Module IV

TRANSPORTATION SECTOR

At the end of the module, students should be able to:

1. Trace the evolution of transportation and travel;
2. Discuss the historical development of transport system;
3. Explain the selection of transport mode;
4. Discuss the role of international rail transportation;
5. Identify the reasons for the growth and decline of ship travel;
6. Explain the importance and scope of the bus/motorcoach industry;
7. Describe the impact of private car ownership on the tourism industry;
8. Enumerate the dynamics of the worldwide car rental industry; and
9. Discuss the role of the airline industry in the development of tourism.
Transportation and Travel Evolution
Transportation and travel have undergone many changes. A review of the history of
transportation and travel shows that their evolution took seven eras. These are the Pre-Industrial
Travel System Era, the Early-Industrial Travel System Era, the Mature-Railway System Era, the
Express-Travel System Era, the Automobile-Based Travel System Era, the Modern-Tourism
Travel System Era, and the Post-Mobility Adjustment Era.
Pre-Industrial Travel System Era
This was the period before the widespread industrialization in Europe and North America. There
were almost no regularly-scheduled transportation services. There was little travel. Only few
people had the money and the reason to travel.

Early-Industrial Travel System Era

Road improvements such as railways, canals, and steamship services were brought about due to
rapid industrialization and advances in transportation technology. Common carriers came into
existence and began to offer regularly-scheduled transportation services. Travel increased
because more people who had money to travel.
Mature-Railway System Era
This era was characterized by railway by which expanded their operations by running hotels and
providing other travel-related services. Travel agencies and tour companies were formed.
Thomas Cook, an innovator in this field during this era, began his company’s activities in the UK
in 1840.More people traveled.

Express-Travel System Era

Express services increased. Trains and other forms of transportation did not stop at every station
or terminal but only at the major ones. This increased the speed of travel and encouraged more
travel than before.

Automobile-Based Travel System Era

Car ownership boomed in North America. Motorways, interstate highways, and other trunk
highways were developed in the latter half of this era which was from 1920-1974. The
automobile was predominant over other travel modes from 1920-1945.
Modern-Tourism Travel System Era
The period from 1945-1974 is known as the modern tourism system era. Car ownership
continued to grow at a fast rate, mainly at the expense of long-distance rail travel. The
introduction of wide-bodied jets in 1970 greatly increased air travel. The “mass tourism”
philosophy and marketing approaches were prevalent during the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Post-Mobility Adjustment Era
This era began in 1973-1974 as a result of the oil embargo generated by OPEC and the resulting
increase in fuel prices. The events of the energy crisis basically changed the travel patterns
throughout the world. The present era is one in which travelers continue to look to alternative,
group-oriented modes of transportation.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSPORT SYSTEMS
The desire to travel is stimulated with the improvement in transportation. Before World
War I, it took seven days for travelers to go from coast to coast by steam locomotive. By 1950,
travelers could compete the journey in two and a half days by train. In 1938, an airplane with the
speed of 400 miles an hour made possible nonstop coast to coast flights of less than eight hours.
In 1950, travel time from coast to coast was lessened to four hours. At present, the Concorde can
make a flight in two and a half hours.
SELECTION OF TRANSPORTATION MODE
The most common reasons are:
• Cost/price
• Traveling time
• Safety
• Convenience
• Comfort
• Availability
• Frequency of trips
• Ground services
• Terminal facilities and locations
• Status and prestige, and;
• Departure and arrival times
Jagdish Sheth developed a theory identifying transportation variables and the value of travelers.
He found out that travelers choose a travel mode based on how they psychologically weigh the
five factors, namely: functional, aesthetic/emotional. Social/organizational, situational, and
curiosity. The functional utility of a mode is its expected performance for a specific purpose.
Examples are departure and arrival times, safety record, the directness of the trip, and the number
of stops or transfers. Aesthetic/emotional is related to such aspects as fears, social concerns,
style, luxury, comfort and other personal feelings that the form of transportation might evoke.
Social/organizational shows that the frequent users of certain kinds of transportation are
stereotyped according to sex, racial origin, income, price/cost, and education. For example, those
who take bus trips are usually perceived to be female, either young or old, while those who take
bus tours and cruises are generally retired people. Situational refers to how conveniently located
the particular mode of transportation and its terminal facilities are for the traveler. Curiosity
utility refers to the traveler’s perceived need to do something new and different. Flying
transatlantic on Concorde may have a high curiosity value for many business travelers.
Travel by Train
• First train inventor “George Stephenson”.
• in 1851, three million of Englishmen boarded the train to see the Great Exhibition in London.
• became the primary means of movement within the United States.
• the popularity of the train lasted only for a brief period after World War II when automobile
began to gain more popularity as passenger transportation
In an effort to save the railroad industry, the Rail Passenger Service Act became a law in
October 1970. The act created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, now commonly
known as Amtrak, which began its operations in May 1971 and was intended to be a profit-
making corporation. Canada’s equivalent of Amtrak is VIA Rail Canada, which was created in
1977.
A survey of Amtrak passenger showed that travelers favored the train for the following
reasons:
1. Safety
2. Ability to look out of the train and see its scenery along the route
3. Ability to get up and walk around
4. Arriving at the destination rested and relaxed
5. Personal Comfort
The negative factors of Rail Travel are: Slowness in reaching the destination, Inflexible
departure times, and Lack of quality in food services
Train travel has continued in Europe and Asia more than in United States, particularly for
long-distance travel.
Europeans believed that the train was more efficient form of transportation from city center to
city center on trips up to 300 miles. The first sensational rail accomplishment after World War II
was Japan’s shinkansen or bullet trains which travel at speeds greater than 140 miles per hour.
Japan has the best railroad system in the world with 26,000 fast and efficient trains scheduled a
day. Japan has plan for trains which travel at speeds of 300 miles per hour. The Japanese rail
system is heavily subsidized by the government.
France has its own super train, the TRES GRANDE VITESSE which travels at a speed of 175
miles per hour between Paris and Lyons and Paris and Marseilles. Russia has Trans-Siberian
Railroad, the longest in the world. (5,787 miles) links outlying Siberian industrial regions and
mining centers with European-Russia. Railroads are important to the Russian economy.

Reasons why travelers choose train as a transportation mode:

 Cost/Price- cost effective way of travelling specially when you’re going to a short
distance
  Comfort- smooth and turbulence free

 Safety- adequately taken care of regular serviced

 Ability to see the area where the train is passing

Tres Grande Vitesse

  Also called high speed train it have a top speed of more than 235 mile/hour

 Travel by ship become prominent in the middle of the 19 th century

Travel by Ship
Preceded travel by train but it was not until the middle of the 19th century that travel by
ocean liners began to become prominent. Ocean liners were used to provide an important link to
passengers among continents. At present, water transport has two major roles in travel and
tourism --- ferrying and cruising.
The steamship era began in 1840 when Sir Samuel Cunard, pioneered the first
transatlantic-scheduled liner trips. The era of travel by ships expired late 1990’s, cruise ship took
the place of regularly scheduled passenger ships many passengers were converted into cruise
ships. Those that were too old or too large were junked or scrapped. Others that had historical
value were converted into tourist attractions. For example, the Queen Mary which is permanently
docked in Long Beach, California became a tourist attraction and a hotel.
Cruises are more of a vacation experience than a transportation mode. The romance of
cruising had been strongly promoted and was aided very much by the popular television
program, Love Boat. Cruises are divided into three types depending on the duration of the trips.
Cruises are divided into three types:
• Short cruises – 1 week or less
• Intermediate cruises – last one to four weeks
• Long cruises – go around the world and take one to three months.
Cruise Ship
 Cruise ship may be divided into large vessels which can accommodate 180 or more
passengers and small vessels which can carry less than 100 passengers. They are called mini-
cruises or ultra-yacht. At present, the trend is toward large vessels. Recently, the typical ship was
built to carry 850 to 1,250 passengers but now, the average capacity of a new ship is 2,000
passengers.
Mini Cruise
 It is a short getaway break travelling on a ship or cruise to get relax and unwind

Ultra-Yacht
 Large and luxurious pleasure vessel, cater to guest at a high standard of comfort

A cruise ship is both a floating hotel and resort because the guests are housed, fed and
entertained.
Caribbean Cruise - world’s largest cruise destination.
Another role of the ship travel and tourism is ferrying or the use of ferry boats. These are
used in the English Channel, the Irish Sea, the Hebridean Islands of Scotland, the North Sea, the
Maritime provinces and British Colombian coast in Canada, and on the Great Lakes.
 Travel by Automobile

• Carl Benz of Manheim, Germany –the real inventor of the automobile.

In 1885-1886, he combined the bicycle and international combustion engine first creating
the first engine consisting an engine chassis and transmission.
• Henry Ford making his own Model T Car built with assembly technique for massive
production. Which we still use his car in the modern day today “ford” The growth of car
ownership necessitated road improvements. The US participated in the act of Road maintenance
in 1916.
The automobile stimulated tourism by creating attractions along tourist routes made
accessible by the automobile. Examples are home of historical figures, scenic areas, and historic
shrines and monuments.
Two important aspects of automobile travel are recreational vehicles and car rentals.
Important aspect of automobile travel:
 Recreational vehicle - it is a vehicle that combine transportation and temporary living
quarter for travel, recreation or camping
  Car rental - also called car hire agency is a rents automobiles for short period of time

 Fly drive concept - it encourages traveler not to drive their personal car but to rent a car
on arrival

The growth of the industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s can be attributed to the
introduction of the fly/drive concept. It encouraged travelers not to drive the personal car to their
destination but to travel by plane and rent a car on arrival.
Travel by Bus/Motor coach
Bus travel is the most flexible and economical form of transportation. In the early 1900s,
in the United States, buses were first used to carry passengers intercity.
• Used to carry passengers through the intercity in early 1900.
• Greyhound company – was established in 1928, the world’s largest privately-owned bus
company in the world. By this time, buses traveled from LA to New York in 5 days.
The terms “bus,” “coach” and “motor coach” are used interchangeably. In North America
and elsewhere, bus performs two major roles: (1.) Provides a regular schedule for intercity
passenger transportation services (2.) Provide charter and tour services.
Continental Trailways and Greybound Lines Inc. are the two major intercity companies, with
Greybound accounting for 60% of the market.

Two Major Intercity Companies

 The main reasons for selecting bus travel over other modes of travel are convenience and
economy.

 Few people choose the bus for business travel.

 Bus riders tend to be older and have less income.

 Travel by Air
The airplane had a revolutionary impact on tourism from World War II and onward. The
history of air transportation can be divided into three parts – 1. Pre-World War II 2. World War
II 3. Post-World War II
On December 17, 1903, the Wright Brothers took a flight on a beach in North Carolina
which lasted 12 seconds with a distance of 120 feet. In 1927, the air industry developed regularly
scheduled passenger trips between Boston and New York. Other governments helped this growth
in the 1920s by subsidizing air companies.
World War II influenced the development of the airline industry. It helped further
improve airplanes by accelerating technological research.
The tremendous time-saving aspects of air travels and its cost effectiveness, when
compared to other modes of transportation such as train, ship, and automobile aided the growth
of the airline industry during the post- World War Years. In the late 1950s and early 1960s,
commercial jet aircrafts were introduced, increasing the speed of travel and creating smoother
flights and greater seating capacity for passengers. The commercial airline industry improved
further in the 1970s with the introduction of wide-bodied aircrafts such as the Doughlas DC-10,
Boeing 747, the Lockheed Tristar 1011, and the European Aerobus.
The 1980s had witnessed still further improvements in aircraft technology with the
introduction of the DC-9 80 and Boeing 757 and 767 designed for fuel-efficient operation than
the older models. Almost all jetliners were built by Boeing, with headquarters in Seattle,
Washington; McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach, California; Lockheed in Burbank, California;
and the A-300, the Airbus built by the consortium of European countries and assembled in
Toulouse, France.
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet is a long-haul plane. The tail stands 63 feet and 5 inches tall,
about as high as a five-storey building.
The introduction of charter services further pushed down the prices of airfares. Charter
services are an alternative to regularly scheduled services.
 As the airline industry grew, the travel industry depended on it more.

 The impetus of air travel to people travelling on business is its time-saving advantage;

 For the pleasure travelers. It is the affordable price that has the greatest impact.

 Boeing was the dominant company in jetliner business with sales between $6 to $7
billion a year.
 The Boeing 747
 The factors associated with the recent boom in air include:

❖ World economy
❖ Rising standards of living
❖ Quality of air service

 Since 1950, incomes have increased rapidly while airfares have declined.

 This made air travel more attractive than ever. While the price of an airline ticket
decreased, the quality of service with regards to speed, size, and comport improved.

Airline Regulation
International tourism requires a system of international air transportation. This system
requires negotiation between nations and carriers in the form of bilateral agreement. Airlines
may be assessed overflight charges for the privilege of flying over other nations including
countries which do not have formal diplomatic relations with each other.Lending rights, fuel
purchase agreements, maintenance provisions and other considerations require bilateral
negotiation.
Bilateral air agreement – airline service could not be offered between a nation of origin
and one of destination unless there was a specific agreement between the two nations regarding
the details of service. The need for bilateral agreement was intensified because small nations felt
that they should have their own national airline or flag carrier.
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION (IATA) Democratic
organization whose membership is open to any member of the United Nations . The purpose is to
establish a system of international rates and fares. The airlines enter, into agreements concerning
rates, conditions of service, routes to be given to each airline. The agreements are subject to the
approval of their respective governments.
 Traditionally, an airline needs the approval of the governments of the various countries
involved before it can fly in or out of a country or even fly over another country without landing.
Before World War II, this did not present too many difficulties since the range of commercial
planes was limited, and air transport networks were limited and nationally oriented. In 1944, an
International Convention was held in Chicago to establish the framework for all future bilateral
and multilateral agreements to use international air spaces. Five freedom rights were designed,
but a multilateral agreement went only as far as the first two freedoms (right to overfly and right
to make a technical stop). The first five freedoms are regularly exchanged between pairs of
countries in Air Service Agreements. The remaining freedoms are becoming more important,
however.
Freedoms are not automatically granted to an airline as a right; they are privileges that
have to be negotiated and can be the object of political pressures. All freedoms beyond the First
and the Second have to be negotiated by bilateral agreements, such as the 1946 agreement
between the United States and the UK, which permitted limited “fifth freedom” rights. The 1944
Convention has been extended since then, and there are currently nine different freedoms (see
above figure):
• First Freedom. The freedom to overfly a foreign country (A) from a home country en-
route to another (B) without landing. Also called transit freedom. With the end of the
Cold War, the first freedom is widely available across the world, but countries such as
Russia often limit the transit freedom to a few carriers.
• Second Freedom. The freedom to stop in a foreign country for a technical/refueling
purpose only. A flight from a home country can land in another country for purposes
other than carrying passengers, such as refueling, maintenance, or emergencies. The final
destination is a third country. For instance, in the earlier stages of transatlantic flights, a
refueling stop was often required in Newfoundland (e.g. Gander) and Ireland. With the
extension of the range of airplanes, this is becoming less relevant.
• Third Freedom. The freedom to carry traffic from a home country to another country for
the purpose of commercial services.
• Fourth Freedom. The freedom to pick up traffic from another country to a home country
for the purpose of commercial services.
The Third and Fourth Freedoms are the basis for direct commercial services, providing
the rights to load and unload passengers, mail, and freight in another country. They are
commonly reciprocal agreements implying that the two involved countries will open commercial
services to their respective carriers simultaneously.
• Fifth Freedom. The freedom to carry traffic between two foreign countries on a flight
that either originated in or is destined for the carrier’s home country. It enables airlines to
carry passengers from a home country to another intermediate country and then fly on to
third-country with the right to pick passengers in the intermediate country. Also referred
to as “beyond right”. This freedom is divided into two categories: Intermediate Fifth
 Freedom Type is the right to carry from the third country to the second country. Beyond
Fifth Freedom Type is the right to carries from a second country to a third country.
• Sixth Freedom. The “unofficial” freedom to carry traffic between two foreign countries
via the carrier’s home country by combining third and fourth freedoms. Not formally part
of the original 1944 convention, it refers to the right to carry passengers between two
countries through an airport in the home country. With the hubbing function of most air
transport networks, this freedom has become more common, notably in Europe (London,
Amsterdam) and the Middle East (Dubai).
• Seventh Freedom. The freedom to base aircraft in a foreign country for use on
international services, establishing a de facto foreign hub. Covers the right to operate
passenger services between two countries outside the home country.
• Eighth Freedom. The freedom to carry traffic between two domestic points in a foreign
country on a flight that either originated in or is destined for the carrier’s home country.
Also referred to as “cabotage” privileges. It involves the right to move passengers on a
route from a home country to a destination country that uses more than one stop along
which passengers may be loaded and unloaded.
• Ninth Freedom. The freedom to carry traffic between two domestic points in a foreign
country. Also referred to as “full cabotage” or “open-skies” privileges. It involves the
right of a home country to move passengers within another country.
A salient issue remains that air freedoms are independent of trade agreements.
Therefore, a free trade agreement could exist between two nations, implying a liberalization of
commercial transactions and the opportunity for respective corporations to invest. However, their
respective air carriers could still operate under the same commercial restrictions as before the
trade agreement.
Only the first two technical freedoms have been widely accepted. The third, fourth, fifth
and sixth freedoms are still subject to bilateral bargaining. The seventh and eight freedoms are
usually allowed only in special circumstances.
References
Cruz, Zenaida L., Micro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality, 2019
Lim, Romeo D., Micro Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality, 2019
https://transportgeography.org/contents/chapter5/air-transport/air-freedom-rights/
Discussion Questions
1. Describe the evolution of transportation and travel.
2. Discuss the historical development of the air transport system.
3. Explain the reasons why people select one transportation mode over another.
4. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of train travel.
5. Explain the history of ship travel.
6. Clarify the principal effects of cruising.
7. Discuss the history of car travel.
8. Describe the advantages of bus travel.
9. Discuss the history of air travel.
10. Enumerate the eight freedoms of the air. Explain each.