transport modes

Information about transport modes

This article is part
of the Transport series
Modes...
Animal-powered
Aviation
Human-powered
Ship
Rail
Road
See also...
Topics |
This box:  •  • [ edit]


Mode of transport (or means of transport or transport mode or transport modality or form of transport) is a general term for the different kinds of transport facilities that are often used to transport people or cargo.

Where more than one mode of transport is used for a journey, or for transport analysis, the journey can be described as multi-modal.

Components of a mode of transport

A transport mode is a combination of the following:

Examples of modes of transport

Worldwide comparison of the most important transport modes

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

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

EU 15 USA Japan World
GDP (PPP) per capita (€) 19,000 28,600 22,300 5,500
Passenger km per capita [3]
Private Car 10,100 22,700 6,200 2,700
Bus/ Coach 1,050 870 740 1,200
Railway 750 78 2,900 320
Air (domestic except World) 860 2,800 580 480

See also

Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. The term is derived from the Latin trans ("across") and portare ("to carry").
..... Click the link for more information.
animal-powered transport is a broad category of the human use of non-human working animals (also known as "beasts of burden") for the movement of people and goods. Humans may ride some of the larger of these animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness
..... Click the link for more information.
Aviation refers to all activities involving the operation of heavier-than-air aircraft, machines designed for atmospheric flight. The term also describes the organizations and regulatory bodies as well as the personnel related with the operation of aircraft and the industries
..... Click the link for more information.
Human-powered transport is any vehicle for transport of person(s) and/or goods, powered by human muscle. Like animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming.
..... Click the link for more information.
Ship transport is primarily used for the carriage of people and non-perishable goods, generally referred to as cargo.

Although the historic importance of sea travel has lost much importance due to the rise of commercial aviation, it is still very effective for short trips
..... Click the link for more information.
Rail transport is the transport of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles specially designed to run along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates the international trading and economic growth in most countries.
..... Click the link for more information.
Road transport (British English) or road transportation (American English) is transport on roads, that is most transport over land which is not rail transport in the wide sense.

A hybrid of road transport and ship transport is the historic horse-drawn boat.
..... Click the link for more information.
This is a list of transport related topics.

For more topics there is a collection of transportation related lists and a .

General topics

Design

  • Civil engineering
  • Engineering
  • Highway engineering
  • Transport engineering

..... Click the link for more information.
Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. The term is derived from the Latin trans ("across") and portare ("to carry").
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.
This article has been tagged since September 2007.

..... Click the link for more information.
Cargo is a term used to denote goods or produce being transported generally for commercial gain, usually on a ship, plane, train, van or truck. Nowadays containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.

Cargo represents a concern to U.S. national security.
..... Click the link for more information.
Journey can refer to:
  • Journey (film), a short film written and directed by Christine Shin.
  • Journey (band), an American rock band.
  • Journey (album), their 1975 debut album.

..... Click the link for more information.
A transport network, or transportation network in American English, is typically a network roads, streets, pipes, aqueducts, power lines, or nearly any structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity.
..... Click the link for more information.
train station or railway station (also called a railroad station[1], rail station[2], depot[3] or commonly in the UK station[4]
..... Click the link for more information.
Terminal may mean:

In travel and transport:
  • Airport terminal, a building at an airport
  • Terminal station, a passenger rail station
  • Container terminal, a facility which handles shipping

..... Click the link for more information.
Vehicles are non-living means of transport. They are most often man-made (e.g. bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, and aircraft), although some other means of transport which are not made by man can also be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.
..... Click the link for more information.
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport cargo transport using standard ISO containers (known as Shipping Containers or Isotainers) that can be loaded and sealed intact onto container ships, railroad cars, planes, and trucks.
..... Click the link for more information.
truck is a vehicle usually used for transporting bulk goods, materials, or equipment. The word "truck" comes from the Greek "trochos", meaning "wheel". In America, the big wheels of wagons were called trucks.
..... Click the link for more information.
A wagon (in British English, sometimes waggon) or dray is a wooden cart usually pulled by an animal, or animals, such as horses, mules or oxen and used for transportation of people or goods. Wagons usually have four wheels.
..... Click the link for more information.
ship is a large watercraft capable of offshore navigation. Ships may be operated by:
  • Governments (military, rescue, research, transportation)
  • Private companies and institutions (transportation, offshore resources, research)
  • Individuals (large yachts, research).

..... Click the link for more information.
aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly through the air (or through any other atmosphere). All the human activity which surrounds aircraft is called aviation. (Most rocket vehicles are not aircraft because they are not supported by the surrounding air).
..... Click the link for more information.
train is a series of rail vehicles that move along guides to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The guideway (permanent way) usually consists of conventional rail tracks, but might also be monorail or maglev.
..... Click the link for more information.
See also:


The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry.
..... Click the link for more information.
power supply (sometimes called a power supply unit or PSU) is a device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads.
..... Click the link for more information.
Traction refers to the friction between a drive member and the surface it moves upon, where the friction is used to provide motion.

For the purposes of driving a wheeled vehicle, high friction is generally desired, as it provides a more positive connection between the
..... Click the link for more information.
Driving is the controlled operation of a land vehicle, usually a motor vehicle such as a truck, boat, or car. Although direct operation of a bicycle, a mounted animal (not including chariot operation) or a motorcycle (at least in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada) is
..... Click the link for more information.
Management comprises directing and controlling a group of one or more people or entities for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing that group towards accomplishing a goal.
..... Click the link for more information.
traffic light, also known as a traffic signal, stop light, traffic lamp, stop-and-go lights, robot or semaphore, is a signaling device positioned at a road intersection, pedestrian crossing, or other location in order to indicate which
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. A how-to guide is available, as is general .
This article has been tagged since April 2007.
..... Click the link for more information.
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. A controller's primary task is to separate
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.