Transportation is the motion of living creatures, humans, and objects from one place to another. Simply put, the act of transportation is defined as the complete movement of a living or nonliving object from A to B. Transportation is essential in industries and transportation services are provided by various transportation companies. These include air freight, land transportation, sea transportation, and road transportation.
There are four major transportation services that we all must be familiar with; rail, trucking/billing, automobile, and railroad companies. Rail is probably the most well-known transportation service, as it provides passenger and freight transportation through trains, freight trains, and freight trucks. There are passenger trains such as the New York subway system that provide commuter transportation. Freight trucks are large trucks that transport goods, raw materials, food, and factory products.
Rail and trucking/billing companies offer a wide range of transportation services. They manage the movement of freight or passenger automobiles, hazardous materials, and petroleum. Along with efficient logistics management, these companies provide effective logistics management services such as customer inventory management, warehousing, auto haulage, customer returns, and integrated network communications. With these services, companies can improve their customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Logistics is a key factor to transportation:
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) defines transportation services as, “the process by which freight or passenger transportation is performed between points specified by the user, including users who use highways, air travel, shipping services, or other modes of transportation.” This definition excludes the activities of rail carriers, bus and trucking fleets, and water transportation. USDOT further states that the definition of transportation services includes transportation of passengers and freight between public and private institutions. This then implies that all transportation services are dependent on users and there is no effective control over transportation costs across users.
Logistics is a key factor to transportation services. Logistics include planning, organizing, and executing activities for the movement, storage, preparation, and delivery of a product or service between one location and another. This can take place at the point of origination, where logistics providers plan the transportation and supply chain from beginning to end. At the destination, logistics providers organize for transportation, goods movement and distribution, warehousing, distribution, logistics recovery, and security. All of these activities require a clear vision and clear direction for smooth and effective movement of goods or services between all points.
Demand fulfillment and mobility are two additional components of transportation services. Demand fulfillment refers to the ability of a product or service to meet or exceed the demand in supply or in demand from customers or other stakeholders. For example, in an economic development scenario, the supply of fuel and other resources may be greater than the demand for transportation services.
The ability of people to move from one place:
Transportation mobility is the ability of people to move from one place to another easily. Public transportation provides this mobility. Bus, train, taxi, and trolley systems are common modes of transportation mobility. Taxis in particular are preferred because of their reliability, affordability, environmental-friendliness, and level of safety. Trolleys, on the other hand, are used when the distance traveled needs to be less than 20 miles. Trams are also good for short distances.
Airfreight is becoming an important player in the transportation sector, providing new opportunities for business growth and development. Airfreight can either originate at the airport itself or can be sourced from one of the many air freight providers based across the world and also get the service of reputation management services. Airfreight increases competitiveness and helps the economy by reducing transportation costs, increasing productivity, and boosting tourism.
