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Transport, or transportation, is moving people or things from one place to another place. Transport can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations.

Transport

Infrastructure

Infrastructure includes roads, railways, airways, canals and pipelines. The infrastructure is the network where things are carried. Infrastructure also includes airports, railway stations, bus stations and seaports (docks). Infrastructure is usually built by governments and paid for by taxes from the citizens of a country or region. Infrastructure such as roads and railways is designed by civil engineers and urban planners.

Vehicles

Vehicles or vessels travel on the infrastructure. Vehicles include cars, trucks, trains and airplanes. Vehicles are usually designed by mechanical engineers. Vessels include boats, ferries, and barges which travel on canals and use docks and seaports. In the same way that trains use train stations, airplanes use airports. In the same way that trains use railway lines (train tracks), airplanes use flight paths.

Operations

Operations control the system. Operations include traffic signals, railway signals and air traffic control. Operations also include the government policies (a policy is a plan of action to guide decisions and actions) and regulations (a set or group of laws and rules) used to control the system, such as tolls, fuel taxes, and traffic laws.

Kinds of transportation

There are three main kinds of transportation. they are:

• land transportation using trucks on roads or trains on railways
• water transportation using barges in canals or boats in the sea
• air transportation using airplanes and airports

Transport and communications

Transport and communication can be used instead of each other (someone could telephone a person rather than visit them). But the growth in traffic is only possible because of communication (for example, air traffic control means more airplanes can fly). So an increase of either transport or communication usually leads to an increase in the other one.

Transport, energy, and the environment

Transport uses a lot of energy. Most transport uses hydrocarbons (oil and gas). This can create pollution. Environmental regulations (laws) and low-pollution fuels (for example liquified natural gas) can reduce pollution. But as more vehicles are used, more pollution is created.