Various Modes of Transport

The invention of wheel brought a great change in the world of transport. The traditional means of transport which depended on animals and humans got mechanized gradually.

Development of modes of transport has brought significant improvement in travelling over years.

This concept explanation would introduce the learners to various means of transport used in everyday life.

After going through the concept the learners will be able to:

• Explain different modes of transport.
• State cheapest means of transport
• Give examples for
  • Water transport
  • Air transport
  • Land transport
• State the need and compare various modes of transportation looking at their pictures.

 

Each concept is explained to class 4 students using descriptions, illustrations, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page.

Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solutions for the concept Modes of Transport in PDF format.

• Travelling can be defined as going from one place to another.
• We travel for many reasons, like going to school, the market, shopping mall, neighbourhood park, etc.
• Sometimes we travel to other cities to visit our family members or for vacation.
• People also travel for work purposes.
• The purpose of travelling also differs.

Examples: Recreational travel (when we go to another city to visit our friends or relatives, visit a new place, etc.), educational travel (going on field trips, museums, zoological and botanical gardens, etc.), pilgrimage (religious journeys).

Different Modes of Transportation:

The different modes of travel can be categorised into three groups—

• Air travel
• Land travel
• Water travel

Means of Air Transport:

• Air travel involves travelling by air, including vehicles like aeroplanes and helicopters.
• It is more expensive than other modes of travel but it saves the time of travel which is usually longer for others.
• Aeroplanes generally operate from airports, and during take on and take off, they use long tarmacs.
• One can travel to different cities within the country or go to some other countries by aeroplanes.
• These vehicles have a streamlined body that helps them glide through the air.
• Aeroplanes have massive engines that burn large quantities of fuel to produce the power required to fly in the sky.
• Helicopters travel by air, but they are not as huge as aeroplanes.
• They have rotor blades that rotate and help the helicopter fly in the air by lifting its body.
• We also use gas balloons to travel in the air, mainly for recreational purposes.
• Fighter jets are used for air raids during wars.

Means of Land Transport:

• Land travel involves travelling on roads, usually by bicycles, motorbikes, cars, trains, buses, trams, etc.
• Roads are of two types—kutcha roads and pucca roads.
• A kutcha road is a dirt track made of mud, while a pucca road is made of tar and gravel.

• Vehicles like cars, buses, trams, and trains carry people, whereas goods are carried by heavy vehicles like trucks and lorries.

• Vehicles carrying goods usually cover long distances.

• Trains move on railway tracks and can be classified into two groups—
  •  Local trains: These trains are convenient for short distances and stop at all consecutive stations.
  •  Express trains: These trains cover long distances, mostly between two cities of different states. Express trains do not stop at all stations and have fixed weekly schedules.

Means of Water Transport:

• Water travel involves travelling through waterways like rivers, canals, lakes, seas and oceans in boats, ferries and ships.
• Boats and ferries are used for travelling small distances, whereas ships cover large distances.
• Goods are also carried through waterways in cargo ships.
• There are cruise ships which carry passengers who are vacationing.
• Water travel can become uncomfortable because people may suffer from sea sickness due to the constant rolling waves of the seas or oceans.

New Words

 

Did You Know?

• We can travel in the hills by toy trains as they can move on the steep slopes of the hills.

  Examples: Shivalik Deluxe Express, Himalayan Queen.

• In the mountain regions like Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Ladakh, students reach school by walking along the sloping roads. Sometimes they hike or trek to take the shortest route as road travel takes more time.

• The Golden Quadrilateral is India's largest express highway project that connects the four metro cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
• The Urban Mass Rapid Transit is a modern rail transport system used to get around the city quickly. It was first started in 1984 in Kolkata and was named Metro Railways. It consists of underground and above-the-ground tracks. Today, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai also have metros operating throughout the cities.