Transportation SS2 Commerce Lesson Note

Transportation is one of the aids to trade and branches of commerce which is a means whereby people and goods are moved from one place to another either through water, road, rail or air.

IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPORT

1. Movement of goods and persons: transportation facilitates quick and efficient distribution of goods, in a country.
2. It encourages trade between one country to another.

3. It Improves Standard Of Living: Improved standard of living by making goods and services available at them right time and right place and thus improving the standard of living of the people.
4. Employment Opportunity: It provides employment opportunities for people thereby enabling them to earn a living.
5. Widening Of Firm’s Market: transportation and tends a firm’s market for the sales of goods and services.
6. Encouragement Of International Trade: the development of transport by air and sea is greatly promoted and encourages trading activities between one country and another.
7. Prevention Of Wastage Of Perishable Goods: A good and efficient transport system will ensure the quick distribution of perishable goods to areas where they are needed and therefore prevent wastage.
8. Movement Of Productive Resources: A goods transport system will help in moving productive resources to firm areas where they are available and can be put to adequate use.

FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION

There are four major forms of transport namely:

1. Transportation by land 
2. Transportation by rail
3. Transportation by water
4. Transportation by air

1. LAND TRANSPORTATION: This is the movement of people and goods on land from one place to another. It is the most common means of transport and is mainly used in the home trade. There are two methods of transportation by land. They are:
2. Road transportation
3. Rail transportation.

1. Road Transportation: It is the most common means of transportation which links towns and villages in Nigeria. The means used to aid transportation or roads are bicycles, cars, lorries, tankers, motorcycles, buses, trailers etc.

Advantages Of Road Transportation

a) It is possible to reach all parts of the country by road.

b) It is a suitable means of transport for carrying perishable goods.

c) It does not require special routes like trains.

Disadvantages Of Road Transportation

1. a) They are usually traffic congestion{hold up}.
2. b) Road transport tends to be slow in long distances.
3. c) The rate at which accounts occur in road transport is high.

1. Transport By Rail

This is the second in the series of land transportation systems. Trains move on rails i.e. it has specially made routes where it operates. This type of transport is very slow but not as risky as road transport. Transport by rail in Nigeria is a federal concern under the monopoly of the Nigeria Railway Corporation {NRC} The transports are divided into: passenger trains(this has first, second and third classes) and cargo trains that carry goods.