Land transport
Land transport is the physical movement of goods and people from one place to another on land. Land transport takes place through road, railway, and pipeline.
Road transport
Roads are made to connect different places on the earth surface. There are different types of road surfaces with some made of sand, cement, coal tar et cetera. There are different types of vehicles used in road transport, which can be categorized into three groups i.e. man driven, animal driven, and motor powered vehicles (Hensher 124). In the recent years, the motor driven mode of transport has become the most popular and widely used in both rural and the urban areas. Motor vehicles are of different models, which include vans, bus trucks among others all of which are used to carry goods and passengers on roads (Maddison 67).
Advantages of road transport
Road transport is relatively cheaper as compared to other means of transport such as air transport. This makes it economical to transport people and goods from one place to another.
Road transport can be used to transport perishable goods over short distances, for example, fruits and flowers.
Road transport is highly flexible as road network connects most places in the land surfaces, which makes loading and unloading possible. This makes road the most popular means of transport in many areas.
Road transport helps people to move from one place to another and transport their products to places not served by other means of transport. This makes road transport convenient.
The road transport requires less capital investment to set up as compared to other modes of transport such as railway transport and air transport.
There is less risk of damage of goods in transit in road transport when transporting delicate wares. This is because different vehicles are designed to transport different types of goods.
There is saving in packaging cost in road transport as product transported requires less packing as compared to other modes of transport.
Road transport acts as a feeder to other modes of transport as many goods transported by other means of transport usually use road transport at one point or the other. This may be by delivering goods to or from other modes of transport (Maddison 231).
Disadvantages of road transport
Road transport has a limited capacity making it uneconomical in transporting goods over long distances.
Transportation of bulky and heavy goods on road transport is expensive as compared to railway transport.
Road transport is affected by adverse weather conditions such as floods and landslides which causes disruptions of road transport.
Road transport is relatively slow as compared to air transport making it inappropriate in transportation of perishable goods over long distances.
Road transport is prone to accidents and breakdowns.
In most areas road transport is not very organized and different charges are usually paid within the same distance of transportation.
Rail transport
Rail transport is the transportation of people and goods in trains through railway lines. It is a dependable mode of transport and transports goods and passengers over long distances (Quinet 46). Railway transport has two types of trains; the passengers and the goods train. Passenger trains carries limited amount of goods. Trains in railway transport either use diesel engines or electric powered engines (Murray 48).
Advantages of railway transport
When transporting passengers or goods over long distances road transport is a convenient mode of transport.
The cost of transportation of goods and passengers through railway transport is cheaper as compared to road transport.
The operation of railway transport is not affected by adverse weather conditions.
It is suitable for transporting bulky and heavy goods over long distances.
Limitations of railway transport
Railway transport is relatively expensive in transporting goods and passengers over long distances.
Railway transport network is not available in most remote parts of the country.
The railway transport is not flexible in terms of time because it operates on a fixed time schedule hence not flexible for loading and unloading of goods at any time (Rohr 145).
Incase a train is involved in an accident it involves heavy losses in life and goods.
Role of road transport in Canadian economy
Road transport plays an important role in the movement of passengers in different parts of this nation. This contributes a lot to the national economy as people use road transport to move to and from their places of work. It also plays an important role in moving people to different places to do business which plays an important role in economic development (Greene, Jones, & Delucchi 45).
Road transport helps in transportation of raw materials to the industries and finished goods to the market. This is a great contribution to the development of industries and growth of market in the Canadian economy. Road transport has played a great role in enhancing the growth of business in the economy which contributes a lot to the country’s economy.
The road transport creates employment to very many people in Canada thus contributing greatly in the country’s economy. This helps in raising the living standard of people employed.
Road transport contributes income to the government through taxes paid in the sub-sector. This income is used in economic development.
Role of railway transport in the economy
Railway transport plays an important role in the movement of passengers within the major towns in Canada. It helps passengers to move across different places in different cities. This is a great contribution to the economic activities in the country. Railway transport enables people to attend to various working places and this plays a major role in economic growth in the Canadian economy (Lowe 56).
Railway transport plays a major role in the movement of goods from one place to the other in Canada. This is a great contribution to the industrial sector as it is the major mode of transport that is used to transport raw materials in the industries and finished goods in the market. Railway transport has also contributed a lot to the growth of foreign trade; this is because of being the major mode of transport that is used in the movement of goods which are imported in the country and those which are being transported out of the major ports in Canada.
The railway transport has also contributed in the growth of agriculture sector in the Canadian economy. This is because it is used in the transportation of agricultural goods to the market as well as in transportation of agricultural inputs to the distribution centers.
Works Cited
Greene David Lloyd, Jones Donald, & Delucchi Mark. The full costs and benefits of transportation: contributions to theory, method, and measurement. Mexico: Springer, 1997.
Hensher, David. Urban transport economics, London: CUP Archive, 1977.
Lowe, David. The dictionary of transport and logistics, London: Kogan Page, 2002.
Maddison, David. The true costs of road transport, London: Earthscan, 1996.
Murray, Tom. Canadian National Railway, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2004.
Quinet, Émile. Vickerman William Roger, Principles of transport economics Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004.
Rohr, Ian. Transport: on the Road, London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd, 2006.