Question

Write Short Note on the following:
Role of transport

Answer 1

Introduction: -In India, transport plays an important role in nation's economy. Since the economic liberalization of the 1990's, development of infrastructure within the country has progressed at a rapid pace and today there is a wide variety of modes of transport by Land, Water and Air are available in India.

Transportation is the movement of people, animal and goods from one location to another. Transport infrastructure consists of the fixed installations necessary for transport, and may be roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and pipelines and terminals such as airports, railways stations, bus stations, trucking terminals and seaports. India's rail network is the 4th largest and most heavily used system in the world, transporting over 6 billion passengers and over 350 million tons of goods annually.

1. Helps in production: -Transport system helps the manufacturer to take the raw materials and other requirements quickly from the places, where it is available to the production centers. It helps the movement of the labour from their houses to the place of their work. It also makes possible quick dispatch and distribution of finished goods to the centers of consumption.
2. Expanding Markets: -It reduces the gap between the producers and consumers. It helps to cover the wider area of market places by making the goods available, whenever need arises. Transport plays an important role in distribution and marketing of goods. Air transport plays an important role in the success of an international trade.
3. Create Place Utility: -Transport is useful for carrying the goods from the place of its availability to the place of its requirement. Only, because of transport, it has been possible for the people staying at far places to get the benefit of goods, which are not available near to them. E.g. apples from Kashmir are transported throughout the country's Mangoes from India are exported to different countries, etc.
4. Stability of Prices: -Transport helps to maintain the prices of the goods by providing the goods at the proper time and satisfying the consumer demand for the goods. It helps to maintain balance between the demand and supply of goods, which ensures stability of prices.
5. Creates Employment: -Transport provides direct employment to transport owners, drivers, mechanics, helpers and so on. It also provides indirect employment by facilitating the movement of goods and people from one place to another. So, it provides direct and indirect employment to the number of people.
6. Improves standard of Living: -Transport helps people to enjoy a better standard of living by providing them with goods of their choices from faraway places or places of its availability. As transport creates employment, it gives an opportunity to people to earn good amount of income. E.g. imported cars can be transported from foreign countries.
7. Cost Reduction: -The cost of production and distribution can be reduced with the help of efficient, cheap and quick means of transport. The goods can be sold at low prices which in turn will increase demand and expand market.
8. Provides help during emergency: -People are badly affected during natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, landslides, etc. and also during riots, bomb blasts, accidents, fire, etc. transport helps the people by providing them with the necessities like food, water, medicines, etc. and also helps them to travel to their destinations.
9. National Defense: -Transport plays an important and special role in the defense of the country. An efficient transport network system ensures quick movement of troops, arms and ammunitions from one place to another.
10. Economic development: -Economic development of a country depends on a good network of transport system and industrial development. Good transport system also provides employment opportunity; new industries are established where there is a good network of transport. This all gives rise to economic development of a nation.

Answer 2

Transport plays a major role in our lives. It facilitates the movement of goods, raw materials and labour from one place to another. Some important functions of transport are as follows:
i. Aids in the production process - Transport helps traders or manufactures to procure raw materials from far-off places and from places where they are available at the cheapest rate. Hence, it helps in procuring raw materials for production.
ii. Helps in the expansion of markets - Through transportation, sellers or traders can sell their goods in the markets that are far-off. Thus, it aids in the expansion of markets as well.
iii. Stabilises prices - Transportation helps in making the goods available whenever and wherever they are in demand. Thus, it helps in maintaining price stability.
iv. Creates employment - Transportation creates direct employment. It employs drivers, mechanics, helpers, etc., in the process.

v. Improves standard of living - It improves the standard of living of the people by making a wide variety of goods available
to them and by creating employment opportunities for them.