Transportation contd II

Commerce SSS2 Second Term

WEEK  2

Transportation contd II

Performance Objectives

The student should be able to

     1. Describe the various forms of transportation.

     2. Enumerate the advantages and disadvantages of transportation.

Content

Forms of transportation contd

Air Transportation

This involves travelling by aeroplane, helicopter or by the balloon. The most common of these, however, is travelling by aeroplane. Aeroplanes fly in the air but they require airports and some sophisticated gadgets for landing and taking off. The airports also require among other things warehouses, control towers, runways, fire fighting equipment and offices. Air transport is the fastest. It is used to carry mails, cargo, as well as passengers. It can also be used for taking photographs, mapping, survey, scouting, aerial crop spraying and defence. The helicopter, for instance, can be used as an ambulance, a ferry, a firefighter and even for traffic control from the air. It is ideal for transporting fragile goods, expensive but less bulky items like watches, drugs and jewellery.

Pipeline Transportation

This is a fast means of transport for liquids and gases from one place to another. They are mostly used to convey crude oil from the oil wells to the refineries or areas where they are further conveyed for export. For instance, oil is transported through pipelines from Port Harcourt and Warri to the refineries at Eleme and Kaduna respectively.

Advantages and disadvantages of each form of transportation

A. Land transportation (Road and Rail transportation)

Advantages of Road Transportation

1. Flexibility of Door-to-door services: Roads connect almost every part of the countries in West Africa. This is not true of the other forms of transport. Again, door-to-door delivery or collection of goods is possible.

2. Costs: Cost of roads construction or cost of vehicles is cheaper, compared to rail transport.

3 Cheaper fares: Due to the cheaper cost of operation, fares are cheaper by road than by most of the other means of transport.

4. Individual ownership: It is possible for some people to own their own means of transport.

5. Development of transport: The other means of transport are not fully developed in West Africa. In some countries, there are no railway lines at all (e.g. Gambia), while in others there is only one airport.

6. Variety of vehicles: There is a wide range of vehicles for use by road - from bicycles to buses and trucks.

7 Convenience: There is no fixed time schedule or need to follow a scheduled route like the other forms of transport. This means that vehicles can move at any time or can go anywhere.

8. Speed: It is faster in transporting goods and passengers in short distances without the elaborate loading or unloading arrangements required for rail and canal transport.

9. Suitable for small consignments: Road transport is suitable for conveying small loads of goods.

10. Not limited by weather conditions: Unlike boat aircraft, and trains, road transport is not limited by weather conditions such as fog.

11. Easier to operate: It is easier to operate the various types of road transport than trains, ships and aircraft.

Disadvantages of Road Transportation

Road transport has the following disadvantages which make people prefer other means of transport at times.

1 Congestion: Road transport is often subject to heavy traffic congestion, especially in large towns and industrial areas due to too many vehicles trying to use the same road.

2 Slow for long journeys: For long journeys, goods travelling by road spend longer time than those travelling by rail or air.

3. Accidents: Transport by road is more prone to accidents than transport by rail or air.

4. Limited capacity for bulky goods: Motor vehicles are not capable of carrying goods which are too bulky, especially for long distances. For example, a goods-train can carry fifty logs at a time whereas no vehicle can carry up to ten logs of similar sizes at the same time.

5. Break-downs and delays: Motor vehicles experience break- downs and delays more often than trains.

6. Higher charges over long distances: Motor vehicles charge higher fares for carrying goods and passengers over long distances than trains or ships.

Advantages of Rail Transportation

1. Larger capacity for bulky goods: Trains are better suited for carrying bulky goods over long distances than motor vehicles.

2. Cheaper for bulky goods: Rail transport is cheaper for carrying bulky goods over long distances than road transport.

3. Fewer accidents: Trains, on the whole, have fewer accidents than motor vehicles and are therefore safer for passengers and goods.

4. Faster for long journeys: Particularly for long journeys, trains are faster than motor vehicles.

5. Provision of canteen services: Rail transport provides canteen services for passengers, unlike road transport, i.e. passengers have access to food items and drinks while in transit.

Disadvantages of Rail Transportation

1. Fixed routes: Routes are fixed so that there cannot be a door-to-door delivery or collection of goods.

2. Heavy capital and maintenance cost: The Railway Corporation has to provide and maintain its own track, stations, signalling system, etc. These entail heavy expenditures. Road hauliers or transporters do not bear such expenses.

3. Greater risk of damage: Goods conveyed by rail are subject to a greater risk of damage due to greater handling.

4. No individual ownership: Rail transport is usually controlled by corporations or companies and not by individual persons.

5. Unsuitable for perishable goods: Rail transport is not suitable for certain commodities, especially perishable goods.

6. Not flexible: Trains observe rigid time-tables in their movements, unlike motor vehicles.

Advantages of Water Transportation

1. Perishable goods are easily transported from country to country: Ships contain refrigeration and other devices which make it possible for perishables like meat, fruits and vegetables to be preserved for months whilst in transit from one country to another.

2. Has the largest cargo space: It has the largest cargo space for heavy consignments like logs, tractors, motor vehicles, industrial machines, railway wagons and building material.

3. Relatively cheap: Economies of scale are well illustrated in shipping- the larger the vessel, the lower the unit cost of transportation. Moreover, it does not require the construction of routes.

4. Relatively safe: The increased use of containers minimizes loss or damage of goods resulting from handling.

Disadvantages of Water Transportation

1. High capital expenditure: The construction of terminals (.e.g ports) is very expensive. Sea vessels themselves involve high capital expenditure to own and maintain.

2 Accessibility is limited: Water transport is limited to areas where there is sea, ocean, river, canal or lake. Therefore, landlocked countries (i.e. countries not bordered by sea) do not have easy access to shipping facilities.

3. Too slow: Water transport, especially those involving big ocean liners take too long a time to get to their destinations.

4. Limited by weather conditions: Water transport is most often hampered by stormy or foggy weather.

Advantages of Air Transportation

1. Speed: The greatest advantage of air transport is its speed which no other form of transport can compete with. Great distances are covered in a far shorter time than any other method of transport. E.g. An aeroplane from Lagos to Accra takes between 40 and 50 minutes.

2. Most suitable for expensive, urgent or fragile goods: Air transport is most suitable for expensive, urgent, perishable or fragile goods such as jewellery, mail, drugs, office machinery and engineering components due to the speed and simpler handling procedures associated with it.

3. Less Pilferage: There is less chance of stealing goods on board since there is a shorter travelling time and the goods are only handled at the airports.

Disadvantages of Air Transportation

1 High capital expenditure and operating costs: Air crafts are very expensive in terms of both their prices and their maintenance.

2. Unsuitable for all goods: Too bulky goods, such as timber are not suitable for air transport.

3. Too expensive: Air transport charges the highest fares among all the means of transport.

4. Limited by weather conditions: Weather conditions interfere with air services to a greater extent than any of the other forms of transport.

Advantages of Pipeline Transportation

1. Safety: Commodities transported through pipelines are very safe as they cannot be tampered with.

2. Continuity of movement: Pipelines provide for a continuous movement of commodities in bulk.

3. Economy: Pipelines are very economical in the use of space i.e. not much space is used in the laying of pipelines.

4. Low running costs: Pipelines, perhaps, have the lowest running costs and therefore cheaper products for consumers.

Disadvantages of Pipeline Transportation

1. Not flexible: Pipelines, once laid, cannot change their course.

2. Unsuitable for certain goods: Pipelines are not suitable for other goods apart from gas, water and electricity.

3. Heavy capital expenditure: The pipes and the cost of laying them involve heavy capital expenditure.