Global transportation issues and challenges - Thesis Example

It is not only trade-related challenges that plague the transportation industry across the world. There are problems with urban congestion, making effective usage of alternative energy to reduce pollution, shortages of drivers, regulatory concerns, political issues and constraints, and even global price fluctuations in various nations and markets. Any breakdown in transportation can create societal hardship and even impacts the positive socio-economic growth of a country (Harriet, Poku and Anin, 2013).

Therefore, failure to recognize and address the many different issues and challenges of transportation maintains long-term consequences for national and human development. The main problem of this research study is to uncover what specific challenges and issues are facing the global transportation industry. Without comprehensive knowledge of these problems, economic growth and social development of a nation can be gravely impacted. This study, therefore, attempts to address contemporary transportation challenges and, through comprehensive review of transportation-related literature, propose potential recommendations for professionals in the transportation industry to address these problems and achieve efficiency in transportation activities.

Investment in infrastructure is fundamental for ensuring effective transportation systems. Nations must be considerate of such infrastructure dynamics as parking lots, traffic lights, roadway networks, and ports (to name only a few). Lack of investment in these transportation-related aspects creates substantial inadequacy in transportation systems (Yu, De Jong, Storm and Mi, 2012). Control, investment and management of traffic improves productive use of transport infrastructures and, as one relevant example, traffic lights in an urban region which are allowed to become malfunctioning increases traffic congestion and creates