Public Transport in China and U.K - Essay Example

Public Transport in China and U.K Transport contributes significantly to economic development. To both developed and developing countries, transport sector is a major concern. For instance, China has posed major growth and expansion in its transport systems during the past few years. The comprehensiveness and physical state of China’s transport infrastructure faces a geographical variation. The primarily mode of transport in China which entails the railway system, has doubled in length providing an extensive network service to the entire nation1. The nation has rapidly expanded its roads and highways thus facilitating a consequent rapid increase in the use of motor vehicles within the country. Moreover, the nation has most of its vast network of transport concentrated in the more economically developed coastal areas and inland cities along major rivers. Therefore, the remote and rural areas within China still depend on the non- mechanized means of transport. Although air growth has also tremendously increased since the late 1990’s, the nation has embarked on its initial transport system of rail2. The expansion of China’s transport systems has made it become the longest expressway network in the world. China presently uses a wide range of modern transport systems that include civil aviation, water transport, road traffic, and railway. Increase in accessibility and reliability of China’s transport has led to a consequent increase in technology advancements. The technological advancements of the transport system in China have led to invention of metros, maglev railways, express highways, light railways, and electric railroads. These modern means of transport systems have been increasingly used in China especially in the larger cities3. Air travel in China remains the most convenient and fastest means of transport though it is the most expensive. Air transport denotes convenience and reliability to individuals who need to take less time to arrive their destinations. The air system in China has faced a dramatic improvement each year. Airlines provide international transport as well as flights to major cities within the country. The most locally used means of transport in China is the railway system. It is one of the cheapest means of transport systems for long distance travels. Although train transport has provided a cheap means of transport system in China, technology has invented more reliable train networks that are relatively expensive but faster than the local trains. Maglev train in China has become the first commercial and fastest train in the world moving at a speed of 431km/hr. Bullet trains provide a comfortable, fast, and convenient means of transport in China. The introduction of this train in China boomed a fast means of rail transport within the country4. In addition to train transport, Shangri-La Express train portrays a privately owned hotel train that travels along the ancient Silk Road. Although metro trains are used in China, they are not mostly found in China except in the big cities. Metros in China depict incompetence compared to other major cities in the world. For instance, use of subways in most cases becomes inconvenience in China. Almost all cities and counties in China have accessibility to highway transport. Roads in China are usually good and reliable especially in the city areas but very poor in the remote areas. In some cases, buses tend to be cheaper than train transport for some distances. Waterway transport has also been used in China with an 86,992-mile inland navigable inland waterway. The longest artificial canal in the world, the Hangzhou Grand Canal, has its origin from China. China’s use of bicycles has become the order of the day5. It seems like a cultural perspective as a means of transport since the country has a large number of bicycles one for every two people. The use of bicycles helps individuals in rooming around China’s cities. For centuries, China manifests itself as the kingdom of bicycles thus impressing quite a number of people. The means of transport an individual decides to take depends on weather. It becomes impossible to use bicycles on a rainy day. Moreover, the economic status of an individual greatly determines the type of transport systems used by different people. The peasant farmers go for the railway transport that is cheap and convenient for them. The introduction of advanced and technological means of transport has led to the country’s economic growth and expansion especially in cities due to easy transaction mechanisms. Rapid population growth in China has hindered more transport inventions due to congestion in the city centers. To enhance more future developments, the country has to improvise on efficient ways of reducing population growth. The country ought to consider improving sub way transport and crossovers that will help reduce traffic jams and air pollution in the cities. Just like China, U.K uses a wide range of public transport systems that include road, rail, air, and water networks. Air transport in U.K is quite rampant consisting of 471 airports and airfields and 11 heliports. U.K provides the largest traffic volume international airport and the world’s busiest airports. This shows their frequency in use of air transport as compared to China where the rate of using air transport is minimal6. U.K has a range of rail networks that have depicted a major decline since 1960’s. Although U.K has the oldest rail network, the country’s use of rail transport is questioning. Compared to China, China has railway transport as the most locally used means of transport for long distances. The economic status of U.K has deprived it the expansion opportunity and extensive use of modern rail systems widely used in China. Moreover, train maintenance practices have been a major problem to U.K infrastructure companies. U.K once proposed the use of Maglev line but unfortunately, the government arguing that it had future planning of better transport system pessimistically disputed the idea. A low speed maglev line used in U.K did not last long due to high maintenance and operational costs that led to its shutting down7. Although U.K uses metro and rapid transit means of transport, these means of transport systems do not have a wide range of accessibility in U.K and consequently used in confined and minimal areas. This makes transport systems in U.K quite unreliable compared to China. U.K has seen revival in the recent years regarding the use of trams and light rail systems. Although the use of tram systems was dismantled in the 1950’s after the introduction of cars, the system has come back into use. Road network remains the most popular and commonly used mode of transport in U.K. Major motorways and trunk roads in U.K carry about one third of the nation’s traffic thus consuming about 0.16% of the country’s land. Toll roads in U.K are minimal. Due to road congestion and traffic jam experienced in the country, proposals have raised for more investments and better use of the existing networks. More proposals for revenue neutralization in U.K with other motoring taxes to come up with a wide road-pricing scheme have posed extreme controversies in the country8. Another commonly used transport system in U.K is buses. Local bus services cover a large part of the U.K. Some of these buses such as the coaches provide long-distance travels thus efficient and effective for individual use. U.K has a common use of the water transport system since the country is an island. Coming into the country and going out of the country requires water passage. U.K’s use of water as a transport system has been more efficient and compared to China. U.K has a range of ports and harbors that facilitate sea transport. U.K is well known for its largest merchant fleet in the world. Within the country, ferries and boats help in transport of both passengers and vehicles across rivers. They are convenient and cheap. In addition, the country has a large canal network primarily used for transporting goods throughout the country. Major uses of the waterways commonly found in U.K are for recreational purposes rather than commercial use9. Weather poses less threat to most of the transport systems exhibited in U.K as compared to China where efficient and reliable bicycle use depends on weather. To improve on the transport systems in U.K, the country has to strategize on invention of modern technological transport systems. The country need to improve its economic status to enhance development since in most cases the hindering factor to its transport development is based on finances to cater for both maintenance and operational costs10. In conclusion, China’s transport system differs a lot with U.K transport systems. Although China has a high population growth compared to U.K, its improvements in transport systems has been quite admirable. China has invested quite a lot in transport advancements making the country thrive economically. This contrasts to U.K’s transport systems that are unreliable and inconvenient although the country is less populated. China has denoted a step ahead of U.K in modern transport advancements. U.K has to learn an example from China and improve in its transport systems. The two countries need to note down the factors that hinder their transport growth and come up with measures of enhancing future improvements on transport. Bibliography Deangelo, F. Lawrence, China Survival Information (Cork:Business International, 2003), 6-11 White Peter, Public transport: its planning, management, and operation (vatican:Taylor & Francis, 2002), 10-12 Read More