General Rewision (Transport) Flashcards
Choo Choo Thomas incoming!
List out the factors causing traffic congestion.
✮ Separation of work and residential areas
✮ Movement from one part of the city to another to obtain goods and services
✮ Inadequate transport infrastructure and poor provision of transport services
How does the separation of work and residential areas cause traffic congestion?
✮ People often work and live in different parts of the city
✮ This is because industrial areas and financial districts are commonly located at places far away from residential areas.
✮ Hence, there is a need for people to commute to work.
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(i. Many people do not like the perception of living next to factories which produce contaminants or toxic materials
ii. In areas near financial districts, land cost is extremely high as there is limited supply for office land while high demand exists from private corporations who have deep pockets to spend on land there → As the housing cost is extremely high in the central areas, many people do not live there)
→ Results in need to commute over long distances between home and work
→ While commuting can be done on public transport other than private transport, many people choose private transport (more convenience and flexibility) → In most cities, car ownership is high, leading to massive number of cars driving in and out of the CBD daily → Contributes to traffic congestion
How does movement from one part of the city to another to obtain goods and services cause traffic congestion?
✮ People may have to move around the city to commit certain daily acts of necessity or habit, such as purchasing goods from specialised stores and attending classes in different parts of the city.
✮ There is also a wider range of goods and services in the city as compared to rural areas so people are concentrated in cities, thus increasing the number of commuters.
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→ There are two forms of transportation movements:
i. Rural-urban movements (There is a wider range of goods and services available in the city compared to rural areas → In order to access these services, people in rural areas are forced to move towards more central parts of the country)
ii. Intra-city movements (Due to zoning regulations and city planning, the city is often divided into distinct sections which offer vastly specific services → Need to move around various parts of the city to access these services)
Explain how inadequate transport infrastructure and poor provision of transport services causes traffic congestion. Give examples.
✮ Inadequate transport infrastructure means that a city’s transportation facilities are not capable of handling the amount of traffic it receives.
✮ Roads may lack sufficient lanes or are not well-connected which leads to congestion due to the lack of alternative routes during uncommon circumstances (e.g. accidents, peak hours)
✮ Poor provision of such transport services means that the city lacks sufficient buses or trains to carry all commuters, resulting in overcrowded trains or buses or public transport not arriving on time
✮ As a result, people may drive to work instead of taking the bus or rail which contributes to traffic congestion.
List out the impacts of traffic congestion.
✮ Reduced productivity (Economic)
✮ Stress on physical and mental health (Social)
✮ Air pollution (Environmental)
✮ Noise pollution (Social)
Explain how traffic congestion causes reduced productivity. (Economic)
✮ Productivity refers to the rate at which goods or services are produced. It involves engaging in activities that bring about economic benefit.
✮ Hence, traffic congestion takes up a lot of people’s time which could be spent on constructive work, hence causing the country to incur economic losses.
Explain how traffic congestion causes a stress on physical and mental health. (Social)
Impacts on physical health:
✮ Long travelling times can lead to fatigue
✮ As a result, drivers are more prone to losing their concentration or falling asleep, causing accident and even deaths.
✮ Traffic congestion is also a source of exhaust fumes from idling vehicles stuck in traffic
✮ Some particulates are so small that they can penetrate deep into lung tissues, causing inflammation
✮ Long-term exposure to these fumes has been linked to several health problems, including asthma and lung disease
Impacts on mental health:
✮ Due to spending more time on the road, drivers may become prone to stress and frustration
✮ This increases chances of being involved in accidents and fights with other drivers
Explain how traffic congestion causes air pollution. (Environmental)
✮ When vehicles remain stationary in a traffic congestion, they emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide
✮ These gases cause the earth’s temperature to rise because they trap heat
✮ Exhaust and particles from cars and factories also cause smog, which is a combination of smoke and fog
✮ It can cause difficulty in breathing, asthma, reduced resistance to lung infections, cold and eye irritation
✮ Smog also slows down plant growth, thus further harming the environment
✮ Tiny pollutant particles may also be deposited on soil and water surfaces, thereby entering the food chain and poisoning animals
Explain how traffic congestion causes noise pollution. (Social)
→ Noise pollution occurs when there is harmful and excessive noise that may disrupt human and animal life
→ Because traffic congestion involves cars stagnating at a certain position for long periods of time and numerous cars in a certain location, individuals may become anxious and frustrated, losing their cool and honking → Furthermore, as there are more cars, the basic car vibrations as the car stays at a certain position would be very loud → Creates noise pollution
→ Noise pollution has the following harms:
i. Disturb sleep, harming one’s overall immunity against most illnesses
ii. Interfere with people’s daily activities at school and at work, decreasing work productivity and work performance
iii. Provoke annoyance responses and morph social behaviour negatively
Name the 9 strategies which solves traffic congestion. (Yes, I know, it’s really tedious)
Approach #1: Making public transport a choice mode
✮ Integrated transport system
✮ Bus lane schemes
✮ Expansion of rail networks
✮ Increasing capacity and frequency of buses and rail services
Approach #2: Managing road usage
✮ Road pricing
✮ Increased parking fees
✮ Enhanced traffic monitoring
Approach #3: Other measures
✮ Telecommuting
✮ Encouraging cycling
Explain how an integrated transport system helps to solve traffic congestion. Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy.
✮ An integrated transport system connects various modes of transportation such that it functions as a whole
✮ Building an integrated public transport system is an important first step in encouraging people to use public transport
✮ This, in turn, will help to reduce car usage, which in turn alleviates traffic congestion.
👍 An integrated public transport system is more convenient, accessible, and efficient as people can make use of different modes of transportation to get to a place quickly.
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👎 However, an integrated public transport system requires extensive planning and is costly to build, therefore, it may not be feasible in all countries
But in the long run, it makes travelling using public transport more convenient so commuters can cut on travelling time
Explain how bus lane schemes help to reduce traffic congestion. Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy.
✮ Bus lanes are lanes that are specially set aside for private and public buses on specific days and times
✮ With designated bus lanes, buses are able to enter and exit bus stops smoothly and quickly, resulting in faster and uninterrupted journeys for commuters
✮ As this scheme improves bus speeds and reliability, car drivers may be more willing to switch to taking buses to work
✮ This, in turn, will help to reduce car usage, which in turn alleviates traffic congestion.
👍 Bus lanes allow buses to move quickly so that buses will not be held up during traffic congestion, and
👍 Buses will arrive on schedule more often even during peak hours.
👎 However, the success of the bus lane schemes depends on the compliance of drivers
👎 Allocating lanes for buses takes away lanes for private vehicles so private vehicles may face traffic congestion
All in all, this is a very cost-effective way to reduce travelling time on buses
Explain how expansion of rail networks help to reduce traffic congestion. Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy.
✮ This means increasing the number of locations that trains can reach
✮ Firstly, more tracks can be laid to ensure that the rail network covers a wider area
✮ Secondly, more stations can be built so that more locations have access to trains
✮ This, in turn, will help to reduce car usage, which in turn alleviates traffic congestion.
👍 Trains have very high capacities and can transport more people each time
👍 More destinations can be reached by train
👎 However, building rail networks is expensive
👎 Proposed rail lines may cut through housing estates and buildings. Affected residents and businesses may have to bear construction noise or give up their property as a result.
But in the long run, this will improve connectivity.
Explain how increasing capacity and frequency of buses and rail services solves traffic congestion. Evaluate the effectvieness of this strategy.
✮ Bus and rail systems can be upgraded to carry more people and arrive more frequently
✮ Transport operators can also put systems in place so that buses and trains arrive at scheduled times
✮ This, in turn, will help to reduce car usage, which in turn alleviates traffic congestion.
👍 More people can be transported within a shorter amount of time which increases productivity and efficiency
👎 However, increasing the frequency and capacity of buses and trains could be costly
However, this is still a rather cost-effective solution in making sure passengers can be ferried away as quickly as possible to save time
Explain how road pricing reduces traffic congestion. Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy.
✮ This is a traffic management measure that charges drivers for using certain roads
✮ Commonly, drivers are required to pay more during peak hours to discourage the use of popular and often congested roads
👍 The higher costs discourage driving during peak hours so drivers may switch to public transport
👎 However, with ERPs, traffic is merely diverted to other roads which may lead to congestion elsewhere
Hence, this is not a long-term solution to end traffic woes, though it may help to slightly ease traffic congestion in certain areas.
