Importance of Global Transportation Systems (Research Paper Sample)

Importance and Vulnerability of Global Transport Name: Course: Tutor: Date Introduction Global transportation is the movement of persons, animals, as well as goods from one nation or continent to the next (Black 3). There are various modes of global transportation, which include; rail, water, road, pipeline, air, and cable. Global transportation is a critical pillar in global trade, which is in turn a crucial ingredient in the development of modern civilizations. Owing to the sheer nature of the transportation industry, global transportation systems are vulnerable to issue such as piracy, terrorism, and catastrophes. It is upon this critical rationale that this paper seeks to establish the importance and vulnerability of global transportation. In order to establish a conceptual phenomenon of the study, each mode of global transportation will be considered separately along with its importance and vulnerability issues. Finally, the study will end with a conclusion based upon the presented findings of this paper.Air Transportation Air transport involves the use of airplanes, aircrafts, and helicopters in the movement of individuals from one location to the other (Wensveen, &Alexander 147).Importance of Air Transport Air transport is essential for both social and economic development for the following reasons: It has relatively low barriers of entry in the market. It has a substantial business contribution. It integrates local, regional, and even global economies. It is secure, safe, highly flexible, fast, and reliable. Socially, air transport is the most luxurious form of transportation mostly used by the rich and high the profile individuals in the society. Though perceived to be expensive, it offers an excellent opportunity for individuals to have a relaxed travel experience with their loved ones. Air transport contributes to approximately1% of the entire world’s GDP. In the long run, this results to about $260 billion turnover alongside 3.9 million jobs. In this regard, it is evident that air transport develops significant business ventures. Besides, 45% of goods by value are transported by air. Air transport also enhances tourism to a greater extent. Financially, the tourism sector is the world’s largest industry of all times. Therefore, with the availability of air transportation, tourism is expected to keep growing with the strongest impact projected in developing countries. Based upon reason, air transport is a critical aspect to the regional economic integration. This is because; air transport leads to a shift from subsistence to a market economy. Eventually, this leads to modernization as well as diversification. Air transport is pivotal to the aspect of regional economic integration due to its enormous prospect to tap viable market opportunities and create nodes of development. In general, air transport contributes to economic developments around terminals. These developments generate jobs and contribute to both economic and social growth. Some of the terminal developments include; services, conditioning, packaging, food services, maintenance, and communication. Similarly, air transport enhances regional economic integration since most enterprises demand modern and reliable infrastructure. It also enhances the emergence of private sectors in most regions thereby overcoming the handicap aspect of thin markets through diversity. Most interestingly, air transport is an essential ingredient to global integration through the reduction of poverty by giving the access of global markets to individuals isolated in remote areas. Finally, this form of transportation promotes political integration among countries due to enhanced international trade.Vulnerabilities of Air Transport The lack of a safe and secure air transportation service produces severe effects in the industry. First and foremost, issues of non-compliance to modern global standards for oversight, safety, and support by most developing countries present a real challenge in the entire industry. These non-compliance issues have resulted to increased air transport accidents, which have consumed many lives. The latest air transport accident involved the Malaysian airline flight 370, which went missing under mysterious circumstances. The aircraft was carrying 227 passengers from approximately 14 nations and 12 crew members from Malaysia. Unfortunately, all passengers and crew members aboard were killed in the Malaysian plane crash. Air transport is also vulnerable to risk such as terrorist attacks, violence, and hijacking. Terrorists have always hijacked planes and kept passengers into captivity by demanding large amounts of ransom for their release. In such events, most passengers have been robbed off their belongings in aircrafts while others killed for failure to cooperate with the terrorists. Bad weather also affects the state of air transport to a larger extent. The changing environmental conditions of present times present unpredictable weather conditions, which enormously affects the navigation of aircrafts in air. Eventually, it leads to an increase in air accidents whereby many individuals loses their lives.Ways of Protecting Air Transport For air transport accidents to reduce, countries should ensure that they follow all compliance rules and regulations to the letter. Similarly, all passengers should be properly frisked in order to reduce cases of air transport terrorism. In the same effect, all cabin crew members and pilots should undergo proper training to enhance their awareness on natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Pilots should also be cautious of bad weather by ensuring that they only travel during calm weather conditions. In this regard, airlines should develop a clear inventory of assets, gather around climatic information, and assess the potential risks to assets as well as transportation systems cumulatively from a projected climatic change. This will highly reduce the risk associated with airline vulnerabilities.Rail Transport Rail transport is the movement of passengers as well as goods by means of a train. Railway transport systems usually have lower frictional resistance, unlike highway vehicles, and for that reason both passenger and freight carriages can be coupled into relatively longer trains.Importance of Rail Transport Most railway trains have highly developed signaling systems that make them the safest land transportation system as compared to other modes of transportation. In fact, railway transport can carry a large number of passengers along with large volumes of cargo within long distances while maintaining sustainable energy efficiency. Unlike road transport that is usually affected by traffic jams railway transport is not affected by traffic congestions since each train carrier has its own specified time of operation. This makes railway transport the most convenient form of transport over long distances whereby traffic congestions are key challenges. Railway transport enhances global trade to a large extent. It enables commercial goods to be transported from one country or continent to the next. Similarly, businessmen often use this form of transport to move from one economic region to the other. By means of a standard railway gauge, railway transport enhances, regional integration since nations identifies themselves by the same standard railway line.Vulnerabilities of Railway Transport Railway transport being one of the most thriving commercial ventures globally is faced with unprecedented vulnerabilities that often threaten its market existence. Basically, railway transport faces the following vulnerabilities: Sheer number of railroad tracks across nations: Rail lines covers hundreds of thousands of miles across many nations thus providing an infinite opportunity for terrorists. It is hard to observe every railroad inch at any particular time. Therefore, hundreds of railroad miles are left open for major terrorist attacks. Points of cargo transfer: Trains travel across borders heavily loaded with cargo. In this regard, the scrutiny the entire freight becomes extremely difficult. This leaves room for various illegal products such as illegal drugs to be trafficked across nations globally. Train Schedule Databases: The database containing shipment schedules for sensitive materials are sometimes hacked, and the information confidential retrieved by fraudsters. This ultimately leads to an enormous breach of security details that may lead to piracy of various intellectual properties. Lack of security at train stations: Passenger trains often make highly predictable stops along the way before getting to their final destinations. This makes it easier for terrorists to establish exactly where a given train is going to stop and how long it is going to take before proceeding. Strangely enough, passengers are allowed to come in and leave as they please thus presenting a real terrorist opportunity. Hi-jacking of trains: Unknown bandits attack trains and either rob passengers or turn them into hostages. Ways of protecting railway transport In order to reduce the aforementioned vulnerabilities in railway trucks and even railway stations, security should be heightened to a higher extent. Besides, all railway carriages should have a signaling system that alerts security agencies in case of an attack or emergency. It is also paramount to keep watch of railway lines by installing cameras along railroads in order to tame any mischievous action by terrorists. Finally, sensitive information should be coded with a unique security system in order to prevent a breach of information by fraudsters.Highway Transport  Highway transport is the movemen...