Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Three Modes Of Transport

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By Byron Jonas


There are three different modes of transport. The first one involves traveling under your own power, so walking, running and cycling are in this category. The other two are motorized forms of transportation. These are machines with either electric motors or internal combustion engines. There are advantages and disadvantages to each and we also need to consider the economic and environmental costs attached to them.

Walking is good exercise and is the most sustainable way to travel, but there is a limit to the distance people can cover. The best marathon runners can complete 26 miles in a little over 2 hours, but they make up a small minority of the world's population. Bicycles are a better way to cover that sort of distance, but they also have their limitations as a form of transport. Cycling can be dangerous on some roads and in some conditions and it's not the best way to travel if you want to arrive fresh and presentable.

In terms of environmental impact, the next best options are trains and streetcars. These are now powered by electricity, so are more sustainable than the old diesel locomotives.

Train Stations are found in cities and most major towns across the globe. Big cities have more than one station and places like London and New York have their own underground subway systems. Monorails networks also exist as public transport. Not so long ago they were only found in tourist destinations like Walt Disney World. Now cities in South Korea and India are building monorail lines and there is a public monorail running in Las Vegas.

Most trains are electric locomotives, although in China steam locomotives still run on some lines. Trains are the most cost effective and one of the most sustainable methods of travel. Streetcars are also powered by electricity so they are becoming a viable and increasingly popular way to get about.

Streetcars are a quick way to get around a busy city, so places like Memphis, Seattle and San Francisco have upgraded their networks to meet fresh demand. In addition, cities like Detroit and Washington D. C have unveiled plans to implement their own networks in the near future.

But no matter how much the public transport networks are improved, we keep increasing our use of cars. Over the past 50 years annual mileage across America has tripled from 587 million to over 1.6 billion. Although there's a trend towards hybrid vehicles, at the moment they only account for 4% of annual sales, so most of these miles are covered by gasoline and diesel cars.




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