The Cold Chain ................................................................................................................................99
Unit Six: Urban Transportation .................................................................................................. 102
6.1 Introduction: Definitions and Concepts ..........................................................................................102
6.2 Transportation and the Urban Form ...............................................................................................103
6.3 Urban Land Use and Transportation ...............................................................................................104
6.4 Transportation / Land Use Modeling ..............................................................................................112
6.4.1 The Lowry Model ...................................................................................................... 112
6.5 Telecommuting and Office Space ...................................................................................................114
6.6 Telecommuting and Office Space ...................................................................................................115
Unit Seven: Economic and Spatial Structure of Transport Systems .......................................... 117
7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................117
7.2 Transport and Economic Development ..........................................................................................117
7.3 Transport and Spatial Organization ................................................................................................119

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 7.4 Transport and Location ...................................................................................................................121
7.5 Symbolization of Transport Features in a GIS .................................................................................122
Unit Eight: Transport and Environment ..................................................................................... 125
8.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................125
8.2 The Issue of Transport and the Environment .................................................................................125
8.2 Transportation and Energy .............................................................................................................127
8.3 Transportation Pollutants and Environmental Externalities ...........................................................130
8.4 Transportation, Land Use and the Environment.............................................................................131
8.5 Air Pollutants Emitted by Transport Systems .................................................................................132
8.6 Water Pollutants Emitted by Transport Systems ............................................................................138
8.6.1 Modal Impacts ........................................................................................................... 139
8.6.2 Infrastructure Impacts ................................................................................................ 140
8.7 Noise Pollution Emitted by Transportation Systems ......................................................................140
8.8 Green Logistics ................................................................................................................................140
Unit Nine: Transport Planning and Policy.................................................................................. 142
9.1 Introduction: Definitions .................................................................................................................142
9.2 The Need for Transport Policy ........................................................................................................143
9.2 The Policy Process ...........................................................................................................................150
9.2.1 Problem Definition .................................................................................................... 150
9.2.2 Policy Objectives and Options ................................................................................... 151
9.2.3 Policy Implementation ............................................................................................... 152
9.2.4 Policy Evaluation and Maintenance .......................................................................... 153
9.3 Transport Planning ..........................................................................................................................154
9.3.1 The Traditional Transport Planning Process ............................................................. 154
9.3.2 Contemporary Transport Planning............................................................................. 155
9.4 Sustainabile Transport ....................................................................................................................157
9.5 Traffic Counts and Traffic Surveys...................................................................................................159
Unit Ten: Issues and Challenges in Transportation Geogaphy................................................... 162
10.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................162
10. 2 Congestion ...................................................................................................................................162
10.3 Infrastructure ................................................................................................................................163
10.4 Environmental Challenges ............................................................................................................163
10.5 Management of Transport Systems ..............................................................................................164
10.6 Energy, Safety and Security...........................................................................................................165
10.7 The Role of Geographers ..............................................................................................................165

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 WOLLEGA UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

_________________________________________________________________

COURSE MODULE

GEOGRAPHY OF TRANSPORT AND DEVELOPMENT

(GeES 351)

Prepared by:
Guyu Ferede (MA)

&

Wondimu Mamo (MA)

WU, Gimbi Campus

May, 2011

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