Importance of Public Transport Essay

Movements of people and freight are always a fundamental component of human societies. A basis and a flexible economic process have been accompanied by a significant increase in the level of transport and higher levels of accessibility and usability. Developing the public transport systems has been a continuous challenge to satisfy passengers and mobility needs, and basically, it participates and supports social and economic development.

A transportation system in a general and flexible definition can be defined as the combination of elements and their interactions, which produce the demand for travel within a given area and the supply of transportation services to satisfy this demand. This is enough to be applied to different contexts.[1]

The public transport sector is an important component of the economy, impacting development in many sectors and the welfare of populations. When public transport systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that impact the economy. When public transport systems are deficient, they can have an economic cost in terms of reduced or missed opportunities and fewer developments. Public transport also carries an important social and environmental load, which cannot be neglected, since the transport behavior depends on the available public transport systems and it controls the movement of the people which are the biggest and the most important component in the transport process.

Public transport is the backbone of the life of the community. It is one of the sectors which determines the form and socio-economic development of a city ([2]). Huge public transport projects usually require a big investment funding from both public and private sources. They often also affect economic and environmental characteristics. In many cases, large-scale projects affect individual stakeholder groups in distinctive ways.

In developing the public Transportation system, we must pay attention to some critical problems through the planning, implementation, and management of public transport systems, which is and has always been the main indicator of the financial and economic situation of the country itself. However, while many of the characteristics of public transport are common throughout the world, there are others that are unique, or of greater significance, to developing countries. In addition, with a higher proportion of the population dependent on public transport in these countries, the problems tend to be much more critical. Thus, there is a need for a new method that addresses the issues of planning, management, and regulation of public transportation systems specifically in developing countries.

There is no clear definition of a 'developing country. The term tends to be used loosely and applies mainly to the poor countries of the world, principally those in Asia, Africa, and South America. Every country in the world is developing to some extent.

although the rate of development varies significantly; some countries, have reached a much more advanced level of development than others. Some are in fact becoming less developed due to: populations increasing rapidly, but economic growth is slow or even negative so purchasing power is restricted and limited because of many challenges in different sectors so achieving the international standard for public transport is not a priority, including those of transport services, which are unfortunately falling in a catastrophic way as a result.

There are several important differences between the operation of public transport in developing and developed countries. While developing countries have many characteristics in common with one another, there are also very significant differences between them, particularly in terms of culture, geography, expertise, and stage of development. No two countries or cities are alike even if there are great similarities, yet each has different problems.

Population density, distribution, and growth are three very important factors in determining a country's passenger transport needs. A densely populated country obviously has a greater need for public transport services than one of a similar size that is sparsely populated; a scattered population may result in greater demand for long-distance transport than a more concentrated population, and rapid population growth creates additional demand which in many cases is not satisfied.

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Income levels are lower in developing countries, resulting in low car ownership and hence a strong demand for public transport, and a supply of relatively cheap labor; low incomes also lead to problems of affordability of fares. There is often a lack of skills, at various levels in different aspects: skilled drivers, specialists, and managers may be scarce. In developing countries shortage of funds is a major problem, and poor enforcement of laws and regulations may have a significant effect on the management of a transportation system. Road conditions tend to be difficult, with poor road surfaces on inter-city and rural routes, and severe traffic congestion in urban areas, while climate is often more of a problem. Standards of safety, comfort, punctuality, reliability, air and noise pollution, and users' expectations, are often far lower than those in developed countries; for example, people in some countries do not expect buses to run to schedule and are prepared to endure long waiting times and to travel in conditions which would be unacceptable elsewhere.

while others may vary considerably in severity between one country and another. Similarly, although in broad terms the potential solutions are often similar, and some measures are applicable in most situations, the differences must be recognized and considered. What may be appropriate in one case may not be workable or acceptable in another, and solutions need to be tailored so that they can work within the prevailing environment. In addition, while the highest possible standards should be aimed for, it is important to be realistic regarding what can and cannot be achieved.

Urban transport services places should be handled in a considerable strain, in three ways: first the increased population results in demand for an increased number of passenger trips; second, because of the increasing sizes of the cities the average length of the journey is increasing; and third, increasing traffic congestion results in reduced productivity of road transport vehicles.

There is a strong relationship between the size of a city and the average length of passenger journey: in general, terms, the larger the city, the longer the length of the journey. The exact relationship depends on factors such as population density, the nature of the road network, and the pattern of land use, and therefore varies considerably from one city to another. In a city of one million population, a typical average public transport journey length is between four and six kilometers; this increases as the city grow and therefore the number of public transport vehicles required increases even faster, proportionally, than the size of the population.

The development and management of the transportation system are critical in economic and social development as we mentioned earlier, most strategic and important public transport decisions are made with capital cost constraints which are based on many factors and some administrative challenges shaping and influencing the public transport development in any country since Public transport development decisions are often made as top-down decision giving the authorities to the operators of the service and neglecting or limiting the user's opinion such a process could give catastrophic results in the future that why the modern sustainable development of the transportation system in any country started to consider more contribution from the public side (users and potential users) also maximizing the expert's point of view contribution which are considered mainly based on different techniques such like Multi Criteria Decision Making Techniques (MCDM).

There are many challenges, problems, and issues from both the suppliers' side and the users' side related to transportation systems such as safety, cost, and quality that require effective solutions and improvement using surveys and comparisons by decision-making methods and techniques.

The supply chain handles the raw materials (the need of travel, aim of travel and the financial and economic situation) into the final process of the transportation system products( transportation projects), then the projects are applied based on the demands in the city taking in the account the futuristic demands. At the highest level, the transport supply chain contains two basic processes: (1) the transportation Planning and Control Process, and (2) the Distribution and Implementation Process.

Due to the rising challenges in the transport world through the implementation, maintenance, and distribution of the projects also the urbanization and increase of population of the cities, the level of quality in the transport system is an important factor in the global field within manufacturing and of the market socio economies, the supply chain is prevalent in today’s business model.

The impacts of transportation systems are hard to be expected and sometimes are not planned or meant to have unforeseen consequences in the future such as congestion. Transportation level affects in a basic and fundamental way and could be considered an important characteristic of economic activity as it satisfies the basic need of going from one location to the other, a need shared by passengers, freight, and information.

Surely All economies do not share the same level of transportation. some countries' economies have a greater level of transportation often those with better opportunities and abilities to develop than those suffering from scarce sources and financial issues. a low level of transportation impedes development while a greater Transportation level is a spur for development. Transportation level is thus a reliable indicator of development. So basically, the development of public transportation projects is a critical characteristic and very important at multiple levels of the country.