Transportation can help develop rural societies in several ways: 1) It allows rural residents access to jobs in cities by providing daily commuting options while maintaining lower rural living costs. 2) It increases access to important services like banking, healthcare, and internet by connecting rural and urban areas. 3) It helps social and humanitarian programs reach rural residents, particularly vulnerable groups like older adults. 4) Overall it reduces quality of life differences between rural and urban areas by giving rural residents similar access to technology, education, and economic opportunities.

1. a. How can transportation be used to influence rural economies?
Transportation can be used to influence rural economies in terms of access to service and
accessibility of population. Success in tackling poverty depends to a crucial extent on the
availability of basic services for the rural population. The principal benefit of improved
rural transport infrastructure, and hence greater mobility, is that access to education, health
care and agricultural advice services becomes possible or more affordable. Income-
generating opportunities are opened up as a result of better access to markets where inputs
such as fertiliser, seed and machines can be purchased and home-grown products-
especially perishable goods such as fresh, vegetables, fruit and milk- can be sold. It
becomes possible to commute to jobs in rural centres that were previously out of reach.
Transport therefore functions as a catalyst of economic and social development in rural
areas, and it is closely linked to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Moreover, transportation can enhance the agricultural products to access to inputs and
market. This is because agriculture in rural area is a key provider of the population’s
income and plays a vital part in regional development. In most Africa, Asian and Latin
America countries, there are about 90% of rural households are involved in farming in one
form or another. On average they are obtain between 70% (Africa) and 50% (Asia and
Latin America) of their household income from farming activities (Davis, 2010). To
promote these income-earning opportunities, expansion of the rural transport infrastructure
often focuses on the developing small farmer’s access to the market, to improve their
marketing opportunities and the supply of inputs. Where transport routes do not exist or
roads are in poor condition, goods cannot always be transported; if transport is possible,
the costs may be very high. Seasonal interruptions to transport links are common, for
example as a result of flooding in the rainy season; if roads are impassable, goods cannot
be transported. Important, yield-boosting inputs such as fertilisers and farm machinery can
be obtained more easily and more cheaply if there are good transport links to rural centres
and markets. An example from Ethiopia shows that households with good access to roads
do not necessarily use more fertiliser than the comparison group with less good access, but
they pay about 17% less for it (Arethun, 2012). Better infrastructure can improve the
diversity and quality of the transport services on offer; it can also break up monopolies,
thereby helping to redistribute trader’s profits margin to the benefit of agricultural
producers. Roads enable families living close to them to boost their economy through

2. processing and direct marketing: agricultural produce can be processed and sold to passing
travellers.
Futhermore, there is extensive evidence of the importance tranportation can increase the
accessing of education in reducing poverty. In sparsely populated rural areas where
getting to school, especially secondary school or college which involves travelling long
distances, tranport facilities and the costs of such transport are a crucial factor in scholl
attendance. When plans are drawn up to improve access to schools, it is important to
distnguish between types of school. Primary schools have a relatively small catchment area
that many pupils come on foot from the surrounding villages. In this case it is often more
important to have safe paths that are usable all year around, and simple networks of paths,
raher than a single high quality paved road. At secondary and tertiary level the situatuon is
different that pupils usually travel far greater distances to get to secondary schools and
colleges. Here not only the infrastrcture but also the availability and affordability of means
of transport are crucial. Buses often make infrequent trips and frequent travel in infordable
for poor households. In may cases bicycles, motorcycles and other intermediate means of
transport (IMT) are very important. Empirical studies have repeatedly shown in that using
transport interventions to make schools more accessible has a positive impact on the school
attendacne rate.

3. b. How can rural transportation be made more accessible?
A development country not only has many accessible on urban transportation but also on
rural transportation. A rural transportation can be made more accessible by having a
satisfying road structure, which can help other transportation to access easily. Some of rural
areas only have small road, which only can be access by pedestrian. To overcome
transportation in this area they should provide a good road structure which other
transportation including public transport where they can access easily and doing their activity
without any problem. Government should provide a budget on providing a strategy road
structure to rural areas. Typical road structures in Malaysia during raining seasons where the
road have potholes and traffic ability was lost have lead the transportation hard to access
during rain seasons. In Malaysia, government have launched a program called as Rural Road
Program was launched in 1977 through the Accelerated Rural Road Program (ARRP) which
aims to speed up and increase the construction of roads to provide highly needed
communication system in rural areas. This program has been implemented in accordance
with the policy statement, ‘to improve and expand the transport system in rural areas’ in
addition to ongoing efforts to improve the network coverage and road systems in rural areas.
This is in line with the aspirations of the ministry to provide a high quality services through
the delivery of effective and efficient to meet the growing needs of the people. In addition,
this program is consistent with the ministry vision to expand the coverage of basic
infrastructure up to cover 100% of the villages in Peninsular Malaysia and 80% of the
villages in Sabah and Sarawak. In 2015, the program has received an allocation of
RM981,323,800.00 and spent a total of RM981,136,992.65 (99.98%) for the construction and
upgrading of rural roads in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
Next, rural transportation can be more accessible if appropriate private sector
participation in rural infrastructure will be crucial. The bottom line for rural transport
infrastructure projects is that it can be difficult for the public sector to go it alone. Private
sector participation can present opportunities to expand access to available funding sources
and free up public capital and borrowing capacity to focus on other projects, including those
in urban areas. Private sector participation can also reduce project management inefficiencies,
providing that incentives risk and responsibilities are allocated under a sound legal and
institutional framework. Southern Ohio Veterans’ Memorial highway is an example of how
private capital can be used to advance a rural project in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
The project is for a new 16-mile, four line limited access highway, located in Scioto Country,
an economically undeserved region. It forms the final Ohio link in the Application
development highway system, a 3000 miles highway network stretching from New York
State to Mississippi. The ADHS historically received dedicated funding allocated through the
Appalachia to the interstate system, and provide access within the region and the rest of the
nation. Ohio department of transport (ODOT) has originally planned to develop the project in
three distinct phrases over 13 years, as the annual dedicated ARC funding became available.
While the phase approve was driven by budget necessity, it also deferred the majority of the
benefits from the project until all three phase of the highway were operational.

4. Lastly, next suggestion is create bundle projects to increase cost and efficiency gains.
Rural market access proggams also offer best-practice examples of rural transport initiatives
that achieve scale advantages. For example, the United States Department Of Agriculture
(USDA) US Food Hubs Program focuses on driving economies of scale and expanded market
access for small-scale producers. The business model offers aggregation and distribution
services for small and midsize producers across the US and particularly focusses on
revitalizing critical infrastucture. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are another example of the
use of federal resources to support economies of scale in rural projects. The Investing in
Manufacturing Communities Partnership program in the US involves multi-stakeholder
partnership, including communities and municipal and federal organizations, working to
develop coordinate public services, such as transport network, to support small-scale
producers. As part of the program, the USDA also awards planning grants to assist
stakeholders in producing comprehensive economic development plans, which cover
transport investment.
c. How could transportation system helps society development in rural areas?
While in previous decade, each rural area has their job opportunities in agriculture sector.
Currently, societies are more in doing management and jobs that related to what they had
study. Which make they move to urban area and find their job there due to lack facilities and
infrastructure that connect between their home and job place. While they stay in urban area,
they have to face with high living cost, but if their rural area has complete facilities that
connect their home and job place, it can save more money. This is why transportation system
can help society development in rural areas.
First point how transportation system can help society development is they can easily find
job at city. With good transportation system, society can have shuttle every day from their
rural area to city. They can have either public transport or by their own transport to city.
When a link between rural and city have connected in good condition, there will be no
problem for society to do their day to work and back to home. Society can enjoy low living
cost in rural area and also can have a lot experience in their carrier. Once society have a job,
there will be open other opportunities for rural area to be more development.
Next, good transportation systems lead to easy accessibility to others services such as
banking service, medication and internet service. Society in rural area can enjoy banking
service which helps them improve in management of their money and they can know more in
investing and how to manage their money for future used. They not only focus to keep money
but they also can know how to make money by investing. Next, medication in rural area may
be limited due to lack of facilities. With a good transportation, society in rural area can have
an unlimited medication and service. If any emergency happen, citizen can reach to hospital
in city easily while ambulance can reach to rural area easily too. Any healthy program that
focus for old folks in rural areas can be made and rural citizen are not missed to join any
programs that relate rural and city. Next, as we know internet are one of the most important
tools for young generation on doing their homework and assignment nor jobs. With good
transportation, citizen can go to city an enjoy internet service.

5. Furthermore, any social service or humanitarian support program can easily reach to
rural area to help rural society. As we know, some rural citizen are old folks who living
alone and don’t have fully attention by society. A social service and humanitarian support
program are voluntary to help rural folks. A good transportation can help this program to
reach rural folks and this can improve old folks living in rural area. Voluntary service make
rural folks still believe and appreciate their live even if they live alone in their home.
Lastly, a good transportation system can get rid of lower quality of live. There will no more
different living culture even in neither rural nor urban area. Kids in rural area can access new
technology and improve their English language. Teenager in rural area can understand IT and
Science and adult in rural can have jobs like how urban citizen have. Rural society can know
how to access with internet and how to apply for University. They will help to improve
development in rural area for future generation. They will not miss any news that worldwide
mention in Internet. Agriculture business will improve with new technology and their
agriculture market can be wider when they sell their crops at city and other rural area.
References
Arethun, T. (2012). Contribution of Rural Roads to Access to and Participation in Markets . Jornal of
Transportation Technologies ,165-175.
Davis, B. (2010). A Cross-Country Comparison of Rural Income Generating Activities. World
Development 38(1),48-63.