Abstract
Transportation and logistics projects may influence a community’s economic objectives in terms of productivity, employment, and even business activities. This study describes the negative impacts of transportation and logistics on the economy of a country. Although transport projects improve the infrastructure of a certain area, they pose negative effects to the people. As the paper reveals, the negative socioeconomic influences of transport include increased congestion, accidents, and mobility gaps. Pollution is an environmental negative impact of transport. An urban highway expansion gives an easy access to motorists. It also reduces their movement costs. An area that has a developed infrastructure faces increased congestion because more vehicles have access to it. This situation affects the relative cost of carrying goods and services from one place to another. The amount of wages that are paid to cover a certain distance or stay in an upgraded region increases.
In addition, when transportation methods improve in particular areas of a country, they are accompanied by growth in business. Retailers have a better access to the best products. The area residents are enlightened to a variety of products of their choice. However, this situation is also associated with a negative economic impact since the businesses in this setting face competition from the upcoming businesses. The results include reduced economic activities in that particular area. Solutions to minimize these negative influences of transportation to the economy include congestion pricing, traffic management designs, and pay-as-you-earn pricing. Other solutions include the development of high occupancy vehicles. Nevertheless, walking and bicycling improvements, parking access changes, commute trip reduction programs, and “smart growth” land use are other solutions to the negative impacts of transportation and logistics.
Introduction
An improved infrastructure is a constituent of the transportation industry that greatly influences the progress of a country’s wealth. Efficiency of the transport sector results in improved economic and social status of citizens in a particular country. It is crucial to note that economic growth cannot occur when there is poor infrastructure and that transportation and logistics systems require continuous maintenance. Hence, the status of a country’s infrastructure determines its economic position. Infrastructural development leads to better and secure jobs. Besides enabling businesspeople to enjoy more time in their businesses, transporation and logistics systems improve the mobility of goods and services. People too have faster access to urban areas. They become sophisticated due to the variety of choices that help them in expanding their thinking capacities. Producers have better access to their customers. Business-oriented people are able to invest in larger markets. The principal aim of ensuring efficiency of transportation and logistics is to reduce the cost of operating in both the economic and social sectors. Although transportation and logistics systems attract the above positive impacts, the paper confirms that it also has negative impacts that range from congestion, pollution, and mobility gaps among others.
Negative Impacts of Transportation and Logistics on Economy
Negative impacts of transportation and logistics occur without the developers’ intention. The graph below shows what the developers aim at when developing transportation and logistics means.
However, transportation and logistics attract several consequences that are not initially intended. For example, overcrowding is an upshot of the discounted transportation. Although infrastructural developers do not plan for this negative impact, they have no control over the people who can acquire vehicles and/or where to use them (Boile, Laventhal, Moini & Theofanis, 2012). With the reduced cost of owning a vehicle and the development of infrastructure, accessibility to transport systems becomes easy. However, the use of a shipment network beyond its intended capability is the main cause of infrastructural overcrowding. The aftermaths of such congestion include delays, increased costs, as well as energy wastage, all of which pull the economy behind.
According to Figliozzi (2010), congestion affects most the time-dependent delivery systems that work under fixed schedules. Distributors may end up with spoiled goods. Besides, the immediate market for such merchandise or services might land in the custody of other producers. This situation leads to losses that have to be incurred by the producers. Consequently, the affected producers have to increase prices of the affected commodities to compensate for the losses. More so, congestion leaves no choice for the less accessible areas that have to incur the increased costs to import most of their goods from the urban centers (Allen, Maze, Walter, 1993). This situation leads to augmented prices for such goods to compensate for any loss. Competitiveness in these locations is minimal. Hence, opportunities for the growth of upcoming businesses are limited.
Accidents also arise because of mechanical breakdown or individual mistakes that lead to injuries or even mortality risks. Most of the accidents occur since carriage methods are not wholly secure. People cannot stop using them for their transportation of goods and services or to access new areas. All transport modes, airplanes, or the motorized vehicles pose jeopardy and trouble to their users. Accidents are associated with injuries, property damage, and worse of, mortality risks. The mode of transport that businesses adopt matters much when it comes to the level of their safety (Cromley, Milford, Semple, 1980). Transportation infrastructures that are used frequently, the flow of vehicles, and their speed are among the factors that contribute towards the occurrence of any accident. Although none of the carriage methods is secure, highway infrastructures remain the most hazardous means.
They account for approximately 90% of the accidents that are reported in the entire world. The growth rate of vehicle ownership in most countries can be associated with this high rate of accidents in many roads today. China has the highest car accident death rate that stands at 110,000 victims per year (Fleming, 2014). The figure, which approximates to about 300 persons per day, is a complete menace and loss to the society and consequently to the economy of a country. Moreover, although accidents that involve trains, planes, and ships do not occur often, their occurrence leads to loss of many lives.
Mobility is a fundamental and extremely important factor that leads to the economic growth of a country. It blocks the gap between manufacturers, consumers, and retailers. In addition, efficiency of transportation means creates mobility gaps between different socioeconomic classes of people. People who enjoy a higher income have a better access to mobility in comparison with those who have low incomes. The development of a country or a region is highly dependent on mobility. Access to mobility for an economy or a region opens its chances of development in comparison with economies whose mobility is rare and restricted. All activities that take place in an industry such as customer service, employment, and wage disbursement become possible with mobility. Motorists from the low socioeconomic status do not cover longer distances than usual. However, this observation is not common with motorists from the high socioeconomic status who tend to have unnecessarily activities on the roads. When ordering for goods from producers, they may transport few of them and get the rest later. Their counterparts transport what they need once to reduce the costs that are incurred in their travel and transport.
Thus, it is very apparent the variations in mobility greatly affect the opportunities of many individuals. Mobility and transportation demands depend highly on the socioeconomic status of the concerned parties. Several factors such as capital availability, transport means, availability of time, and accessibility of the goods and services matter in mobility. Not everyone may have the access to such factors. The situation creates mobility gap between people of different groups and classes (Boile, et al., 2012). People who enjoy high socioeconomic status are a disadvantage to those who hold a low socioeconomic status. In addition, gender is highly affected by mobility gaps that emerge between men and women. Women tend to have lower income than men. Hence, they have less access to services. The growth of air transport infrastructure has seen the lucky few in the world have higher mobility for their businesses and leisure activities. The greatest percentages that have no access to this transport means have very little mobility.
Pollution is an environmental impact that is associated with poor development of transportation and logistics systems. Vehicles, including cars, trains, and motorcycles, go hooting when trying to attract customers. However, this strategy becomes noise pollution to many people. Consequently, the affected people find it hard to carry on with their businesses on which they rely to empower themselves and their countries economically. More so, unroadworthy vehicles cause air pollution following their excessive production of carbon monoxide gases. Motorized vehicles are a danger to the environment due to the gases they produce while running the internal combustion engines. These pollutant gases are hazardous to the respiratory systems not only of the people who use the vehicles but also any other person who might be close to a vehicle that is producing such gases. Most urban regions contain contaminated air, with 50% of the pollution of air originating from automobile transportation. Noise and vibrations that are produced by vehicles and planes pose danger to the health of many individuals.
Disturbances that originate from these transportation means have negative impacts to peoples’ welfare. The levels of its manifestation can be categorized into three areas, depending on the intensity of the emitted noise. These levels include mental turbulence, purposeful instability, and physiological disorder. Each of these disturbances affects people in different ways. Consequently, it becomes difficult for the affected people to concentrate on matters of developing their countries’ economies. Oil spills pollute the environment in which people live. When these oils spill on the land, it becomes unproductive and useless. Accidental runoffs to rivers and lakes cause contamination to the surface and ground waters. Transportation infrastructure and equipment take up a lot of space, which can be utilized by other projects. Planning of infrastructure is inconsiderate of the new face of these places. Hence, it suffices to develop strategies to curb such negative impacts that transportation and logistics pose to the economy.
Solutions of the Negative Impacts
Congestion is mostly experienced in roads than at any other place that is used for transportation. Its main cause is the increased number of cars in roads. Congestion is associated with traffic incidents, bad weather, work zones, poor traffic signal timing, and special occasions such as weddings. Expansion of roads may be a working solution to these problems. The transportation and logistics sector needs to make sure that all roads are in a position to accommodate more cars (Tavasszy et al., 2012). Instead of the usual dual roads in various highways, governments can opt for quad-carriage roads and/or expanded roundabouts to reduce traffic incidents. Construction of subways is another solution to the congestion of traffic in the roads.
Moreover, motorists should utilize traffic lights to avoid accidents that attract vehicle congestion and more accidents. The use of public means for transport reduces the number of cars in the roads. However, the most efficient solution is for the ministry of transport in conjunction with the government to come up with a fee that each motorist has to meet. This project makes motorists adopt new modes of transport, shift their travel times, and routes. When motorists embrace these methods, the upshot is an efficient transportation. Construction of lanes for transits reduces road congestion. They create space for other busy vehicles, hence making transportation more efficient.
Occurrence of accidents can be limited by the introduction of speed governors in vehicles and control gadgets to master vehicle promptness. Traffic management designs discourage the use of residential minor roads. The strategy increases road safety. Pedestrians and cyclists feel safer in those environments without the interference of speedy vehicles. High-occupancy-vehicles-only lanes reduce the incident of most accidents that occur between such vehicles and smaller ones such as cars, bicycles, and motorcycles. External distresses on the motorists such as the use of drugs should be regulated by the government. Laws and regulations that are passed by the government should be strictly upheld. Lawbreakers should be punished so that other addicts can learn from them. Nevertheless, in case of an occurrence of an accident, the involved parties can privately negotiate and settle on compensation terms. These terms should be met, failure to which the affected party can seek government intervention in solving the case (Van Cranenburgh, Chorus, & Van Wee, 2012).
Moreover, although accidents that involve trains, planes, and ships do not occur often, their occurrence leads to loss of many lives. Thus, all modes of transport need regular maintenance. Expertise in the construction of all vehicles and planes is a prime necessity towards curbing unplanned accidents. Pay-as-you-drive pricing is a favorable initiative to everyone, especially those who belong to the low-income class. The strategy introduces the use of insurance premiums, which are based on a vehicle’s mileage as a way of making the service equitable and affordable. Motorists from the low socioeconomic status do not cover longer distances than expected. Hence, they do not end up over speeding. It is the wish of the society that all members feel equally wanted and appreciated, irrespective of their family income. In a case where individuals who belong to the higher socioeconomic status feel significant than their counterparts from the lower socioeconomic class, there is lesser economic growth (Cromley et al., 1980). Hence, the government can pass a policy to govern the minimum wages that any employer pays to his or her employees.
Support initiatives that encourage people who get a low income to gain more money can be started. These programs may include providing them with capital to start up businesses. In addition, the provision of cheaper transport means can relief them of the high costs they incur when getting goods from their producers. In case of importation and exportation, the government should not hesitate to support its needy citizens. Taxation revenue provision is a solution to cover the mobility gap between the high and the low socioeconomic status class. Regulation of firms that produce pollutant gases is a step towards obliteration of lung diseases. The affected persons should be vaccinated. The process should involve a government action to immunize all its citizens. This solution to air pollution will make all citizens feel safe to work towards the growth of their country’s economy. Besides, persons who are displaced due to the construction of infrastructure need compensation from the concerned authorities.
Conclusion
Based on the above expositions concerning the negative effect of transportation and logistics, it is impossible to solve most of the undesirable transportation impacts without the above named solutions. Transportation planners should avoid ignorance in the construction of infrastructure. Early utilization of these measures solves congestion, accidents, and mobility gaps problems. Most of the solutions apply to all the negative impacts of transportation and logistics. Hence, upon their proper implementation, these solutions will reduce the aforementioned negative impacts by 20 to 40%. The government should monitor motorists to ensure that they adhere to the intended solutions.
Reference List
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