Transport (in
British English), or transportation (in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
), is the intentional
movement
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
of humans, animals, and
goods from one location to another.
Modes of transport include
air,
land (
rail and
road),
water,
cable,
pipeline, and
space. The field can be divided into
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
,
vehicles, and
operations
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. Transport enables human
trade, which is essential for the development of
civilizations.
Transport infrastructure consists of both fixed installations, including
roads,
railways,
airways,
waterways,
canals, and
pipelines, and terminals such as
airports,
railway stations,
bus stations,
warehouses, trucking terminals, refueling depots (including fueling docks and
fuel stations), and
seaports. Terminals may be used both for interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance.
Means of transport are any of the different kinds of transport facilities used to carry people or cargo. They may include vehicles,
riding animals, and
pack animals
A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...
. Vehicles may include
wagons,
automobiles
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
,
bicycles,
buses
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
,
trains,
trucks,
helicopters,
watercraft,
spacecraft, and
aircraft.
Modes
A mode of transport is a solution that makes use of a certain type of vehicle, infrastructure, and operation. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one mode or several of the modes, with the latter case being called inter-modal or multi-modal transport. Each mode has its own advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen on the basis of cost, capability, and route.
Governments deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose, including financing, legalities, and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country and mode.
Passenger transport may be
public, where operators provide scheduled services, or
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
. Freight transport has become focused on
containerization, although
bulk transport is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part in economic growth and
globalization, but most types cause
air pollution and
use large amounts of land. While it is heavily subsidized by governments, good planning of transport is essential to make
traffic flow and restrain
urban sprawl.
Human-powered
Human-powered transport, a form of
sustainable transport
Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...
, is the transport of people and/or goods using
human muscle-power, in the form of
walking,
running, and
swimming. Modern
technology has allowed
machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
s to enhance human power. Human-powered transport remains popular for reasons of cost-saving,
leisure,
physical exercise
Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness.
It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...
, and
environmentalism; it is sometimes the only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions.
Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the transport can be enhanced through the use of roads, especially when using the human power with vehicles, such as
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
s and
inline skates. Human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by
watercraft rowing and
skiing; even the air can be entered with
human-powered aircraft.
Animal-powered
Animal-powered transport is the use of
working animals for the movement of people and commodities. Humans may ride some of the animals directly, use them as
pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them, alone or in
teams, to pull
sleds or wheeled
vehicles.
Air
A
fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...
, commonly called an airplane, is a heavier-than-air craft where movement of the air in relation to the wings is used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish this from
rotary-wing aircraft, where the movement of the lift surfaces relative to the air generates lift. A
gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary wing. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
s and military cargo aircraft.
Two things necessary for aircraft are air flow over the wings for
lift and an area for
landing. The majority of aircraft also need an
airport with the infrastructure for maintenance, restocking, and refueling and for the loading and unloading of crew, cargo, and passengers. While the vast majority of aircraft land and take off on land, some are capable of take-off and landing on ice, snow, and calm water.
The aircraft is the second fastest method of transport, after the
rocket. Commercial jets can reach up to , single-engine aircraft . Aviation is able to quickly transport people and limited amounts of cargo over longer distances, but incurs high costs and energy use; for short distances or in inaccessible places,
helicopters can be used. As of April 28, 2009, ''The Guardian'' article notes that "the WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on planes at any time."
Land
Land transport covers all land-based transport systems that provide for the movement of people, goods, and services. Land transport plays a vital role in linking communities to each other. Land transport is a key factor in
urban planning. It consists of two kinds, rail and road.
Rail
Rail transport is where a
train runs along a set of two parallel
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
rails, known as a railway or railroad. The rails are anchored
perpendicular to
ties (or sleepers) of timber, concrete, or steel, to maintain a consistent distance apart, or
gauge. The rails and perpendicular beams are placed on a foundation made of concrete or compressed
earth and
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
in a bed of ballast. Alternative methods include
monorail and
maglev.
A train consists of one or more connected vehicles that operate on the rails. Propulsion is commonly provided by a
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
, that hauls a series of unpowered cars, that can carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by
steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
, by
diesel, or by
electricity supplied by
trackside systems. Alternatively, some or all the cars can be powered, known as a
multiple unit
A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contr ...
. Also, a train can be powered by
horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
,
cables
Cable may refer to:
Mechanical
* Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof
* Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
,
gravity,
pneumatics
Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air.
Pneumatic systems used in industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located and elec ...
, and
gas turbines. Railed vehicles move with much less friction than rubber tires on paved roads, making trains more
energy efficient, though not as efficient as ships.
Intercity trains are long-haul services connecting cities; modern
high-speed rail
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
is capable of speeds up to , but this requires specially built track.
Regional and
commuter trains feed cities from suburbs and surrounding areas, while intra-urban transport is performed by high-capacity
tramways and
rapid transits, often making up the backbone of a city's public transport.
Freight trains traditionally used
box cars, requiring manual loading and unloading of the
cargo. Since the 1960s,
container train
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...
s have become the dominant solution for general freight, while large quantities of bulk are transported by dedicated trains.
Road
A road is an identifiable
route, way, or
path between two or more
places.
Roads are typically smoothed,
paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel;
though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal
construction or
maintenance. In
urban areas, roads may pass through a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
or
village and be named as
street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
s, serving a dual function as urban space
easement and route.
The most common road vehicle is the automobile; a
wheel
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to ro