Transport geography seeks to understand the spatial organization and attributes of mobility. It examines the origin, destination, extent, nature and purpose of movements of people, freight and information. There are several key principles of transport geography, including that transportation links demand, distance is relative, and space both enables and constrains mobility. Transportation aims to overcome geographical constraints like distance and terrain in order to transform attributes from origin to destination. The importance of transportation has grown significantly and it plays important historical, economic, social, political and environmental roles.

1. Transport Geography
GE-3205

2. What is transportation?
- In simpler terms, Transportation is the act of moving people, items and
information from a point A to a point B.
This can be
 carrying a plate from the kitchen to the living room
 moving furniture from one flat to another
 sending any goods from a seller / shipper to a buyer
 bringing supplies from earth to the International Space Station in orbit
Etc…..etc…..
 Transportation is the movement of people and goods over time and space.
The following information refers to the transportation of freight (cargo, goods,
commodities), as this is the connecting factor with the forwarding business, and
the relevant physical‐geographic aspects of transportation.

3. Fig: The Transport System
Source: Jean-Paul Rodrigue (2017)
The Transport System

4. How about Transport geography?
Transport geography is
 a sub‐discipline of geography
 concerned about the mobility
 of people, freight and information.
Transport geo seeks to understand:
 the spatial organization of mobility
 by considering its attributes and constraints
 as they relate to the origin, destination, extent, nature and purpose of
movements.
There would be no transportation without geography and there would be no
geography without transportation. The goal of transportation is thus to transform
the geographical attributes of freight, people or information, from an origin to a
destination, conferring on them an added value in the process.

6. The Core Principles of Transport Geography
A B 1. Transportation is the spatial linking of a derived demand
A B 2. Distance is a relative concept involving space, time and effort
X
A B 3. Space is concomitantly a generator, a support and a constraint for mobility
4. The relation between space and time can converge or diverge
A B C 5. A location can be a central or an intermediate element of mobility
6. To overcome geography, transportation must consume space
7. Transportation seeks massification but is constrained by atomization
8. Velocity is a modal, intermodal and managerial effort

7. The Scales of Transport Geography
Network Flows Spatial Constructs
Transit systems
Street networks
Commuting
Personal and social
trips
Deliveries
Activity space
District / Neighborhood
Terminal / Development zone
City
Commuter rail
Regional air networks
National highway systems
National railway systems
Short sea shipping / feeders
LOCAL
REGIONAL
GLOBAL
Intercity passenger flows
Distribution
Metropolitan area
Market area
Hinterland / Corridor
Urban region
International air networks
Maritime shipping
networks
Trade
Tourism and business trips
Migration
Value chains
Landbridge
Trade area

8. Aims and scope…
Ullman, with Harold Mayer (1954), surveyed the field of transportation geography
in their volume American Geography: Inventory and Prospect. Their paper on
transportation geography examined the field and identified 11 areas of interest to
transport geographers at the time. These were:
1. Examination and mapping of transportation as a measure of relations between
areas.
2. The study of ports, their traffic, and hinterlands.
3. Comparisons of transportation systems and the identification of criteria for
such comparisons.
4. The patterns and selection of transportation routes.
5. The problem of securing adequate data on flows.
6. Estimating and forecasting the demand for transportation.
7. Examination of existing or given traffic flows and evaluation of their efficiency.
8. Analysis of the components of freight rates.
9. Studies of the relationship between transport routes and environmental
conditions.
10. Studies of the impact of technology on transport costs and flows.
11. The gravity model and social physics.

9. Since the 1990s, Transport Geography has received renewed attention, especially,
because the issues of mobility, production of distribution are interrelated in a
complex geographical setting. It is now recognized that transportation is a system
that considers the complex relationships between its core elements. Transport
Geography must be systematic as one element of the transport system is linked
with numerous others (Rodrigue, et. al., 2006). During this short (1960 to 1990)
but rapid progress of Transport Geography strengthen the subject matter. This
subject matter categorized as below:
1. Geographical pattern of transport network
2. Study of functions and nodal points or terminals
3. Study of commodity movement, farming commodity flow and flow
analysis
4. Study of people movement forming Traffic Flow and Flow Analysis
5. The entire system of hinterlands and hierarchical relationship associated
with network. (Vaidy, 1998)
Subject matter of TG

11. Transport and Development:
Conceptual Frameworks”, Source: B. Hoyle and J. Smith (1998)

12. Key Dimensions of Transportation
Dimension
Historical Changes brought by transport technologies. Rise of civilizations.
Development of modern nation states. Globalization.
Economic Transport and economic development (indirectly and directly). Factor
in the production and added-value of goods and services. Facilitates
economies of scale. Influences land (real estate) value. Contributes to
the specialization of regions.
Social Access to healthcare, welfare, and cultural events. Shape social
interactions.
Political Nation building and national unity. National defense. Rules and
regulations. Subsidizing mobility (e.g. public transit or highways).
Environmental Important environmental impacts. Pollution, exploitation of natural
resources. Climate change.

13. Transportability
 ease of movement of passengers, freight or information
 transport costs (absolute and relative)
 attributes of what is being transported (fragility, perishable, price …)
 Political factors (laws, regulations, borders, tariffs …)
 When transportability is high, activities are less constrained by
distance.

14. Transportability – influencing factors
 Weight ‐ indicator of the amount of energy that must be spend to
carry the cargo
 Storage ‐ complexity related to hold the cargo in inventory before it
can be used
 Fragility ‐ ease at which the cargo can be damaged during transport
 Perishable ‐ degree of degradation after being harvested or
manufactured, influences commercial value of goods

15. The concept of “flow” in Transport Management
The concept of “flow” has four major components:
1. Geographical
origin >>>
<<< (spatial and/or organizational) separation* >>>
>>> destination
* high degree of separation limits flows
2. Physical
* specific physical characteristics >>>
type of load units and physical conditions of carriage
* flows can be atomized or massified (as outlined above)

16. The concept of “flow” in Transport Management
3. Transactional
* negotiations between contracting partners, e. g. booking a slot on a
containership
* monetary exchange between provider of transportation and user
4. Distribution
* flows are organized in sequences
* more complex flows involve different modes/terminals
* (often) transport flows are scheduled and routed
* in order to minimize costs or maximize efficiency

17. 1 – The Purpose of Transportation
• Overcome space
– Variety of human and physical constraints.
– Distance, time, administrative divisions and topography.
• Friction of distance
– Costs.
– Distance involved.
– Nature of what is being transported.
• Goal of transportation
– Transform the geographical attributes of freight, people or
information.
– Give an added value in the process.
– Fulfillment of a demand for mobility.

18. The Spatial Consideration of a Movement
A B
Walking Cycling Driving
D(W) D(C) D(D)
Friction of Distance
Movement
Distance (D)
Time

19. 1 – The Purpose of Transportation
• Transportability
– Transport costs.
– Attributes of the transported goods (fragility, perishable, price).
– Some institutional factors such as laws, borders and tariffs.
• Derived demand
– Transportation cannot exists on its own and cannot be stored.
– Direct derived demand:
• Movements directly the consequence of an economic activity.
– Indirect derived demand:
• Movements created by the requirements of other movements.
• Energy consumption from transportation.
• Warehousing can be labeled as an indirect derived demand since it
is a "non movement" of a freight element.

20. Transportation as a Derived Demand
Figure: Transportation as a derived demand
Indirect
Derived Demand
Working Vacationing Manufacturing
Activity
Commuting Travel
Transport &
Distribution
Direct
Energy
Services
Shopping
Travel &
Deliveries
Warehousing

21. 2 – The Importance Transportation
• Dimensions
– Historical:
• Played several different historical roles.
• Rise of civilizations (Egypt, Rome and China).
• Development of political and cultural societies.
• National defense (Roman empire, American road network).
– Social:
• Access to healthcare, welfare, and cultural or artistic events.
• Shape social interactions.
– Political:
• Rules and regulations.
• Mobility often subsidized.
• Nation building and national unity.

22. – Environmental:
• Important environmental impacts.
• Pollution, exploitation of natural resources.
– Economic:
• Linked to economic development and job creation both indirectly
and directly.
• According to modal developments; maritime, rail, automobile, and
aerospace construction.
• Factor in the production of goods and services.
• Contributes to the value-added of goods and services.
• Facilitates economies of scale.
• Influences land (real estate) value.
• Contributes to the specialization of regions.
2 – The Importance Transportation

23. • The importance of transportation is growing
• Growth in the demand for mobility
– Considerable growth of the transport demand:
• Individual (passengers) and freight mobility.
– Larger quantities of passengers and freight being moved.
– Longer distances over which they are carried.
– Multiplication of the number of journeys.
– Wide variety of modes servicing transport demands.
2 – The Importance Transportation

24. Vehicle Use Indicators, World, 1950-2002
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
13,000
Annual car production (millions) (left axis)
People per automobile (left axis)
Miles traveled per passenger vehicle (USA) (right axis)
Source: World watch Institute and BTS.

25. 2 – The Importance Transportation
• Reduction of costs
– Several transportation modes are very expensive to own
and operate (ships and planes).
– Costs per unit transported have significantly dropped.
– Overcome larger distances and further exploit the
comparative advantages of space.
– Lower costs linked with longer distances.

26. Transport and Communication Costs Indexes,
1920-1990
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990
Sea Freight Rates
Air Transport (Average revenue per
passenger-km)
Telephone call (3 minutes, New York
/ London)
Computers
Source: UNDP Human Development Report 1999, p. 30.

27. 2 – The Importance Transportation
• Expansion of infrastructures
– Extended the requirements for transport infrastructures both
quantitatively and qualitatively.
– Roads, harbors, airports, telecommunication facilities and
pipelines have expanded considerably.
– Service new areas and adding capacity to existing networks.
– Transportation infrastructures are a major component of the
land use.

28. Transportation Network Density
(in km per 100 sq.km), 2000
More than 100 km / 100 km2
60-100 km / 100 km2
40-60 km / 100 km2
20-40 km / 100 km2
10-40 km / 100 km2
Less than 10 km / 100 km2

29. 2 – The Importance Transportation
• Spatial differentiation of the economy
– Different locations
– Location of resources (raw materials, labor, manufacturing).
– Spatial division of production and consumption.
– Service embedded in the socio-economic life of individuals,
institutions and corporations.
– Often invisible for to consumer, but always part of all economic
functions.

30. 2 – The Importance Transportation
• Strategic infrastructure
– Embedded in the socio-economic life of individuals, institutions
and corporations.
– If disrupted or cease to operate, the consequences can be
dramatic.
– No specific user can have a competitive advantage over others.
– Often invisible to the consumer.
– The perceived invisibility of transportation is derived from its
efficiency.

31. 2 – The Importance Transportation
• Common fallacies
– Access is not accessibility:
• Access is uniform wherever one is located in regard to the
transport system as long a there is a possibility to enter or to exit ;
public highway.
• Often no specific user can have a competitive advantage over
others.
• Accessibility varies according to one's location within the transport
system.
– Distance is not time:
• Distance remains constant.
• Time can vary due to improvements in transport technology or
because of congestion.

32. Two Common Fallacies in Transport
Geography
Access vs. Accessibility Distance vs. Time
a
b
c
10
3
3 5
5
4
3
7
2
5
8
6
7
6
4
7
6
3
3
4
6

33. 1. Access and accessibility
 access to transportation systems is usually
open to anyone (exemptions may apply)
 accessibility varies according to one's location
within the transport system:
a, b and c have access to the system.
b appears to be the most accessible due to its
central location in relation to the network.
(Source: Rodrigue et al., 2013)
Fallacies of transportation systems

34. Fallacies of transportation systems
2. Distance and time
 While distance remains constant, time can
vary due to improvements in transport
technology (positive effect), because of
congestion (negative effect) or regulations
such as speed limits
 speed = the unit of distance traveled per unit
of time
(Source: Rodrigue et al., 2013)