Road Transport System

In this section you will learn more about the road transport system. First, you will learn what activities drive the system and what kind of goods are transported on the road. After that, the road vehicles and the infrastructure of roads are being presented to you. Furthermore, the facilities in road transport are described. Finally, you will learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of the road transport system.

• The activities, that are driving the road system, 
• goods, that are normally transported via road, 
• the used road vehicles, 
• the road infrastructure and its relevant facilities. 

On this page, the element "Activities" of the conceptual system model of transport and traffic is described.

• We as consumer drive the system.
• The order is the steering medium.

When we talk about the road transport system, it is important to know the goods that are transported by road. Therefore, the element "Goods" is presented to you on this page.

Almost all types of goods can be transported by road, with the exception of goods that are too big or too heavy for the clearance profile of the road infrastructure. 

The transported goods can have different aggregate states:

• gaseous
• liquid
• solid

• dimensions and
• weight.

Transport

 

Another element of the conceptual system model is called road vehicles. There are many different models of road vehicles that can transport different goods.

• trailer
• articulated vehicle 
• road train
• quadricylemotor 
• tricycles
• motorcycles and e-scooters
• mopeds and e-Bike
• bikes
• roboter
• per pedes

Traffic

On this page, you will learn more about the element infrastructure. In case of the road transport system, "Roads" are representing the infrastructure of the road transport system. 

• federal highways
• federal roads
• state roads 
• districts roads
• private roads

Land use

• is the location of facilities at specific sites.
• is the combined result of public planning and complex market mechanisms.
• may be seen as an interaction between a planned facility and infrastructure in its widest sense. 
• results in giving the facility a permanent address.

On this page, the last element "Facilities" is presented to you.

Facilities are the interfaces at the start and end points as well as in the supply chain. From a market point of view, the start or end point is the location of the consignor or consignee. Both market participants can be, for example, private households, public authorities or companies from all branches.

Accession

• From a micro perspective, accession is the possibility of goods being handed over to the recipient. Here it is usually construction measures of the building that limit the possibilities of direct transfer of goods (e.g. via a ramp) from the road vehicle to the recipient. 
• The meso perspective refers to the accessibility of the location of the consignee. Consignees with many suppliers in trade or industry or, for example, on large construction sites often experience traffic jams and significant time losses on the part of the carrier.
• The macro perspective is the condition of the infrastructure to access a location. The dimensions (weight and size of the permissible vehicles) play a role here, as do possible restrictions on the time or space available for certain types of vehicles. But also the density of the traffic flow on the infrastructure restricts the accessibility of a location in the macro perspective.

 

For a more comprehensive overview of applicable urban access regulations, feel free to visit this website:

Literature
Clausen, U.; Lenz, B. (2014): Integration logistischer Knoten und ihres spezifischen Verkehrs-aufkommens in die Nachfragemodellierung des Güterverkehrs. DFG-Projekt (Projektnummer: 179833699).

Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002.  (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

Sadler Consultants Ltd (2020): Urban Access Regulation by Map. URL: https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/userhome/map (last access: 21.06.2021) 

On the next page you will find a short summary of the road transport system.

When deciding which mode of transport should be used, the different advantages and disadvantages of the various modes of transport need to be taken into account.

To summarize the most important information, the advantages and disadvantages of the road transport are listed below. 

It can be seen that road transport is very flexible and adaptable due to the free choice of routes. However, it also reaches its capacity limits and is not entirely inexpensive.

• door-to-door-/conveyor-to-conveyor-transports are possible
• suitability for specific types of goods
• high flexibility (availability, costs, schedules)
• high adaptability to the rhythm of production
• almost unified road system in Europe
• accompanied transportation (by driver)
• low market entry barriers

• low labor productivity
• comparatively low mass performance
• comparatively high transport costs (per tkm)
• low energy efficiency
• high external costs
• exclusion of certain dangerous goods
• relatively uncertain transport processing due to traffic jams, weather effects etc.

Now you know the most important things about the road transport system. If you are interested in other modes of transport too, feel free to check our other topics rail transport system, inland waterway transport system, maritime transport system and air transport system.

Clausen, U.; Lenz, B. (2014): Integration logistischer Knoten und ihres spezifischen Verkehrs-aufkommens in die Nachfragemodellierung des Güterverkehrs. DFG-Projekt (Projektnummer: 179833699).