All forms of transport are used to move goods around the world. Cargo planes are by far the quickest method, but are very expensive. Where large amounts of goods need to be trans-ported over great distances, ships are the cheapest method. Container ships carry metal containers of a standard size, which can hold almost anything. Once in port, the containers are easily transferred to trains or Lorries. For shorter sea journeys, Lorries and their cargoes are driven on to Ro-Ro (roll on, roll off) ferries in one port and driven off at another.
Powered transportation was developed less than 250 years ago, but it is hard to imagine life before ships, trains, cars and airplanes. Some major transportation milestones include:
- The first steamship built in the 1770s
- The first steam-powered train in 1798
- The modern car born in 1886
- The first powered flight in 1903
- Yet people did get around before modern transportation, albeit slower.
They simply walked or rode on camels and horses. It wasn’t convenient, fast, reliable, safe or even comfortable. In most cases, you could only go 20 miles a day and carry a limited amount on your back or on the pack animal. But it was all that was available to get from one place to the next to trade goods or find food and water.
Something amazing happened starting in the late 1700s – with the invention and adoption of modern transportation. Standards of living of people around the world radically increased because for the first time trade was easier, safer, faster, more reliable and convenient. Goods could be shipped around the world and traded for other products.
Just as ships and trains could cover long distances in days instead of the months these trips took by camel or sail, by the mid-1900s, planes could cover the same distances in just a few hours. By the 1960s, aviation was the preferred way of getting across the US and abroad to Europe. Faster and faster planes carrying more and more people – for reasonable airfares – helped us to travel, explore and invest around the globe.
With each advancement in transportation technology, the standard of living for everyone around the world has increased dramatically. Supersonic transportation will have an equally astounding impact on the world. Flight times will be reduced by 50%, bringing the world much closer together and making destinations more accessible in a shorter amount of travel time.
Picture Credit : Google
