Over land, air and water (pt 1)
Yvonne Harvey, Contributor

Hi to my hard-working students. We are really progressing with marketing, so much so that you will be pleased to learn that after this there will be just one more lesson on the topic. I hope you will enjoy this one.

Forms of transport

Transportation is that productive service which deals with movement of commodities (indirect service) and people (direct service) from one geographical location to another. It can also be described as a means of contact between two or more points by providing a service.

The importance of transportation

• It is a form of communication - a means of contact between two distant points, for example, a manufacturer and wholesaler.
• Without transportation, most commercial activities would be impossible as raw materials would not be moved from where they are found, and food from where it is grown, to the factory. Also, manufactured goods would never get from the factory to the shops, where consumers are able to buy them. It is, therefore, an important aspect of distribution.
• An efficient transport system reduces the amount of capital tied up in stocks, because new supplies can be obtained quickly.
• It makes local, regional and international trade possible, for example, it facilitates the international trade in bananas from the Caribbean to the European market.
• Because of transportation, goods are able to reach the right place, at the right time, and in the right condition.
• It takes people to and from their places of work.
• In the tourism sector, transportation enables
• people to move from one place of attraction to another.
• It provides employment to drivers, sidemen and so on.

Types of transportation/methods of carriage - Land, air and water

(a) Land

1. Transportation along roads is the most important form of land transportation in the Caribbean. It involves buses, trucks, taxis, cars, bicycles and so on. In the Caribbean, road transportation is fairly well-developed, especially within cities and towns.

Advantages

Transporting via road is:

• Very flexible, in that vehicles can be driven almost anywhere and carry almost any type of load
• Quicker for short journeys
• Efficient in providing door-to-door service
• Reliable, as goods are under the control of a van or truck driver until they are delivered to the buyer
• Relatively cheap over short distances
• Safe for goods, since there is little handling, and stealing is, therefore, minimised
• Beneficial to tourists as it provides them with more opportunities for sightseeing
• Convenient since vehicles can reach places that other forms of transportation may not be able to
• Suitable for speedy, direct delivery of perishable goods
• Connects easily with terminals such as airports, train stations and docks
• Less tied to a rigid timetable than railways.

Disadvantages

Transporting by road:

• Creates traffic congestion and causes traffic accidents
• Contributes to pollution of the air from vehicles stuck in traffic
• Is expensive to operate in large, congested cities
• Is affected by adverse weather conditions
• Limits loads in terms of size and weight
• Can be inconvenient since some roads are
• unsuitable for large vehicles
• Slower than railway over long distances
• Can be expensive since tax on vehicles, insurance and fuel costs must be incorporated into production costs, which are sometimes passed on to the consumer.

2. Transportation via railway has never been very important in the Caribbean. The use of rail for transporting people has actually declined in popularity in the region. The railway services, for carrying passengers in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana, has all been closed down because they were losing too much money. In industrialised countries, where people sometimes travel hundreds of miles daily to and from work, the rail system is still very important.

There are no subways, super-express trains or mass public railways in the Caribbean because, apart from Guyana and Belize, we do not have great distances to cover. In some islands, however, railways are used for sightseeing by tourists, for example, the Appleton express.

A common use of railways in our region is to transport raw materials such as bauxite from the point of extraction to the point of refinement, manufacture or export.

Advantages

Railway transportation is:

• More comfortable and easier for passenger travel than road transportation
• Faster than going via road on long distances
• Less labour-intensive
• Especially suited for containers
• More economical in fuel use than road transportation
• Cheaper for consumers Convenient as schedules are reliable (in some countries).

Disadvantages

• Routes are determined by railway lines and stations which limit where the train can go
• Equipment and maintenance costs are very high
• Heavy reliance on road transport for transshipments
• Less economical than road movement for short journeys.

3. Pipelines

These allow the transportation of commodities without using a vehicle. Gas, oil and water may be transported in this way. These can be carried in large, regular quantities over a fixed route. Trinidad and Tobago especially has need for extensive use of pipelines (oil).

Advantages

Pipelines are:

• Cheaper for consumers
• Cheaper for transporting oil, water and gas

Disadvantages

Pipelines:

• Are expensive to lay down and maintain
• Can lead to leakages and waste of resources
• Are inflexible and not easily moved.

In next week's lesson we will discuss Air and Water transportation then, the following week, you will be tested on marketing. Begin your revision early. Bye-bye for now.

These girls (foreground) remove part of a television set from the beach while others immediately behind collect plastic bottles during International Coastal Clean-up Day in Hellshire, Portmore, St Catherine, recently. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

Yvonne Harvey teaches at Glenmuir High School. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com