Transport

{{Short description|Movement of goods or people between locations}} {{hatnote group| {{Other uses}} {{Redirect|Transportation}} }} {{pp-move}} [[File:Manchester Transport Montage.jpg|thumb|right|Various modes of transport in Manchester, England]] {{Transport}} '''Transport''' (in British English) or '''transportation''' (in American English) is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipelines, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations. Transport enables human trade, which is essential for the development of civilizations.

Transport infrastructure consists of fixed installations, including roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals, and pipelines, as well as terminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses, trucking terminals, refueling depots (including fuel docks and fuel stations), and seaports. Terminals may be used both for the 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. Vehicles may include wagons, automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks, helicopters, watercraft, spacecraft, and aircraft.

'''Mobility''' is concerned with the experience around transportation services, including aspects such as availability, information, usability, accessibility, and affordability (as in right to mobility).<ref name="TRB2000">{{cite journal | last1=Suen | first1=S L | last2=Mitchell | first2=CGB | title=Accessible Transportation and Mobility | journal=Transportation in the New Millennium |publisher=Transportation Research Board | date=2000-02-17 | url=https://trid.trb.org/View/639982 | access-date=2026-03-03 | page= |quote=Mobility means having transport services going where and when one wants to travel; being informed about the services; knowing how to use them; being able to use them; and having the means to pay for them.}}</ref>

==Modes== {{Main|Mode of transport}}

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.<ref>{{cite book | title=Introduction to Manufacturing: An Industrial Engineering and Management Perspective | first1=Michel | last1=Baudin | first2=Torbjørn | last2=Netland | publisher=Routledge |year=2022 | isbn=978-1-351-11029-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPSZEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT616 }}</ref> Each mode has its own advantages and disadvantages, and will be chosen on the basis of cost, capability, and route.<ref>{{cite book | title=Global Logistics Management | first=Craig | last=Voortman | publisher=Juta and Company Ltd | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-7021-6641-9 | pages=41–44 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWzUDK4MgnwC&pg=PA41 }}</ref>

Governments regulate the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose, including financing, legalities, and policies.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Transport planning and policy | title=The Geography of Transport Systems | first=Jean-Paul | last=Rodrigue | edition=6th | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2024 | isbn=978-1-003-86032-7 | pages=272–295 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UVYIEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA272 | doi=10.4324/9781003343196-9 }}</ref> In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be public, private, or a partnership between the two, depending on the country and mode.<ref name=Kaminsky_2018>{{cite journal | title=National Culture Shapes Private Investment in Transportation Infrastructure Projects around the Globe | first=Jessica A. | last=Kaminsky | journal=Journal of Construction Engineering and Management | volume=144 | issue=2 | date=February 2018 | article-number=04017098 | doi=10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001416 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first=Marco | last=Percoco | title=Quality of institutions and private participation in transport infrastructure investment: Evidence from developing countries | journal=Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice | volume=70 | date=December 2014 | pages=50–58 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.tra.2014.10.004 | bibcode=2014TRPA...70...50P }}</ref> Transport modes can be a mix of the two ownership systems, such as privately owned cars and government-owned urban transport in cities.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Public transport systems: The sinews of European urban citizenship? | last=Wickham | first=J. | year=2006 | journal=European Societies | volume=8 | issue=1 | pages=3–26 | doi=10.1080/14616690500491464 }}</ref> Many international airlines have a mixed public-private ownership.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Public, private and mixed ownership and the performance of international airlines | display-authors=1 | first1=Mattijs | last1=Backx | first2=Michael | last2=Carney | first3=Eric | last3=Gedajlovic | journal=Journal of Air Transport Management | volume=8 | issue=4 | date=July 2002 | pages=213–220 | doi=10.1016/S0969-6997(01)00053-9 }}</ref>

Passenger transport may be public, where operators provide scheduled services, or private.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Modeling passenger transportation processes using vehicles of various forms of ownership | display-authors=1 | first1=Vladimir | last1=Belokurov | first2=Sergey | last2=Belokurov | first3=Vladimir | last3=Zolnikov | journal=Transportation Research Procedia | volume=36 | year=2018 | pages=44–49 | doi=10.1016/j.trpro.2018.12.041 }}</ref> Freight transport has become focused on containerization, although bulk transport is used for large volumes of durable items.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The role of shipping in the 'second stage of globalisation' | first=Yrjö | last=Kaukiainen | journal=International Journal of Maritime History | date=2014 | volume=26 | issue=1 | pages=64–81 | doi=10.1177/0843871413514505 }}</ref> Transport plays an important part in economic growth and globalization,<ref>{{cite journal | title=The impact of transport on the competitiveness of national economy | display-authors=1 | last1=Mačiulis | first1=A. | last2=Vasiliauskas | first2=A. V. | last3=Jakubauskas | first3=G. | year=2009 | journal=Transport | volume=24 | issue=2 | pages=93–99 | doi=10.3846/1648-4142.2009.24.93-99 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Globalization and Sustainable Development: Case Study on International Transport and Sustainable Development | journal=The Journal of Environment & Development | first=Jonathan | last=Köhler | volume=23 | issue=1 | year=2013 | pages=66–100 | doi=10.1177/10704965135072 | doi-broken-date=17 October 2025 }}</ref> but machine-propelled forms cause air pollution and use large amounts of land.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Estimating the Air Pollution Costs of Transport Modes | first=Kenneth A. | last=Small | journal=Journal of Transport Economics and Policy | volume=11 | issue=2 | date=May 1977 | pages=109–132 | jstor=20052465 }}</ref> While it{{vague|date=October 2025|reason=What is 'it'? Urban transport?}} is heavily subsidized by governments, good planning of transport is essential to make traffic flow and restrain urban sprawl.

===Human-powered=== {{Main|Human-powered transport}} [[File:Sherpa carrying woods.JPG|thumb|upright|Human-powered transport remains common in developing countries.<ref name=Lowe_1993>{{cite book | chapter=Cycling into the future | first=Marcia D. | last=Lowe | title=State of the World: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society | editor-first=Lester Russell | editor-last=Brown | publisher=W. W. Norton & Company | year=1993 | isbn=978-0-393-30614-9 | page=119 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PqO_Ax2OFMUC&pg=PA119 }}</ref><ref name=Pendakur_2011>{{cite book | last=Pendakur | first=V. Setty | year=2011 | chapter=Non-motorized urban transport as neglected modes | editor1-last=Dimitriou | editor1-first=Harry T. | editor2-last=Gakenheimer | editor2-first=Ralph | title=Urban Transport in the Developing World: A Handbook of Policy and Practice | publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing | pages=203–206 | isbn=978-1-84980-839-2 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09kM2SfGTwsC&pg=PA203 }}</ref>]]

Human-powered transport, a form of sustainable transport, is the transport of people or goods using human muscle-power, in the form of walking,<ref name=Pendakur_2011/> running, and swimming. Technology has allowed machines to improve the energy efficiency of human mobility on relatively smooth terrain.<ref>{{cite book | title=Bicycling Science | edition=Third | first=David Gordon | last=Wilson | publisher=MIT Press | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-262-73154-6 | pages=154–156 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0JJo6DlF9iMC&pg=PA155 }}</ref> Human-powered transport remains popular for reasons of cost-saving, leisure, physical exercise, and environmentalism;<ref>{{cite journal | title=Beyond environmental concerns: using means–end chains to explore the personal psychological values and motivations of leisure/recreational cyclists | display-authors=1 | first1=Chaang-Iuan | last1=Ho | first2=Tsai-Yuan | last2=Liao | first3=Shu-Chin | last3=Huang | first4=Hui-Mei | last4=Chen | journal=Journal of Sustainable Tourism | volume=23 | year=2015 | issue=2 | pages=234–254 | doi=10.1080/09669582.2014.943762 | bibcode=2015JSusT..23..234H }}</ref> it is sometimes the only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions.

Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the accessibility can be enhanced through the use of roads, sidewalks, and shared-use paths, especially when using the human power with vehicles, such as bicycles, inline skates, and wheelchairs.<ref>{{cite web | title=Shared-Use Paths: A Review of Design, Accessibility, and Sustainability | first1=Edward | last1=Munroe | first2=Stephen | last2=Wong | date=October 2025 | publisher=SSRN | doi=10.2139/ssrn.5551474 | url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=5551474 | access-date=2025-10-13 }}</ref> Human-powered vehicles have been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by watercraft rowing and skiing;<ref>{{cite journal | title=Human-powered Watercraft | display-authors=1 | first1=Alec N. | last1=Brooks | first2=Allan V. | last2=Abbott | first3=David Gordon | last3=Wilson | journal=Scientific American | volume=255 | issue=6 | date=December 1986 | pages=120–131 | doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1286-120 | jstor=24976108 | bibcode=1986SciAm.255f.120B }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Human locomotion on snow: determinants of economy and speed of skiing across the ages | journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | display-authors=1 | first1=Federico | last1=Formenti | first2=Luca P. | last2=Ardigò | first3=Alberto E. | last3=Minetti | date=August 7, 2005 | volume=272 | issue=1572 | pages=1561–1569 | doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3121 | pmid=16048771 | pmc=1559840 }}</ref> even the air can be flown through with human-powered aircraft.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Human-powered Flight | first1=Mark | last1=Drela | first2=John S. | last2=Langford | journal=Scientific American | volume=253 | issue=5 | date=November 1985 | pages=144–151 | doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1185-144 | jstor=24967855 | bibcode=1985SciAm.253e.144D }}</ref> Personal transporters, a form of hybrid human-electric powered vehicle, have emerged in the 21st century as a form of multi-model urban transport.<ref>{{cite conference | title=Analysis of Light Alternative-Powered Vehicle Use and Potential in the United States | first=Mark | last=Archibald | conference=Proceedings of the ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Transportation Systems; Safety Engineering, Risk Analysis and Reliability Methods; Applied Stochastic Optimization, Uncertainty and Probability. Denver, Colorado, USA. November 11–17 | volume=9 | article-number=IMECE2011-64714 | pages=319–326 | year=2011 | publisher=ASME | doi=10.1115/IMECE2011-64714 }}</ref>

===Animal-powered=== {{Main|Animal-powered transport}} thumb|Elephant transporting a person and some cargo on a highway between Delhi and Jaipur, India Animal-powered transport is the use of working animals for the movement of people and commodities.<ref name=Baggerman_2024/> Humans may ride some of the animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them,<ref>{{cite book | title=Tourism and Animal Ethics | first=David A. | last=Fennell | publisher=Routledge | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-136-57568-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQHJBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT125 }}</ref> alone or in teams, to pull sleds or wheeled vehicles. They remain useful in rough terrain that is not readily accessible by automotive-based transportation.<ref name=Baggerman_2024>{{cite book | chapter=Animal Power | first=Jessica O. | last=Baggerman | title=Energy in American History: A Political, Social, and Environmental Encyclopedia | editor1-first=Jeffrey B. | editor1-last=Webb | editor2-first=Christopher R. | editor2-last=Fee | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA | year=2024 | isbn=979-8-216-17434-9 | pages=40–41 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KvEQEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 }}</ref>

===Air=== {{Main|Aviation}} [[File:Airfrance.a318-100.f-guga.arp.jpg|thumb|An Air France Airbus A318 landing at London Heathrow Airport|alt=White jet aircraft coming into land, undercarriage fully extended. Under each wing is a turbofan engine]] A fixed-wing aircraft, 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.<ref>{{cite book | title=Introduction to Aerospace Engineering: Basic Principles of Flight | first=Ethirajan | last=Rathakrishnan | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-119-80715-5 | pages=37–40 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sJUtEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 }}</ref> A gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary wing.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large airliners and military cargo aircraft.

Two things necessary for aircraft are air flow over the wings for lift and an apparatus for landing. The majority of aircraft require an airport with the infrastructure for maintenance, restocking, and refueling and for the loading and unloading of crew, cargo, and passengers.<ref>{{Cite web | last=Crawford | first=Amy | date=October 25, 2021 | title=Could flying electric 'air taxis' help fix urban transportation? | url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/25/could-flying-electric-air-taxis-help-fix-urban-transportation | access-date=2021-11-19 | website=The Guardian | language=en | archive-date=2021-11-19 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119165753/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/25/could-flying-electric-air-taxis-help-fix-urban-transportation | url-status=live }}</ref> Many aerodromes have takeoff and landing restrictions on weight and runway length, and so are not able to handle all types of aircraft.<ref>{{cite book | title=Airport Engineering: Planning, Design, and Development of 21st Century Airports | display-authors=1 | first1=Norman J. | last1=Ashford | first2=Saleh | last2=Mumayiz | first3=Paul H. | last3=Wright | edition=4th | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-470-39855-5 | pages=74–104 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7b9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 }}</ref> While the vast majority of fixed-wing aircraft land and take off on land, some are capable of take-off and landing on ice, snow,<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Construction of Snow and Ice Runways | last=Talalay | first=P. G. | year=2024 | title=Mining and Construction in Snow and Ice | series=Springer Polar Sciences | pages=81–119 | publisher=Springer, Cham. | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-76508-7_3 | isbn=978-3-031-76507-0 }}</ref> and calm water.<ref>{{cite journal | title=A Review of Hydrodynamic Design Methods for Seaplanes | first=Michael G. | last=Morabito | journal=Journal of Ship Production and Design | volume=37 | issue=3 | pages=159–180 | date=August 19, 2021 | doi=10.5957/JSPD.11180039 }}</ref>

Autonomous or remotely-piloted airplanes are known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAV. These drones can range in size from less than a metre across to a full-sized airplane.<ref>{{cite web | title=How Big Are Military Drones? (Sizes & Comparison) | first=Wiley | last=Stickney | date=May 9, 2025 | website=boltflight.com | url=https://boltflight.com/how-big-are-military-drones-sizes-comparison/ | access-date=2025-10-14 }}</ref> They are capable of carrying a payload, and are being used for package delivery.<ref>{{cite book | title=Introduction to UAV Systems | series=Aerospace Series | display-authors=1 | first1=Paul G. | last1=Fahlstrom | first2=Thomas J. | last2=Gleason | first3=Mohammad H. | last3=Sadraey | edition=5 | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=2022 | isbn=978-1-119-80262-4 | page=287 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GNoEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA287 }}</ref>

The aircraft is the second fastest method of transport, after the rocket. Commercial jets can reach up to {{convert|955|km/h|mph}}, single-engine aircraft {{convert|555|km/h|mph}}. 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.{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|p=281}} 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."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8477508 | title=Swine flu prompts EU warning on travel to US | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926073442/http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/8477508 | access-date=2015-09-28 | archive-date=2015-09-26 | work=The Guardian | date=April 28, 2009 }}</ref>

An aerostat is a class of lighter-than-air aircraft that gains its lift by containing a volume of gas that has a lower density than the surrounding atmosphere. These include balloons and rigid, semi-rigid, or non-rigid airships; the last is called a blimp. The lifting gas is typically helium, as hydrogen is highly flammable. Alternatively, heated air is used in hot air balloons and thermal airships. Aerostats can transport passengers and a payload over long distances. For example, zeppelins were used on long-ranged bombing raids during World War I.<ref>{{cite book | title=Airships: Their Science, History and Future | first=Iver P. | last=Cooper | publisher=McFarland | year=2025 | isbn=978-1-4766-5413-3 | pages=5–15 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OExeEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 }}</ref>

===Land=== {{Main|Land transport}} 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==== {{Main|Rail transport}} [[File:ICE1 Schellenberg.jpg|thumb|Intercity Express, a German high-speed passenger train|alt=White electric train with red cheatline emerging from tunnel in the countryside]] Rail transport consists of wheeled vehicles running on tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel 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 in a bed of ballast.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Way to Go: Moving by Sea, Land, and Air | first=Kate | last=Ascher | publisher=Penguin Publishing Group | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-14-312794-9 | page=100 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hXPZCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA100 }}</ref> Alternative methods include monorail,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Why Monorail Systems Provide a Great Solution for Metropolitan Areas | last=Timan | first=P. E. | journal=Urban Rail Transit | volume=1 | pages=13–25 | year=2015 | doi=10.1007/s40864-015-0001-1 }}</ref> maglev, and hyperloop.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Comparison of conventional high speed railway, maglev and hyperloop transportation systems | first1=Mehmet Nedim | last1=Yavuz | first2=Zübeyde | last2=Öztürk | journal=International Advanced Researches and Engineering Journal | year=2021 | volume=5 | issue=1 | pages=113–122 | doi=10.35860/iarej.795779 }}</ref> Dual gauge railways have three or four rails, allowing use by trains with two or three track gauges.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Experimental and numerical investigations of dual gauge railway track behaviour | display-authors=1 | first1=Ignacio Villalba | last1=Sanchis | first2=Ricardo Insa | last2=Franco | first3=Pablo Martínez | last3=Fernández | first4=Pablo Salvador | last4=Zuriaga | journal=Construction and Building Materials | volume=299 | date=September 13, 2021 | article-number=123943 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123943 }}</ref> For steep grades, a railway can use an additional toothed rack rail for traction.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Discrete element analysis of ballasted track mechanical behavior under rack vehicle loads on steep slopes | display-authors=1 | first1=Jun | last1=Fang | first2=Chunfa | last2=Zhao | first3=Zaigang | last3=Chen | first4=Jizhong | last4=Yang | first5=Zhihui | last5=Chen | first6=Jieyu | last6=Ning | journal=Transportation Geotechnics | volume=55 | date=November 2025 | article-number=101659 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.trgeo.2025.101659 | bibcode=2025TranG..5501659F }}</ref>

A train consists of one or more connected vehicles that operate on the rails, known as rolling stock. Propulsion is commonly provided by a locomotive, which hauls a series of unpowered cars that carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by steam, diesel,<ref name=Spiryagin_et_al_2014/> gas turbine,<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Gas Turbine in Railway Traction | first=M. C. | last=Duffy | pages=27–58 | journal=Transactions of the Newcomen Society | volume=70 | year=1998 | issue=1 | doi=10.1179/tns.1998.002 }}</ref> or else electricity supplied by trackside systems. Some or all the cars can be powered, known as a multiple unit.<ref name=Spiryagin_et_al_2014>{{cite book | title=Design and Simulation of Rail Vehicles | series=Ground vehicle engineering series | display-authors=1 | first1=Maksym | last1=Spiryagin | first2=Colin | last2=Cole | first3=Yan Quan | last3=Sun | first4=Mitchell | last4=McClanachan | first5=Valentyn | last5=Spiryagin | first6=Tim | last6=McSweeney | publisher=CRC Press | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4665-7566-0 | pages=27–49 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4cqSAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 }}</ref> A tram is similar to a train, but is generally smaller, travels shorter distances, and runs on rails that are integrated into the streets. Typically a tram is electric-powered, but they have also been propelled by horses, cables,<ref>{{cite book | title=Where Have All the Horses Gone?: How Advancing Technology Swept American Horses from the Road, the Farm, the Range and the Battlefield | first=Jonathan V. | last=Levin | publisher=McFarland | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-4766-6713-3 | pages=75–80 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8qAuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 }}</ref> gravity,{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} or pneumatics.<ref>{{cite web | last=Bellows | first=Alan | date=February 2008 | url=http://www.damninteresting.com/the-remarkable-pneumatic-people-mover | title=The Remarkable Pneumatic People-Mover | website=Damn Interesting | access-date=2025-10-14 }}</ref> Railed vehicles move with much less friction than rubber tires on paved roads, making trains more energy efficient, though not as efficient as ships.<ref>{{cite book | title=Environmental Physics | series=Routledge Introductions to Environment: Environment and Society Texts | first=Clare | last=Smith | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2023 | isbn=978-1-000-94501-0 | pages=74–78 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lUjAEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 }}</ref>

Intercity trains are long-haul services connecting cities;{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|p=279}} modern high-speed rail is capable of speeds up to {{convert|350|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, but this requires specially built track. Commercial maglev transport in Shanghai runs at {{convert|460|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web | title=The 10 fastest high-speed trains in the world | first=Peter | last=Nilson | date=June 5, 2023 | website=Railway Technology | publisher=Verdict Network, GlobalData | url=https://www.railway-technology.com/features/the-10-fastest-high-speed-trains-in-the-world/?cf-view | access-date=2025-10-15 }}</ref> Regional and commuter trains feed cities from suburbs and surrounding areas, while intra-urban transport is performed by high-capacity tramways and rapid transits,<ref>{{cite book | title=Transportation Engineering and Planning | volume=I | editor-first=Tschangho John | editor-last=Kim | publisher=EOLSS Publications | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-905839-80-3 | pages=191–197 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NbUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 }}</ref> in many cases making up the backbone of a city's public transport.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} Freight trains traditionally used box cars, requiring manual loading and unloading of the cargo. Since the 1980s, container trains have become the dominant solution for general freight,<ref>{{cite book | title=Railroad Rolling Stock | first=Steve | last=Barry | publisher=Voyageur Press | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-61673-209-7 | pages=70–71 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=woJyATGsf6kC&pg=PA70 }}</ref> while large quantities of bulk are transported by dedicated rolling stock. An example of the latter are specially designed tank cars for the transport of hazardous materials.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Optimizing the design of railway tank cars to minimize accident-caused releases | display-authors=1 | first1=Christopher P. L. | last1=Barkan | first2=Satish V. | last2=Ukkusuri | first3=S. Travis | last3=Waller | journal=Computers & Operations Research | publisher=Elsevier | volume=34 | issue=5 | date=May 2007 | pages=1266–1286 | doi=10.1016/j.cor.2005.06.002 }}</ref>

====Road==== {{Main|Road transport}} [[File:High Five.jpg|thumb|right|Road transport]]

A road is an identifiable route, way, or path between two or more places.<ref Name="Major_Roads_of_the_United_States">{{cite web |title=Major Roads of the United States |publisher=United States Department of the Interior |date=2006-03-13 |url=http://nationalatlas.gov/mld/roadtrl.html |access-date=24 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070413153426/http://www.nationalatlas.gov/mld/roadtrl.html |archive-date=13 April 2007 }}</ref> Roads are typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise prepared to allow easy travel;<ref Name="RoadInfrastructureStrategicFrameworkforSouthAfrica">{{cite web|title=Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework for South Africa |publisher=National Department of Transport (South Africa) |url=http://www.transport.gov.za/library/docs/rifsa/infor.html |access-date=24 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927063243/http://www.transport.gov.za/library/docs/rifsa/infor.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> though they need not be, and historically many roads were simply recognizable routes without any formal construction or maintenance.{{Sfn|Lay|1992|pages=6–7}} In urban areas, roads may pass through a city or village and be named as streets, serving a dual function as urban space easement and route.<ref name="difference_between_road_and_street">{{cite web |title=What is the difference between a road and a street? |work=Word FAQ |publisher=Lexico Publishing Group |year=2007 |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/d01.html |access-date=24 March 2007 |archive-date=5 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070405124704/http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/d01.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

At least within the U.S., the most common road vehicle is the automobile;<ref>{{cite web | title=Vehicle Miles Traveled by Highway Category and Vehicle Type | publisher=Home, United States Department of Transportation | url=https://www.bts.gov/browse-statistical-products-and-data/freight-facts-and-figures/vehicle-miles-traveled-highway | access-date=2025-10-15 }}</ref> a light duty wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. Other users of roads include buses, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. As of 2015, there were 950 million passenger cars worldwide, with a projected total of 2.5 billion in 2050.<ref>{{cite book | title=Chemical Technology: From Principles to Products | first1=Andreas | last1=Jess | first2=Peter | last2=Wasserscheid | edition=2nd | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | year=2020 | isbn=978-3-527-34421-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a97BDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA410 }}</ref> Road transport offers road users the flexibility to transfer the vehicle from one lane to the other and from one road to another according to the need and convenience. This combination of changes in location, direction, speed, and timings of travel is not available to other motorized modes of transport.<ref name=Rodrigue_et_al_2013/> It is possible to provide efficient intracity door-to-door service only by road transport.

Some drawbacks are that a road system consumes large amounts of space, are costly to build and maintain (including vehicles), leads to urban congestion, and have only limited ability to achieve economies of scale.<ref name=Rodrigue_et_al_2013>{{cite book | title=The Geography of Transport Systems | display-authors=1 | first1=Jean-Paul | last1=Rodrigue | first2=Claude | last2=Comtois | first3=Brian | last3=Slack | edition=3 | publisher=Routledge | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-136-77732-5 | pages=90–91 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeocAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 }}</ref> Automobiles provide high flexibility with low capacity, but require high energy and area use, and are the main source of harmful noise and air pollution in cities;<ref>{{Cite news | last=Harvey | first=Fiona | author-link=Fiona Harvey | date=March 5, 2020 | title=One in five Europeans exposed to harmful noise pollution – study | url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/05/one-in-five-europeans-exposed-to-harmful-noise-pollution-study | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305064317/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/05/one-in-five-europeans-exposed-to-harmful-noise-pollution-study | archive-date=2020-03-05 | access-date=2020-03-05 | work=The Guardian | language=en-GB | issn=0261-3077}}</ref> buses allow for more efficient travel at the cost of reduced flexibility.{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|p=279}} Road transport by truck is often the initial and final stage of freight transport.<ref name=Rodrigue_et_al_2013/>

===Water=== {{Main|Maritime transport}} [[File:Jadrolinija supetar ferry.JPG|thumb|right|Automobile ferry in Croatia]]

Water transport is movement by means of a watercraft—such as a barge, boat, ship, or sailboat—over a body of water, such as a sea, ocean, lake, canal, or river. The need for buoyancy is common to watercraft,<ref>{{cite web | title=The Science of Buoyancy and Hull Design | website=Torpedo Bay Navy Museum | url=https://navymuseum.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/Science-Behind-the-Concept-Cards_Science-of-Hulls.pdf | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref> making the hull a critical aspect of its construction, maintenance, and appearance.

In the 19th century, the first steam ships were developed, using a steam engine to drive a paddle wheel or propeller to move the ship. The steam was produced in a boiler using wood or coal and fed through a steam external combustion engine.<ref>{{cite book | title=Power to the People: Energy in Europe over the Last Five Centuries | series=The Princeton Economic History of the Western World | display-authors=1 | first1=Astrid | last1=Kander | first2=Paolo | last2=Malanima | first3=Paul | last3=Warde | publisher=Princeton University Press | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-691-16822-7 | page=201 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h22YDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 }}</ref> Now most commercial ships have an internal combustion engine using a slightly refined type of petroleum called bunker fuel.<ref>{{cite book | title=Commercial Ship Surveying: On/Off Hire Condition Surveys and Bunker Surveys | first=Harry | last=Karanassos | publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann | year=2015 | isbn=978-0-08-100304-6 | page=191 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zbF0BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA191 }}</ref> Some ships, such as submarines, use nuclear marine propulsion with heat from a nuclear reactor generating the steam.<ref>{{cite web | title=Nuclear Submarines and Aircraft Carriers | date=30 November 2018 | publisher=United States Environmental Protection Agency | url=https://www.epa.gov/radtown/nuclear-submarines-and-aircraft-carriers | access-date=2025-10-15 }}</ref> Recreational or educational craft still use wind power or oars, while some smaller craft use internal combustion engines to drive one or more propellers or, in the case of jet boats, an inboard water jet.<ref>{{cite book | title=PCOC Boating Safety Course Manual | first=Jamie | last=Gordon | publisher=Sail Canada | year=2023 | isbn=978-1-990076-18-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W_zTEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT19 }}</ref> In shallow draft areas, hovercraft are propelled by large pusher-prop fans.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Air Cushion Craft | first=David | last=Lavis | journal=Naval Engineers Journal | volume=97 | issue=2 | date=February 1985 | pages=259–316 | doi=10.1111/j.1559-3584.1985.tb03401.x | bibcode=1985NEngJ..97..259L }}</ref> (See Marine propulsion.)

Although it is slow compared to other transport, modern sea transport is a highly efficient method of transporting large quantities of goods. Commercial vessels, nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in 2007.<ref>{{cite book | title=Review of Maritime Transport | series=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) | publisher=United Nations | year=2007 | pages=x, 32 | location=New York and Geneva | isbn=978-92-1-112725-6 | url=https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/rmt2007_en.pdf | access-date=2025-10-12 }}</ref> Transport by water is significantly less costly than air transport for transcontinental shipping;{{Sfn|Stopford|1997|pages=4–6}} short sea shipping and ferries remain viable in coastal areas.{{Sfn|Stopford|1997|pages=8–9}}{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|p=280}}

===Other modes=== [[File:Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Luca Galuzzi 2005.jpg|thumb|Trans-Alaska Pipeline for crude oil|alt=Oil pipeline winding through cold Alaskan country-side. In the background are mountains, partly snow-capped]] Pipeline transport sends goods through a pipe; most commonly, chemically stable liquids, vapors, and gases can be sent,<ref>{{cite book | title=Hazardous Materials: Managing the Incident with Navigate Advantage Access | first1=Gregory G. | last1=Noll | first2=Michael S. | last2=Hildebrand | publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning | year=2022 | isbn=978-1-284-25567-6 | page=313 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rt2aEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA313 }}</ref> while a slurry can be used to transport solids.<ref>{{cite book | title=Mechanics of Sediment Transportation and Alluvial Stream Problems | series=New age reference | first1=R. J. | last1=Garde | first2=K. G. Ranga | last2=Raju | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2000 | isbn=978-81-224-1270-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6w1aMqGrWxIC&pg=PA648 }}</ref> Pneumatic tubes can send solid capsules using compressed air.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Pneumatic Capsule Transport | first1=O. V. | last1=Belova | first2=M. D. | last2=Vulf | journal=Procedia Engineering | volume=152 | year=2016 | pages=276–280 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.proeng.2016.07.703 }}</ref> Short-distance systems exist for sewage, slurry, water, and beer, while long-distance networks are used for freshwater,<ref>{{cite news | title=WA Government to increase capacity of historic Goldfields water pipeline by 2027 | first1=Jarrod | last1=Lucas | first2=Katrina | last2=Tap | date=June 11, 2025 | publisher=ABC News | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-11/goldfields-water-pipeline-capacity-upgrade/105403262 | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite conference | title=The Great Man-Made River Project | first1=T. F. | last1=Siala | first2=J. R. | last2=Stoner |book-title=Pipelines 2006: Service to the Owner |conference=Pipeline Division Specialty Conference, held in Chicago, Illinois, July 30-August 2, 2006 | editor1-first=Alan | editor1-last=Atalah | editor2-first=Armand | editor2-last=Tremblay | isbn=978-0-7844-0854-4 | pages=1–8 | doi=10.1061/40854(211)32 }}</ref> petroleum, and natural gas.<ref>{{cite web | title=The world's longest oil and gas pipelines | first=Sarah | last=Blackman | date=October 17, 2012 | website=Offshore Technology | url=https://www.offshore-technology.com/analysis/featureworlds-longest-oil-gas-pipelines-imports/ | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref>

Cable transport is a broad mode where vehicles are pulled by cables instead of an internal power source. It is most commonly used at steep gradient.<ref name=Neumann_2010>{{cite journal | title=The past, present, and future of urban cable propelled people movers | first=Edward S. | last=Neumann | journal=Journal of Advanced Transportation | volume=33 | issue=1 | pages=51–82 | date=January 19, 2010 | doi=10.1002/atr.5670330106 }}</ref> Typical solutions include aerial tramways,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Aerial Ropeway Transportation Systems in the Urban Environment: State of the Art | display-authors=1 | first1=B. | last1=Alshalalfah | first2=A. | last2=Shalaby | first3=S. | last3=Dale | first4=F. M. Y. | last4=Othman | journal=Journal of Transportation Engineering | date=2012 | volume=138 | issue=3 | pages=253–262 | doi=10.1061/(ASCE)TE.1943-5436.0000330 }}</ref> funiculars, elevators,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Funicular Railways | first=Kathy | last=Warnes | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Transportation: Social Science and Policy | editor-first=Mark | editor-last=Garrett | publisher=SAGE Publications | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4833-8980-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0p-kBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT1005 }}</ref> material ropeways,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Modern Material Ropeway Capabilities and Characteristics | display-authors=1 | first1=Edward S. | last1=Neumann | first2=Sam | last2=Bonasso | first3=Abel D. I. | last3=Dede | journal=Journal of Transportation Engineering | volume=111 | issue=6 | date=November 1985 | pages=651–663 | doi=10.1061/(ASCE)0733-947X(1985)111:6(651) }}</ref> and ski lifts;<ref name=Neumann_2010/> some of these are also categorized as conveyor transport.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} A variant is the zip line, which uses gravity for propulsion.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Physical and digital architecture for collection and analysis of imparted accelerations on Zip Line attractions | display-authors=1 | last1=Quizona | first1=K. D. | last2=Sicat | first2=S. | last3=Holman | first3=N. | last4=Glozer | first4=M. | last5=Black | first5=A. | last6=Ferworn | first6=A. | last7=Woodcock | first7=K. | year=2018 | journal=Journal of Themed Experience and Attractions Studies | volume=1 | issue=1 | pages=61–65 | url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jteas/vol1/iss1/7/ | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref>

Spaceflight is transport outside Earth's atmosphere by means of a spacecraft. It is most frequently used for satellites placed in Earth orbit.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Observations on the evolution of satellite launch volume and cyclicality in the space industry | first1=Thomas | last1=Hiriart | first2=Joseph H. | last2=Saleh | journal=Space Policy | volume=26 | issue=1 | date=February 2010 | pages=53–60 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.spacepol.2009.11.001 | bibcode=2010SpPol..26...53H }}</ref> However, human spaceflight mission have landed on the Moon<ref>{{cite web | title=Lunar Mission Summaries | year=2025 | publisher=Lunar and Planetary Institute | url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/ | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref> and are occasionally used to rotate crew-members to space stations.<ref>{{cite web | title=International Space Station Expeditions | publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration | year=2025 | url=https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/expedition-missions/ | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref> Uncrewed spacecraft have been sent to all the planets of the Solar System.<ref>{{cite web | title=A Planetary Society Retrospective | publisher=The Planetary Society | date=September 21, 2020 | url=https://www.planetary.org/articles/a-planetary-society-retrospective | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref>

Suborbital spaceflight is the fastest of the existing and planned transport systems from a place on Earth to a distant "other place" on Earth.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Rocket-Powered E-Commerce: Exploring the Feasibility and Implications of Suborbital Package Delivery | display-authors=1 | first1=Shaji | last1=George | first2=T. | last2=Baskar | first3=Digvijay | last3=Pandey | journal=Partners Universal Innovative Research Publication | volume=2 | issue=2 | year=2024 | doi=10.5281/zenodo.10951330 }}</ref> These rocket-propelled systems could potentially do global point-to-point transport delivery of passengers or cargo in less than 90 minutes.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Feasible options for point-to-point passenger transport with rocket propelled reusable launch vehicles | display-authors=1 | first1=Steffen | last1=Callsen | first2=Jascha | last2=Wilken | first3=Sven | last3=Stappert | first4=Martin | last4=Sippel | journal=Acta Astronautica | publisher=Elsevier | volume=212 | date=November 2023 | pages=100–110 | doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2023.07.016 | bibcode=2023AcAau.212..100C }}</ref>

==Elements==

===Infrastructure=== {{Main|Infrastructure}} [[File:GoldenGateBridge BakerBeach MC.jpg|thumb|Bridges, such as Golden Gate Bridge, allow roads and railways to cross bodies of water.]] [[File:Tampereen rantatunneli.jpg|thumb|Tunnels, such as the Tampere Tunnel, allow traffic to pass underground or through rock formations.]] Infrastructure is the fixed installations that allow a vehicle to operate. It consists of a transport network, a terminal, and facilities for parking and maintenance.<ref>{{cite book | title=Development Policy and Administration | first=Alok | last=Verma | publisher=K. K. Publications | year=2021 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmJCEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA231 }}</ref> For rail, pipeline, road, and cable transport, the entire way the vehicle travels must be constructed. Air and watercraft are able to avoid this, since the airway and seaway do not need to be constructed. However, they require fixed infrastructure at terminals.<ref name=Pollalis_2016>{{cite book | title=Planning Sustainable Cities: An infrastructure-based approach | first=Spiro N. | last=Pollalis | publisher=Routledge | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-317-28276-1 | pages=88–89 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_wyDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88 }}</ref>

Terminals such as airports, ports, and stations, are locations where passengers and freight can be transferred from one vehicle or mode to another. For passenger transport, terminals are integrating different modes to allow riders, who are interchanging between modes, to take advantage of each mode's benefits.<ref name=Pollalis_2016/> For instance, airport rail links connect airports to the city centres and suburbs. The terminals for automobiles are parking lots, while buses and coaches can operate from simple stops.{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|pages=275–276}} For freight, terminals act as transshipment points,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Transshipment of containers at a container terminal: An overview | first1=Iris F. A. | last1=Vis | first2=René | last2=de Koster | journal=European Journal of Operational Research | volume=147 | issue=1 | date=May 16, 2003 | pages=1–16 | doi=10.1016/S0377-2217(02)00293-X }}</ref> though some cargo is transported directly from the point of production to the point of use.

The financing of infrastructure can either be public or private. Transport is often a natural monopoly<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | chapter=Natural Monopoly in Transport | first1=André | last1=de Palma | first2=Julien | last2=Monardo | encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of Transportation | year=2021 | pages=30–35 | publisher=Elsevier | article-number=hal-02121079 | version=2 | doi=10.1016/b978-0-08-102671-7.10006-5 | isbn=978-0-08-102672-4 | chapter-url=https://hal.science/hal-02121079v2 | access-date=2025-10-16 }}</ref> and a necessity for the public; roads, and in some countries railways and airports, are funded through taxation. New infrastructure projects can have high costs and are often financed through debt. Many infrastructure owners, therefore, impose usage fees,{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} such as landing fees at airports or toll plazas on roads.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Government versus toll funding of road projects – A theoretical consideration with an ex-post evaluation of implemented toll projects | first=James | last=Odeck | journal=Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice | volume=98 | date=April 2017 | pages=97–107 | doi=10.1016/j.tra.2017.01.007 | bibcode=2017TRPA...98...97O }}</ref> Independent of this, authorities may impose taxes on the purchase or use of vehicles.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Part I: Externalities and economic policies in road transport | display-authors=1 | first1=Georgina | last1=Santos | first2=Hannah | last2=Behrendt | first3=Laura | last3=Maconi | first4=Tara | last4=Shirvani | first5=Alexander | last5=Teytelboym | journal=Research in Transportation Economics | volume=28 | issue=1 | year=2010 | pages=2–45 | doi=10.1016/j.retrec.2009.11.002 }}</ref> Because of poor forecasting and overestimation of passenger numbers by planners, there is frequently a benefits shortfall for transport infrastructure projects.<ref>{{Cite journal | display-authors=1 | last1=Flyvbjerg | first1=Bent | last2=Skamris Holm | first2=Mette K. | last3=Buhl | first3=Søren L. | date=June 30, 2005 | title=How (In)accurate Are Demand Forecasts in Public Works Projects?: The Case of Transportation | journal=Journal of the American Planning Association | language=en | volume=71 | issue=2 | pages=131–146 | doi=10.1080/01944360508976688 | issn=0194-4363| arxiv=1303.6654 | bibcode=2005JAmPA..71..131F }}</ref>

===Means of transport===

====Animals==== Animals used in transportation include pack animals and riding animals. These include various bovids, equids, and camelids; animal families noted for their muscular strength.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=The Ethnozoological Role of Working Animals in Traction and Transport | first=Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega | last=Alves | title=Ethnozoology: Animals in Our Lives | year=2018 | pages=339–349 | doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-809913-1.00018-1 }}</ref> Other species employed for various forms of transport include the dog, elephant, ostrich, sheep, and even the dolphin.{{citation needed|date=November 2025}}

====Vehicles==== {{Main|Vehicle}} [[File:BMW U06 IMG 6802.jpg|thumb|A BMW 2 Series Active Tourer in 2022]] thumb|Customized motorcycle to maximize load capacity. Mobility is important for motorcycles, which are primarily used for transporting light cargo in urban areas. A vehicle is a non-living device that is used to move people and goods. Unlike the infrastructure, the vehicle moves along with the cargo and riders. Unless being pulled/pushed by a cable or muscle-power, the vehicle must provide its own propulsion; this is most commonly done through a steam engine, combustion engine, electric motor,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Steam Versus Electric Versus Internal Combustion: Choosing Vehicle Technology at the Start of the Automotive Age | first=Alan P. | last=Loeb | year=2004 | journal=Transportation Research Record | volume=1885 | issue=1 | pages=1–7 | doi=10.3141/1885-01 }}</ref> jet engine, or rocket,<ref>{{cite conference | title=Rocket engine versus jet engine comparison | first=Claus | last=Meisl | date=July 1992 | conference=28th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit | page=3686 | doi=10.2514/6.1992-3686 }}</ref> though other means of propulsion also exist such as sail power or compressed air.<ref>{{cite journal | title=A review of compressed-air hybrid technology in vehicle system | display-authors=1 | last1=Wasbari | first1=F. | last2=Bakar | first2=R. A. | last3=Gan | first3=L. M. | last4=Tahir | first4=M. M. | last5=Yusof | first5=A. A. | date=January 2017 | journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews | volume=67 | pages=935–953 | doi=10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.039 | bibcode=2017RSERv..67..935W }}</ref> Vehicles also need a system of converting the energy into movement; this is most commonly done through wheels, propellers, and air pressure.<ref>{{cite book | title=Vehicle Traction Mechanics | volume=3 | series=Developments in Agricultural Engineering | display-authors=1 | first1=R. N. | last1=Yong | first2=E. A. | last2=Fattah | first3=N. | last3=Skiadas | publisher=Elsevier | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-444-60048-6 | page=43 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8m67xLCNiwC&pg=PA43 }}</ref>

Vehicles are commonly staffed by a driver. However, some systems, such as people movers and some rapid transits, are fully automated.<ref>{{cite conference | editor-last=Sproule | editor-first=W. J. | title=Automated People Movers and Automated Transit Systems 2020: Automated Transit for Smart Mobility | publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers | conference=17th International Conference on Automated People Movers and Automated Transit Systems | date=June 25, 2020 | doi=10.1061/9780784483077 }}</ref> For passenger transport, the vehicle must have a compartment, seat, or platform for the passengers. Simple vehicles, such as automobiles, bicycles, or simple aircraft, may have one of the passengers as a driver. Since 2016, progress related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought a lot of new emerging technologies for transportation and automotive fields such as connected vehicles<ref>{{cite conference | title=Impact of Industry (4.O) in Automobile Industry | display-authors=1 | first1=Stella Isioma | last1=Monye | first2=Sunday Adeniran | last2=Afolalu | first3=Sunday Lukeman | last3=Lawal | first4=Ojo Augustine | last4=Oluwatoyin | first5=Adewale George | last5=Adeyemi | first6=Emmanuel Ikechukwu | last6=Ughapu | first7=Abayomi | last7=Adegbenjo | series=E3S Web of Conferences | volume=430 | year=2023 | conference=15th International Conference on Materials Processing and Characterization (ICMPC 2023) | article-number=01222 | doi=10.1051/e3sconf/202343001222 }}</ref> and autonomous vehicles.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Towards a 4th industrial revolution | last1=Ross | first1=P. | last2=Maynard | first2=K. | year=2021 | journal=Intelligent Buildings International | volume=13 | issue=3 | pages=159–161 | doi=10.1080/17508975.2021.1873625 }}</ref> These innovations are said to form future mobility, but concerns remain on safety and cybersecurity, particularly concerning connected and autonomous mobility.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hamid |first=Umar Zakir Abdul |title=Facilitating a Reliable, Feasible, and Comfortable Future Mobility |journal=SAE International Journal of Connected and Automated Vehicles |date=2021|volume=4 |issue=1 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350972711 |display-authors=etal|access-date=5 September 2022}}</ref>

===Operation=== [[File:Incheon International Airport.jpg|thumb|Incheon International Airport, South Korea|alt=Tilted aerial view of modern airport. Aircraft are parked next to "arms" that extend from the central building]] Private transport is only subject to the owner of the vehicle, who operates the vehicle themselves. For public transport and freight transport, operations are done through private enterprise, governments, or a partnership between the two.<ref name=Mizutani_2006>{{cite book | last=Mizutani | first=F. | year=2006 | chapter=The role of private provision in transport markets: effects of private ownership and business diversification | title=Structural Change in Transportation and Communications in the Knowledge Society | pages=227–228 | publisher=Edward Elgar | isbn=978-1-78254-203-2 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y8llNzARZ1IC&pg=PA227 }}</ref><ref name=Kaminsky_2018/> The infrastructure and vehicles may be owned and operated by the same company, or they may be operated by different entities. Traditionally, many countries have had a national airline and national railway. Since the 1980s, many of these have been privatized.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Privatization in Transport Available to Purchase | first=Chris | last=Nash | year=2005 | title=Handbook of Transport Strategy, Policy and Institutions | editor1-first=Kenneth J. | editor1-last=Button | editor2-first=David A. | editor2-last=Hensher | publisher=Emerald Group Publishing Limited | isbn=978-0-08045-604-1 | doi=10.1108/9780080456041-007 }}</ref> International shipping remains a highly competitive industry with little regulation,{{Sfn|Stopford|1997|p=422}} but ports can be public-owned.{{Sfn|Stopford|1997|p=29}}

===Policy=== {{further|List of ministries of transport by country|Traffic management}} As the population of the world increases, cities grow in size and population—according to the United Nations, 55% of the world's population live in cities, and by 2050 this number is expected to rise to 68%.<ref>{{cite news |last=Meredith |first=Sam |date=2018-05-17 |title=Two-thirds of global population will live in cities by 2050, UN says |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/two-thirds-of-global-population-will-live-in-cities-by-2050-un-says.html |work=CNBC |access-date=2018-11-20 |archive-date=2020-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112041309/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/two-thirds-of-global-population-will-live-in-cities-by-2050-un-says.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Public transport policy must evolve to meet the changing priorities of the urban world.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The evolution of urban mobility: The interplay of academic and policy perspectives |last=Jones |first=Peter |date=July 2014 |journal=IATSS Research |volume=38 |pages=7–13 |doi=10.1016/j.iatssr.2014.06.001 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The institution of policy enforces a degree of order in transport, which is by nature chaotic as people attempt to travel from one place to another as rapidly as possible.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Ideology of Urban Road Transport Chaos and Accident Risk Management for Sustainable Transport Systems | display-authors=1 | first1=Viacheslav | last1=Morozov | first2=Artur I. | last2=Petrov | first3=Vladimir | last3=Shepelev | first4=Mohammed | last4=Balfaqih | journal=Sustainability | year=2024 | volume=16 | issue=6 | article-number=2596 | doi=10.3390/su16062596 | bibcode=2024Sust...16.2596M | doi-access=free }}</ref> This policy helps to reduce accidents and save lives.

==Functions== Relocation of travelers and cargo are the most common uses of transport. However, other uses exist, such as the transfer of mobile construction and emergency equipment, or the strategic and tactical relocation of armed forces during warfare.

===Passenger===  {{Main|Travel|Public transit}} [[File:Transperth Bus Number 2762.jpg|thumb|A local transit bus operated by Transperth in Perth, Australia|alt=Light green, orange, and white bus stopping in front of multi-story building.]]

Passenger transport, or travel, is divided into public and private transport. Public transport is scheduled services on fixed routes, while private service can be scheduled (e.g. commercial airlines) or chartered (e.g. shipping) or can provide ad hoc services at the riders desire (e.g. taxi).<ref name=Mizutani_2006/> The latter offers better flexibility, but has lower capacity and a higher environmental impact. Travel may be as part of daily commuting or for business, leisure, or migration.<ref name=Hoogma_et_al_2005>{{cite book | chapter=Promises for Sustainable Transport | title=Experimenting for Sustainable Transport: The Approach of Strategic Niche Management | series=Transport, Development and Sustainability Series | display-authors=1 | first1=Remco | last1=Hoogma | first2=Rene | last2=Kemp | first3=Johan | last3=Schot | first4=Bernhard | last4=Truffer | publisher=Routledge | year=2005 | pages=36–38 | isbn=978-1-134-48822-3 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHqiV80aNC0C&pg=PA36 }}</ref>

Short-haul transport is dominated by the automobile and mass transit. The latter consists of buses in rural and small cities, supplemented with commuter rail, trams, and rapid transit in larger cities.<ref name=Mizutani_2006/> Long-haul transport involves the use of the automobile, trains, ships, coaches, and aircraft,<ref>{{cite conference | contribution=The Future for Interurban Passenger Transport Bringing Citizens Closer Together: Bringing Citizens Closer Together | volume=18 | title=International symposium on transport economics and policy | series=2010-2011 of OECD/ITF Joint Transport Research Centre Discussion Papers | author=OECD | publisher=OECD Publishing | year=2010 | page=434 | isbn=978-92-821-0268-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K8jYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA434 }}</ref> the last of which have become predominantly used for the longest, including intercontinental, travel. Intermodal passenger transport is where a journey is performed through the use of several modes of transport; since all human transport normally starts and ends with walking, all passenger transport can be considered intermodal.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Upgrading the city: Enabling intermodal travel behaviour | first1=Scott G. | last1=Dacko | first2=Carolin | last2=Spalteholz | journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change | volume=89 | date=November 2014 | pages=222–235 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.039 }}</ref> Public transport may also involve the intermediate change of vehicle, within or across modes, at a transport hub, such as a bus or railway station.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Intermodal Passengers Terminals: Design Standards for Better Level of Service | first1=Magda | last1=Pitsiava-Latinopoulou | first2=Panagiotis | last2=Iordanopoulos | journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences | volume=48 | year=2012 | pages=3297–3306 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.1295 }}</ref>

Taxis and buses can be found on both ends of the public transport spectrum. Buses are the cheapest mode of transport but are not necessarily flexible, and taxis are very flexible but more expensive.<ref>{{cite news | title=Planes, Trains, Cars and Buses: We Do the Math to Find the Cheapest Way to Travel Per Mile | first=Peter | last=Butler | date=November 21, 2022 | website=CNET | url=https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/planes-trains-cars-and-buses-we-do-the-math-to-discover-the-cheapest-way-to-travel-per-mile/ | access-date=2025-10-18 }}</ref> In the middle is demand-responsive transport, offering flexibility whilst remaining affordable.

International travel may be restricted for some individuals due to legislation and visa requirements.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Unequal access to foreign spaces: how states use visa restrictions to regulate mobility in a globalized world | first=Eric | last=Neumayer | journal=Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers | volume=31 | issue=1 | date=March 2006 | pages=72–84 | doi=10.1111/j.1475-5661.2006.00194 | doi-broken-date=1 November 2025 }}</ref>

===Medical=== thumb|An ambulance from World War I An ambulance is a vehicle used to transport people from or between places of treatment,<ref>{{cite book | author-link=Henry Alan Skinner | last=Skinner | first=Henry Alan | year=1949 | title=The Origin of Medical Terms | location=Baltimore | publisher=Williams & Wilkins | page=21 }}</ref> and in some instances will also provide out-of-hospital medical care to the patient. The word is often associated with road-going "emergency ambulances", which form part of emergency medical services, administering emergency care to those with acute medical problems.

''Air medical services'' is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transport to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and critical care to all types of patients during aeromedical evacuation or rescue operations, aboard helicopters, propeller aircraft, or jet aircraft.<ref name="pmid15928284">{{cite journal | last1=Branas | first1=C. C. | author2-link=Ellen J. MacKenzie | last2=MacKenzie | first2=E. J. | last3=Williams | first3=J. C. | last4=Schwab | first4=C. W. | last5=Teter | first5=H. M. | last6=Flanigan | first6=M. C. | title=Access to trauma centers in the United States | journal=JAMA | year= 2005 | volume= 293 | issue= 21 | pages= 2626–2633 | pmid=15928284 | doi=10.1001/jama.293.21.2626 |display-authors=etal| doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="pmid7832345">{{cite journal | last1=Burney | first1=R. E. | last2=Hubert | first2=D. | last3=Passini | first3=L. | last4=Maio | first4=R. | title=Variation in air medical outcomes by crew composition: a two-year follow-up. | journal=Ann Emerg Med | year= 1995 | volume= 25 | issue= 2 | pages= 187–192 | pmid=7832345 | doi= 10.1016/s0196-0644(95)70322-5|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Freight=== {{Main|Shipping}} [[File:BW Fjord an Glameyer Stack 2007-12-15.JPG|thumb|A bulk carrier, ''BW Fjord'']]

Freight transport, or shipping, is a key in the value chain in manufacturing.{{Sfn|Chopra|Meindl|2007|p=3}} With increased specialization and globalization, production is being located further away from consumption, rapidly increasing the demand for transport.{{Sfn|Chopra|Meindl|2007|pages=63–64}} Transport creates place utility by moving the goods from the place of production to the place of consumption.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McLeod|first1=Sam|last2=Curtis|first2=Carey|date=2020-03-14|title=Understanding and Planning for Freight Movement in Cities: Practices and Challenges|journal=Planning Practice & Research|volume=35|issue=2|pages=201–219|doi=10.1080/02697459.2020.1732660|s2cid=214463529|issn=0269-7459}}</ref> While all modes of transport are used for cargo transport, there is high differentiation between the nature of the cargo transport, in which mode is chosen.{{Sfn|Chopra|Meindl|2007|p=54}} Logistics refers to the entire process of transferring products from producer to consumer, including storage, transport, transshipment, warehousing, material-handling, and packaging, with associated exchange of information.{{Sfn|Bardi|Coyle|Novack|2006|p=4}} Incoterm deals with the handling of payment and responsibility of risk during transport.{{Sfn|Bardi|Coyle|Novack|2006|p=473}}

[[File:WCML freight train.jpg|thumb|Freight train with shipping containers in the United Kingdom]] Containerization, with the standardization of ISO containers on all vehicles and at all ports, has revolutionized international and domestic trade, offering a huge reduction in transshipment costs. Traditionally, all cargo had to be manually loaded and unloaded into the haul of any ship or car; containerization allows for automated handling and transfer between modes, and the standardized sizes allow for gains in economy of scale in vehicle operation. This has been one of the key driving factors in international trade and globalization since the 1950s.{{Sfn|Bardi|Coyle|Novack|2006|pages=211–214}}

Bulk transport is common with cargo that can be handled roughly without significant deterioration; typical examples are ore, coal, cereals, and petroleum.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Bulk Commodity Logistics | first=Keith | last=Trace | title=Handbook of Logistics and Supply-Chain Management | display-editors=1 | editor1-first=Ann M. | editor1-last=Brewer | editor2-first=Kenneth J. | editor2-last=Button | editor3-first=David A. | editor3-last=Hensher | series=Handbook in Transport | year=2008 | volume=2 | pages=441–454 | publisher=Emerald Group Publishing Limited | doi=10.1108/9780080435930-029 | isbn=978-0-0804-3593-0 }}</ref> Because of the uniformity of the product, mechanical handling can allow enormous quantities to be handled quickly and efficiently. The low value of the cargo combined with high volume also means that economies of scale become essential in transport, and gigantic ships and whole trains are commonly used to transport bulk. Liquid products with sufficient volume may also be transported by pipeline.

Air freight has become more common for products of high value; while less than one percent of world transport by volume is by airline, it amounts to forty percent of the value. Time has become especially important in regards to principles such as postponement and just-in-time within the value chain, resulting in a high willingness to pay for quick delivery of key components or items of high value-to-weight ratio.{{Sfn|Chopra|Meindl|2007|p=328}} In addition to mail, common items sent by air include electronics and fashion clothing.

==Industry== {{main|Transport industry}}

==Impact== {{Main|Transportation engineering}} In the three-sector model of economics, transportation is a component of the tertiary sector that provides services for a functioning economy. Thus, the inefficiency and malfunctioning of transport creates an economic impact. Even when functioning effectively, the operation of a transportation network can have an adverse effect on the environment and human safety. For example, road traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death world-wide, killing or injuring nearly 1.35 million people every year.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Road traffic accidental injuries and deaths: A neglected global health issue | display-authors=etal | first1=Sirwan K. | last1=Ahmed | journal=Health Science Reports | volume=6 | issue=5 | date=May 2023 | article-number=e1240 | doi=10.1002/hsr2.1240 | pmid=37152220 | pmc=10154805 }}</ref> The planning, design, maintenance, and operation of facilities for different transport modes is performed through transportation engineering. Their goal is to provide for the safe, efficient, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally compatible movement of people and goods transport.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Transportation Engineering | display-authors=1 | first1=Relly Victoria | last1=Petrescu | first2=Raffaella | last2=Aversa | first3=Antonio | last3=Apicella | first4=Florian Ion | last4=Petrescu | journal=American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences | volume=10 | issue=3 | year=2017 | pages=685–702 | doi=10.3844/ajeassp.2017.685.702 | url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=3074112 | access-date=2025-10-15 }}</ref>

===Economic=== {{Main|Transport economics}} [[File:Seattle I-5 skyline dllu.jpg|thumb|Transport is a key component of growth and globalization, such as in Seattle, Washington, United States.|alt=Skyline of city at dusk. A major highway winds itself into the downtown area.]]

Transport is a key necessity for specialization—allowing production and consumption of products to occur at different locations. Throughout history, transport has been a spur to expansion; better transport allows more trade and a greater spread of people. Economic growth has always been dependent on increasing the capacity and rationality of transport.{{Sfn|Stopford|1997|p=2}} But the infrastructure and operation of transport have a great impact on the land, and transport is the largest drainer of energy, making transport sustainability a major issue.

Due to the way modern cities and communities are planned and operated, a physical distinction between home and work is usually created, forcing people to transport themselves to places of work, study, or leisure, as well as to temporarily relocate for other daily activities.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Origins of the Ideal Worker: The Separation of Work and Home in the United States From the Market Revolution to 1950 | first1=Andrea Rees | last1=Davies | first2=Brenda D. | last2=Frink | journal=Work and Occupations | year=2014 | volume=41 | issue=1 | pages=18–39 | doi=10.1177/0730888413515893 }}</ref> Passenger transport is the essence of tourism, a major part of recreational transport. Commerce requires the transport of people to conduct business, either to allow face-to-face communication for important decisions or to move specialists from their regular place of work to sites where they are needed.

In lean thinking, transporting materials or work in process from one location to another is seen as one of the seven wastes (Japanese term: ''muda'') which do not add value to a product.<ref>{{cite web | website=EKU Online | url=https://safetymanagement.eku.edu/blog/the-seven-wastes-of-lean-manufacturing/ | title=The Seven Wastes of Lean Manufacturing | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307053738/https://safetymanagement.eku.edu/blog/the-seven-wastes-of-lean-manufacturing/ | archive-date=2023-03-07 | publisher=Eastern Kentucky University | access-date=2023-03-06 }}</ref>

===Planning=== {{Main|Transport planning}}

Transport planning allows for high use and less impact regarding new infrastructure. Using models of transport forecasting, planners are able to predict future transport patterns.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Spear | first=B. D. | title=New approaches to transportation forecasting models | journal=Transportation | volume=23 | pages=215–240 | year=1996 | issue=3 | doi=10.1007/BF00165703 }}</ref> On the operative level, logistics allows owners of cargo to plan transport as part of the supply chain.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The study of project cargo logistics operation: a general overview | last=Turbaningsih | first=O. | journal=Journal of Shipping and Trade 7 | volume=7 | article-number=24 | year=2022 | doi=10.1186/s41072-022-00125-6 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Transport as a field is studied through transport economics, a component for the creation of regulation policy by authorities.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} Transport engineering, a sub-discipline of civil engineering, must take into account trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice, and route assignment,<ref>{{cite book | title=Basic Civil Engineering | first=Satheesh | last=Gopi | publisher=Pearson Education India | year=2009 | isbn=9788131792889 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JUGxdF_5q38C&pg=PT380 }}</ref> while the operative level is handled through traffic engineering.

[[File:Old Market Roundabout, Bristol.jpg|thumb|The engineering of this roundabout in Bristol, United Kingdom, attempts to make traffic flow free-moving.|alt=Aerial view of roundabout, a junction of several streets. Vehicles traverse around the roundabout, which is surrounded by buildings, mostly multi-storey]] Because of the negative impacts incurred, transport often becomes the subject of controversy related to choice of mode, as well as increased capacity. Automotive transport can be seen as a tragedy of the commons, where the flexibility and comfort for the individual deteriorate the natural and urban environment for all.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Automobile Dominance and the Tragedy of the Land-Use/Transport System: Some Critical Issues | last1=Khisty | first1=C. J. | last2=Ayvalik | first2=C. K. | journal=Systemic Practice and Action Research | volume=16 | pages=53–73 | year=2003 | doi=10.1023/A:1021932712598 }}</ref> Density of development depends on mode of transport, with public transport allowing for better spatial use. Good land use keeps common activities close to people's homes and places higher-density development closer to transport lines and hubs, to minimize the need for transport. There are economies of agglomeration.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Do Public Transport Improvements Increase Agglomeration Economies? A Review of Literature and an Agenda for Research | journal=Transport Reviews | last1=Chatman | first1=D. G. | last2=Noland | first2=R. B. | year=2011 | volume=31 | issue=6 | pages=725–742 | doi=10.1080/01441647.2011.587908 | bibcode=2011TrRev..31..725C }}</ref> Beyond transport, some land uses are more efficient when clustered. Transport facilities consume land, and in cities pavement (devoted to streets and parking) can easily exceed 20 percent of the total land use.<ref>{{cite book | title=Building American Cities: The Urban Real Estate Game | first1=Joe R. | last1=Feagin | first2=Robert | last2=Parker | publisher=Beard Books | year=2002 | isbn=978-1-58798-148-7 | page=172 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypfeeuQ6sPUC&pg=PA172 }}</ref> An efficient transport system can reduce land waste.

Too much infrastructure and too much smoothing for maximum vehicle throughput mean that in many cities there is too much traffic and many—if not all—of the negative impacts that come with it.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}} It is only in recent years{{when|date=October 2025}} that traditional practices have started to be questioned in many places; as a result of new types of analysis which bring in a much broader range of skills than those traditionally relied on—spanning such areas as environmental impact analysis, public health, sociology, and economics—the viability of the old mobility solutions is increasingly being questioned.{{citation needed|date=October 2025}}

===Safety=== {{main|Transport accident}} The energy levels involved in a transport accident can pose a significant risk for crew and passengers,<ref>{{cite book | title=Principles and Practice of Trauma Nursing | first=Rose Ann | last=O'Shea | publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences | year=2005 | isbn=978-0-443-06405-0 | pages=18–19 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j-RO-ka46EYC&pg=PA18 }}</ref> making safety an issue of importance to governments.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Safety in Transportation: The Role of Government | first=Lester B. | last=Lave | journal=Law and Contemporary Problems | volume=33 | issue=3 | date=Summer 1968 | pages=512–535 | publisher=Duke University School of Law | doi=10.2307/1190940 | jstor=1190940 | url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/6707882 }}</ref> Significant accidents involve a review by law enforcement and independent investigators from a safety board,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Independent investigation of transportation accidents | first=Terry | last=Baxter | journal=Safety Science | volume=19 | issue=2–3 | date=June 1995 | pages=271–278 | doi=10.1016/0925-7535(94)00029-3 }}</ref> such as the NTSB in the U.S. Measures and methods have been implemented to improve the safety of roads, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, railways, ships, and aircraft.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Safety Issues in Transportation Design | title=Safety and Health in Composite Industry | display-authors=1 | last1=Sapuan | first1=S. M. | last2=Ilyas | first2=R. A. | last3=Asyraf | first3=M. R. M. | year=2022 | series=Composites Science and Technology | pages=267–291 | publisher=Springer | location=Singapore | doi=10.1007/978-981-16-6136-5_13 | isbn=978-981-16-6135-8 }}</ref> There are emergency medical services and sea rescue measures for rapid response to transport emergencies.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Methods improving the availability of emergency-rescue services for emergency response to transport accidents | display-authors=1 | first1=Aleksandr | last1=Matveev | first2=Aleksandr | last2=Maksimov | first3=Sergey | last3=Vodnev | journal=Transportation Research Procedia | volume=36 | year=2018 | pages=507–513 | doi=10.1016/j.trpro.2018.12.137 }}</ref> Statistics are gathered from accidents, then analyzed and used to determine safety measures to lower the casualty rate.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Estimating transport fatality risk from past accident data | first=Andrew W. | last=Evans | journal=Accident Analysis & Prevention | volume=35 | issue=4 | date=July 2003 | pages=459–472 | doi=10.1016/S0001-4575(02)00024-6 | pmid=12729810 }}</ref>

===Environment=== {{Pie chart | caption =Global greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in 2016:<ref>{{cite web | publisher=International Council on Clean Transportation | url=https://www.theicct.org/blogs/staff/a-world-of-thoughts-on-phase-2 | title=A world of thoughts on Phase 2 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119010824/https://www.theicct.org/blogs/staff/a-world-of-thoughts-on-phase-2 | archive-date=2018-11-19 | date=September 16, 2016 | access-date=2018-11-18 }}</ref> | label1 = Cars | value1 = 40 | color1 = red | label2 = Trucks | value2 = 34 | color2 = orange | label3 = Planes | value3 = 11 | color3 = navy | label4 = Boats | value4 = 11 | color4 = teal | label5 = Trains | value5 = 4 | color5 = silver }} {{Main|Environmental impact of transport}}

[[File:Traffic jam Sao Paulo 09 2006 30.JPG|thumb|right|Traffic congestion persists in São Paulo, Brazil, despite the no-drive days based on license numbers.|alt=Looking down a busy road, which is banked on both sides by tall buildings, some of which are covered in advertisement billboards]]

Transport is a major use of energy and burns most of the world's petroleum. This creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant contributor to global warming through emission of carbon dioxide,<ref name="pnas_pdf">{{cite journal |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0702958104v1.pdf |title=Climate forcing from the transport sectors |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=454–458 |author=Fuglestvet |display-authors=etal |publisher=Center for International Climate and Environmental Research |year=2007 |bibcode=2008PNAS..105..454F |doi=10.1073/pnas.0702958104 |pmid=18180450 |pmc=2206557 |doi-access=free |access-date=2008-01-14 |archive-date=2008-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625061523/http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0702958104v1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> for which transport is the fastest-growing emission sector.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5579 |title=Analysis: Nano Hypocrisy? |author=Worldwatch Institute |date=16 January 2008 |access-date=17 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013141752/http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5579 |archive-date=13 October 2013 |author-link=Worldwatch Institute }}</ref> According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the transportation sector accounts for more than one-third of CO2 emissions globally in the early 2020ies.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=WIPO Technology Trends: Future of Transportation - 2 Overview of transportation and its megatrends |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/wipo-technology-trends-future-of-transportation/en/2-overview-of-transportation-and-its-megatrends.html#h2-megatrends-within-the-transportation-sector |journal=WIPO Technology Trends |language=en}}</ref> By sub-sector, road transport is the largest contributor to global warming.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jan Fuglestvedt |display-authors=etal |title=Climate forcing from the transport sectors |journal=PNAS |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=454–458 |date=Jan 15, 2008 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0702958104 |pmid=18180450 |pmc=2206557 |url=http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/105/2/454.full.pdf |bibcode=2008PNAS..105..454F |doi-access=free |access-date=November 20, 2018 |archive-date=May 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504111438/http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/105/2/454.full.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Environmental regulations in developed countries have reduced individual vehicles' emissions; however, this has been offset by increases in the numbers of vehicles and in the use of each vehicle.<ref name="pnas_pdf" /> Some pathways to reduce the carbon emissions of road vehicles considerably have been studied.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.claverton-energy.com/carbon-pathways-analysis-informing-development-of-a-carbon-reduction-strategy-for-the-transport-sector.html |title=Claverton-Energy.com |publisher=Claverton-Energy.com |date=2009-02-17 |access-date=2010-05-23 |archive-date=2021-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318033332/https://claverton-energy.com/carbon-pathways-analysis-informing-development-of-a-carbon-reduction-strategy-for-the-transport-sector.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Data on the barriers and motivators to more sustainable transport behaviour is available in the UK Department for Transport study: {{cite web | url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/scienceresearch/social/climatechangetransportchoices/ | title=Climate Change and Transport Choices | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110530124709/http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/scienceresearch/social/climatechangetransportchoices/ | access-date=2011-05-30 | archive-date=2011-05-30 | date=December 2010 }}</ref> Energy use and emissions vary largely between modes, causing environmentalists to call for a transition from air and road to rail and human-powered transport,<ref>{{cite journal | title=The prospect for modal shifts in passenger transport worldwide and impacts on energy use and CO{{sub|2}} | display-authors=1 | first1=Francois | last1=Cuenot | first2=Lew | last2=Fulton | first3=John | last3=Staub | journal=Energy Policy | volume=41 | date=February 2012 | pages=98–106 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2010.07.017 | bibcode=2012EnPol..41...98C }}</ref> as well as increased transport electrification and energy efficiency.

Other environmental impacts of transport systems include traffic congestion and automobile-oriented urban sprawl, which can consume natural habitat and agricultural lands. By reducing transport emissions globally, it is predicted that there will be significant positive effects on Earth's air quality, acid rain, smog, and climate change.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/Transportation-WS800CCAF9-1_En.htm |title=Transportation |author=Environment Canada |access-date=30 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713192836/http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/Transportation-WS800CCAF9-1_En.htm |archive-date=July 13, 2007 |author-link=Environment Canada }}</ref>

While electric cars are being built to cut down CO2 emission at the point of use, an approach that is becoming popular among cities worldwide is to prioritize public transport, bicycles, and pedestrian movement. Redirecting vehicle movement to create 20-minute neighbourhoods<ref>{{Cite web | author=Planning | date=September 9, 2020 | title=20-minute neighbourhoods | url=https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/planning-for-melbourne/plan-melbourne/20-minute-neighbourhoods | access-date=2020-09-26 | website=Planning | archive-date=2021-09-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920083131/https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/planning-for-melbourne/plan-melbourne/20-minute-neighbourhoods | url-status=live }}</ref> that promotes exercise while greatly reducing vehicle dependency and pollution. Some policies are levying a congestion charge<ref>{{Cite web|title=Congestion Charge (Official)|url=https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Transport for London|archive-date=2021-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309190237/https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge|url-status=live}}</ref> to cars for travelling within congested areas during peak time.

Airplane emissions change depending on the flight distance. It takes a lot of energy to take off and land, so longer flights are more efficient per mile traveled. However, longer flights naturally use more fuel in total. Short flights produce the most {{CO2}} per passenger mile, while long flights produce slightly less.<ref name="carbonfund.org3">{{cite web |title=How We Calculate Your Carbon Footprint |url=http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/carbon_calculators/category/Assumptions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103051501/http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/carbon_calculators/category/Assumptions |archive-date=2012-01-03 |access-date=2011-12-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=[SafeClimate] measuring and reporting | tools |url=http://safeclimate.net/business/measuring/tools.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327021143/http://www.safeclimate.net/business/measuring/tools.php |archive-date=2008-03-27 |access-date=2010-04-23}}</ref> Things get worse when planes fly high in the atmosphere.<ref>{{Cite book |last=I |first=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jZC_NciKps0C&dq=aircraft+emissions+at+stratospheric+altitudes+have+a+greater+contribution+to+radiative+forcing+than+do+emissions&pg=PA112 |title=Climate Change 1994: Radiative Forcing of Climate Change and an Evaluation of the IPCC 1992 IS92 Emission Scenarios |date=1995-05-04 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-55962-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dempsey |first1=Paul Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUZnDwAAQBAJ&dq=aircraft+emissions+at+stratospheric+altitudes+have+a+greater+contribution+to+radiative+forcing+than+do+emissions&pg=PT271 |title=Routledge Handbook of Public Aviation Law |last2=Jakhu |first2=Ram S. |date=2016-07-15 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-29775-0 |language=en}}</ref> Their emissions trap much more heat than those released at ground level. This is not just because of {{CO2}}, but a mix of other greenhouse gases in the exhaust.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schumann |first=Ulrich |date=2011 |title=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: Potential to reduce the climate impact of aviation by flight level changes |url=https://www.dlr.de/pa/en/Portaldata/33/Resources/dokumente/cocip/Schumann_etal_AIAA_2011_3376.pdf |access-date=2022-06-30}}</ref><ref>{{citation | last1=Lee | first1=D. S. | last2=Pitari | first2=G. | last3=Grewe | first3=V. | last4=Gierens | first4=K. | author5-link=Joyce E. Penner | last5=Penner | first5=J. E. | last6=Petzold | first6=A. | last7=Prather | first7=M. J. | last8=Schumann | first8=U. | last9=Bais | first9=A. | last10=Berntsen | first10=T. | last11=Iachetti | first11=D. | last12=Lim | first12=L. L. | last13=Sausen | first13=R. | year=2010 | chapter-url=http://elib.dlr.de/59672/1/scientdir.pdf | chapter=Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Aviation | title=Atmospheric Environment Transport Impacts on Atmosphere and Climate: The ATTICA Assessment Report | volume=44 | issue=37 | pages=4678–4734 | access-date=2025-10-12 }}</ref> In 2022 global CO2 emissions from the transport sector grew by more than 250 Mt CO2 to nearly 8 Gt CO2, which represent more than 3% compared to 2021. Aviation was responsible for a significant part of that increase.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transport - Energy System |url=https://www.iea.org/energy-system/transport |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref>

City buses produce about 0.3 kg of {{CO2}} for every mile traveled per passenger. For long-distance bus trips (over 20 miles), that pollution drops to about 0.08 kg of {{CO2}} per passenger mile.<ref name="docs.wri.org2">{{Cite web |title=CO2 Emissions from Employee Commuting in Non-company Owned Vehicles |url=http://docs.wri.org/wri_co2comm_2002_commuting_protected.xls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112035414/http://docs.wri.org/wri_co2comm_2002_commuting_protected.xls |archive-date=2016-01-12 |access-date=September 11, 2025 |website=World Resources Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref name="carbonfund.org3" /> On average, commuter trains produce around 0.17 kg of {{CO2}} for each mile traveled per passenger. Long-distance trains are slightly higher at about 0.19 kg of {{CO2}} per passenger mile.<ref name="docs.wri.org2" /><ref name="carbonfund.org3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-16 |title='Dramatically more powerful': world's first battery-electric freight train unveiled |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/16/battery-electric-freight-train-wabtec-rail-transport-emissions |access-date=2021-09-21 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> The fleet emission average for delivery vans, trucks and big rigs is {{cvt|10.17|kg}} {{CO2}} per gallon of diesel consumed. Delivery vans and trucks average about 7.8 mpg (or 1.3 kg of {{CO2}} per mile) while big rigs average about 5.3 mpg (or 1.92 kg of {{CO2}} per mile).<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Kodjak |first1=Drew |date=August 29, 2004 |title=Policy Discussion – Heavy-Duty Truck Fuel Economy |url=http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2004/session6/2004_deer_kodjak.pdf |conference=10th Diesel Engine Emissions Reduction (DEER) Conference |language=en |location=Coronado, California |access-date=September 11, 2025 |website=Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Endresen |first1=Øyvind |last2=Sørgård |first2=Eirik |last3=Sundet |first3=Jostein K. |last4=Dalsøren |first4=Stig B. |last5=Isaksen |first5=Ivar S. A. |last6=Berglen |first6=Tore F. |last7=Gravir |first7=Gjermund |date=2003-09-16 |title=Emission from international sea transportation and environmental impact |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |language=en |volume=108 |issue=D17 |page=4560 |bibcode=2003JGRD..108.4560E |doi=10.1029/2002JD002898 |issn=2156-2202 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Sustainable development === {{Main|Sustainable transport}}

The United Nations first formally recognized the role of transport in sustainable development in the 1992 United Nations Earth summit. In the 2012 United Nations World Conference, global leaders unanimously recognized that transport and mobility are central to achieving the sustainability targets.<ref>{{cite web | title=Sustainable transport | publisher=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs | url=https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-transport | access-date=2025-10-19 }}</ref> Since then, data has been collected to show that the transport sector contributes to a quarter of the global greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore sustainable transport has been mainstreamed across several of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to food, security, health, energy, economic growth, infrastructure, and cities and human settlements. Meeting sustainable transport targets is said to be particularly important to achieving the Paris Agreement.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Sustainable transport | url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sustainabletransport | access-date=2020-09-26 | website=Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform | archive-date=2020-10-09| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009215804/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sustainabletransport | url-status=live }}</ref>

There are various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are promoting sustainable transport to meet the defined goals. These include SDG 3 on health (increased road safety), SDG 7 on energy, SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth, SDG 9 on resilient infrastructure, SDG 11 on sustainable cities (access to transport and expanded public transport), SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production (ending fossil fuel subsidies), and SDG 14 on oceans, seas, and marine resources.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sustainable transport at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) |url=https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=20000&nr=802&menu=2993|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform |archive-date=2020-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015052731/https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?page=view&type=20000&nr=802&menu=2993|url-status=live}}</ref>

Contemporary development studies recognise transportation networks as a key element of economic development, socio-economic well-being and poverty reduction.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Beazley | first1=R. | last2=Lassoie | first2=J. | year=2017 | title=Himalayan Mobilities: an Exploration of The Impact of Expanding Rural Road Networks on Social and Ecological Systems in The Nepalese Himalaya | publisher=Springer Nature | series=SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science | doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55757-1 | isbn=978-3-319-55755-7 }}</ref> However, road network development has not always fulfilled its original intentions and has contributed significantly to environmental degradation and, in some cases, led to the loss of cultural traditions and the marginalisation of indigenous peoples.<ref>{{cite thesis | last=Beazley | first=R. | year=2013 | title=Impacts of Expanding Rural Road Networks on Communities in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal | degree=M.S. | publisher=Cornell University | url=https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/33923/1/reb265.pdf | access-date=2025-10-12 }}</ref><ref name="Apollo">{{Cite journal |last=Apollo |first=Michal |date=2024-08-27 |title=A bridge too far: The dilemma of transport development in peripheral mountain areas |journal=Journal of Tourism Futures |volume=11 |pages=23–37 |language=en |doi=10.1108/JTF-04-2024-0065 |issn=2055-5911|doi-access=free }}</ref> Compared to roads, the development of air links (helicopters and planes) has had an even more devastating impact. What is more, helicopters used for tourist activities are subject to considerable criticism from a perspective of environmental protection as well as sports ethics.<ref name="Apollo" />

== History == {{Main|History of transport}} {{further|Timeline of transportation technology}} [[File:Bronocice drawn.png|thumb|Bronocice pot with the earliest known image of a wheeled vehicle in the world, found in Poland]] [[File:Bullock team.jpg|thumb|A bullock team hauling wool in Australia]]

===Natural=== Humans' first ways to move included walking, running, and swimming. The domestication of animals introduced a new way to lay the burden of transport on more powerful creatures, allowing the hauling of heavier loads, or humans riding animals for greater speed and duration.<ref>{{cite book | title=Sources of Power: How Energy Forges Human History | first=Manfred | last=Weissenbacher | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA | year=2009 | pages=57–75 | isbn=978-0-313-35627-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DRfOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57 }}</ref> Inventions such as the wheel and the sled (U.K. sledge) helped make animal transport more efficient through the introduction of vehicles.<ref name=Rossi_et_al_2016>{{cite journal | display-authors=1 | last1=Rossi | first1=C. | last2=Chondros | first2=T. G. | last3=Milidonis | first3=K. F. | first4=Sergio | last4=Savino | first5=Flavio | last5=Russo | title=Ancient road transport devices: Developments from the Bronze Age to the Roman Empire | journal=Frontiers of Mechanical Engineering | volume=11 | pages=12–25 | year=2016 | issue=1 | doi=10.1007/s11465-015-0358-6 | bibcode=2016FrME...11...12R }}</ref>

The first forms of road transport involved animals, such as horses (domesticated in the 4th or the 3rd millennium BCE),<ref name=Rossi_et_al_2016/> oxen (from about 8000 BCE),<ref>{{cite book | last1=Watts | first1=Martin | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u86yjr-J-hAC | title=Working Oxen | publisher=Osprey Publishing | year=1999 | isbn=978-0-7478-0415-4 | series=Shire Album | volume=342 | location=Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire | publication-date=1999 | page=4 | quote=[...] tamed aurochs became the first domestic oxen. The earliest evidence for domestication is found in the Middle East around ten thousand years ago.|access-date=2016-02-08}}</ref> or humans carrying goods over dirt tracks that often followed game trails.

===Water transport=== Water transport, including rowed and sailed vessels, dates back to time immemorial and was the only efficient way to transport large quantities or over large distances prior to the Industrial Revolution. The first watercraft were canoes either cut out from tree trunks or made of animal hides.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The earliest boat depictions in Northern Europe: newly discovered early Mesolithic rock art at Valle, northern Norway | first=Jan Magne | last=Gjerde | journal=Oxford Journal of Archaeology | volume=40 | issue=2 | date=May 2021 | pages=136–152 | publisher=Wiley | doi=10.1111/ojoa.12214 }}</ref> Early deep water transport was accomplished with ships that were either rowed or used the wind for propulsion, or a combination of the two.<ref>{{cite book | title=Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval Times | series=ACLS Humanities E-Book | first=Sean | last=McGrail | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-19-927186-3 | pages=10–70 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9uncXbZiQAC&pg=PA70 }}</ref> The importance of water has led to most cities that grew up as sites for trading being located on rivers or on the sea-shore, often at the intersection of two bodies of water.

===Mechanical=== Until the Industrial Revolution, transport remained slow and costly, and production and consumption gravitated as close to each other as feasible.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw several inventions fundamentally change transport. With the optical telegraph, communication became rapid and independent of the transport of physical objects.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The ''Telegraph'': Radical Transmission in the 1790s | first=Mary | last=Fairclough | journal=Eighteenth-Century Life | year=2013 | volume=37 | issue=2 | pages=26–52 | doi=10.1215/00982601-2080973 }}</ref> The invention of the steam engine, closely followed by its application in rail transport, made land transport independent of human or animal muscles.<ref>{{cite book | title=An Economic History of British Steam Engines, 1774-1870 | last=Kitsikopoulos | first=H. | chapter=Steam Power in Transportation: Railways | year=2023 | series=Contributions to Economics | pages=249–297 | publisher=Springer, Cham. | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-27362-9_8 | isbn=978-3-031-27361-2 }}</ref> Both speed and capacity increased, allowing specialization through manufacturing being located independently of natural resources. The 19th century also saw the development of the steam ship, which sped up global transport.

With the development of the combustion engine and the automobile around 1900, road transport became more competitive again, and mechanical private transport originated. The first "modern" highways were constructed during the 19th century with macadam.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Roads — through the Ages: I. Early Developments | first=Charles J. | last=Merdinger | journal=The Military Engineer | volume=44 | issue=300 | date=July–August 1952 | pages=268–273 | jstor=44569675 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=From Macadam to Asphalt: The Paving of the Streets of London in the Victorian Era. Part 1 — From Macadam To Stone Sett | first=Don | last=Clow | year=2004 | publisher=Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society | url=http://www.glias.org.uk/journals/8-a.html | access-date=2025-10-19 }}</ref> Later, tarmac and concrete became the dominant paving materials.

[[File:First flight2.jpg|thumb|The Wright brothers' first flight in 1903]] In 1903 the Wright brothers demonstrated the first successful controllable airplane, and after World War I (1914–1918) aircraft became a fast way to transport people and express goods over long distances.{{Sfn|Bardi|Coyle|Novack|2006|p=158}}

After World War II (1939–1945) the automobile and airlines took higher shares of transport, reducing rail and water to freight and short-haul passenger services.{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|p=277}} Scientific spaceflight began in the 1950s, with rapid growth until the 1970s, when interest dwindled. In the 1950s the introduction of containerization gave massive efficiency gains in freight transport, fostering globalization.{{Sfn|Bardi|Coyle|Novack|2006|pages=211–214}} International air travel became much more accessible in the 1960s with the commercialization of the jet engine. Along with the growth in automobiles and motorways, rail and water transport declined in relative importance. After the introduction of the Shinkansen in Japan in 1964, high-speed rail in Asia and Europe started attracting passengers on long-haul routes away from the airlines.{{Sfn|Cooper|Shepherd|1998|p=277}}

In the U.S. during the 19th century, private joint-stock corporations owned most aqueducts, bridges, canals, railroads, roads, and tunnels.<ref>{{cite web | title=Private Ownership of Canals, Railways, Bridges, and Other Transportation Infrastructure | first=Robert E. | last=Wright | date=March 26, 2024 | publisher=SSRN | url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=4773901 | access-date=2025-10-19 | doi=10.2139/ssrn.4773901 }}</ref> Most such transport infrastructure came under government control in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culminating in the nationalization of inter-city passenger rail-service with the establishment of Amtrak.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Amtrak: decisions and dilemmas of American rail passenger service in 1971 | first=Richard V. | last=Francaviglia | journal=The Professional Geographer | volume=24 | year=1972 | issue=3 | pages=242–245 | doi=10.1111/j.0033-0124.1972.00242.x | bibcode=1972ProfG..24..242F }}</ref> However, as recently as 2010, a movement to privatize roads and other infrastructure has gained ground and adherents.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Winston | first=Clifford | title=Last exit: privatization and deregulation of the U.S. transportation system | date=2010 | publisher=Brookings Institution Press | isbn=978-0-8157-0473-7 | location=Washington, D.C. | oclc=635492422 }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{cite book |author1-last=Bardi |author1-first=Edward |author2-first=John |author2-last=Coyle |author3-first=Robert |author3-last=Novack |name-list-style=amp |title=Management of Transportation |publisher=Thomson South-Western |year=2006 |location=Australia |oclc=62259402 |isbn=0-324-31443-4}} * {{cite book |author1-last=Chopra |author1-first=Sunil |author2-first=Peter |author2-last=Meindl |name-list-style=amp |title=Supply chain management: strategy, planning, and operation |publisher=Pearson |year=2007 |edition=3rd |location=Upper Saddle River, N.J. |oclc=63808135 |isbn=978-0-13-208608-0}} * {{cite book|author1-first=Christopher P. |author1-last=Cooper |author2-first=Rebecca |author2-last=Shepherd |title=Tourism: Principles and Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jzpnQgAACAAJ|access-date=22 December 2012 |year=1998 |publisher=Financial Times Prent. Int|isbn=978-0-582-31273-9 |edition=2nd |location=Harlow, England |oclc=39945061}} * {{cite book |last=Lay |first=Maxwell G |title=Ways of the World: A History of the World's Roads and of the Vehicles that Used Them |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1992 |url=https://archive.org/details/waysofworldhisto00laym |url-access=registration |isbn=0-8135-2691-4 |location=New Brunswick, N.J. |oclc=804297312}} * {{cite book|first=Martin |last=Stopford |year=1997 |title=Maritime Economics |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-415-15310-7 |edition=2nd |oclc=36824728}}

==Further reading== * McKibben, Bill, "Toward a Land of Buses and Bikes" (review of Ben Goldfarb, ''Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet'', Norton, 2023, 370 pp.; and Henry Grabar, ''Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World'', Penguin Press, 2023, 346 pp.), ''The New York Review of Books'', vol. LXX, no. 15 (5 October 2023), pp. 30–32. "Someday in the not impossibly distant future, if we manage to prevent a global warming catastrophe, you could imagine a post-auto world where bikes and buses and trains are ever more important, as seems to be happening in Europe at the moment." (p. 32.)

==External links== {{commons category}} {{Wiktionary|transport|transportation}} {{wikiquote}} {{Wikivoyage|Transportation|Transportation|travel related information}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212816/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/us/trnsprt.htm Transportation] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

Category:Transport Category:Economics of transport and utility industries Category:Logistics