FLOWS

CORE COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION

FLOWS
 Movements of people, freight and
information over their respective
networks.
 Flows have origins, intermediary
locations and destinations. An
intermediary location is often
required to go from an origin to a
destination.

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THE TRANSPORT SYSTEM

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TRANSPORT SYSTEM

 The transport system can be

conceptualized as the set of
relationships between nodes,
networks and the demand.
 These relationships involve
locations spatially expressing this
demand, flows between them and
infrastructures designed to handle
these flows.
 All the components of a transport
system are designed to facilitate
the movements of passengers,
freight and information, either as
separate or joint components. 4
DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Demand
2. Nodes
3. Networks
4. Locations
5. Flows
6. Infrastructures

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Demand. A derived function for

the movement of people, freight
and information for a variety of
socioeconomic activities.
• Nodes. Where movements are
originating, ending and transiting
(intermediacy); points of entry or
exit in a transport system. They
vary according to the geographical
scale being considered ranging
from local nodes (such as a
subway station) to global nodes
(such as port or airport terminals).

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Networks. Composed of a set of

linkages expressing the
connectivity between places and
the capacity to handle passenger
or cargo volumes.
• Locations. Nodes where demand
is expressed as an origin,
destination or point of transit. The
level of spatial accumulation of
socioeconomic activities
(production and consumption)
jointly defines demand and where
this demand is taking place.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Flows. The amount of traffic over a

network composed of nodes and
linkages. This is jointly a function of the
demand and the capacity of the
linkages to support them.
• Infrastructures. The conveyances
such as roads and terminals expressing
the physical reality of a network and
designed to handle a demand with
specific volume and frequency
characteristics. Facilities enabling
access to a network are jointly
characterized by their centrality and
the linkages that radiate from them.

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CHALLENGES FOR
TRANSPORT SYSTEMS
1. Capacity
2. Transfer
3. Reliability
4. Integration

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CAPACITY
• A basic constraint concerns
appropriate capacity, both
along a transport route and at a
terminal. The capacity of a
transport system is often
restricted by its circulation
bottlenecks.

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TRANSFER
• Transfer points are crucial as
they permit the interface
between different transport
systems, a role commonly
served by hubs or gateways.
• For instance, a port is
commonly the interface
between maritime and inland
systems of circulation while an
airport can act as a hub
connecting different air
networks such as regional and
international.
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RELIABILITY
• A multidimensional problem
that concern the expectation
that a movement will occur
within a specific time and cost
range. While a route could be
shorter, it may not be as
reliable as a longer route.
• Congestion is a common factor
impairing the reliability of a
transport system since it can
impose inconsistent time delays
and additional costs.

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INTEGRATION
• Involves exploiting the benefits
of each transport mode so that
flows become more reliable
and/or less costly.
• Integration is sought by
intermodal transportation, but
also by airline companies
connecting different parts of
the world.

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THANK
YOU!