CHARACTERISTICS OF ROAD TRANSPORT
All of us know that road transport is nearest to the people.
The passengers and the goods have to be first transported by road before reaching a railway station or a port or an airport.
The road network alone could serve the remotest villages of the vast country like ours.
Following are the main characteristics of road transport :
1) The movement of passengers and goods is facilitated from one place to another by roads.
2) Roads serves as a feeder line for railways, airways and waterways.
3) During war as well as piece time, a network of roads is an asset to national defence.
4) Roads are used by various means of trasnport, i.e. road vehicles, animal carts, pedal cycles, rickshows, automobiles, passenger cars, buses, trucks, etc. But railway tracks are used only by rail locomotives and wagons, waterways are used by only ships and boats.
5) Road transport offers a complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicle from one lane to another and from one road to another according to the need and convenience.
6) Road transport save time particularly for short distance travel.
7) Better law and order can be maintained through good network of road in a country.
8) Road transport is the only means of transport that offers itself to the whole community alike.
9) Road transport is subjected to a high degree of accidents due to the flexibility of movements offered to the road users.
10) Road transport requires a relatively small investment for the government. Motor vehicles are much cheaper than other carriers like rail locomotives and wagons, ships, aeroplanes, etc.
11) Construction and maintenance of roads is also cheaper than that of railway tracks,docks, harbours and airports.
ADVANTAGES OF ROADS
Following are the advantage of a well planned network of roads :
1) They are essential for economic prosperity and overall development of the country as a whole.
2) They play a vital role in national defence.
3) Promotes national integration.
4) Promotes social and cultural growth.
5) They prove to be comparatively cheaper and convenient mode of transport in many cases.
6) They assist in maintaining law and order within the country.
7) They provide good commercial links between cities.
8) They help in growth of trade and other economic activities in and outside the villages and towns.
9) They serve as a tool for all forms of development whether industrial, agricultural or trade.
10) They serve as a feeder lines for railways, waterways and airways and thus, help in the development of these classes of transport.