Choosing Mode of Transport – Factors to be considered and challenges

Every day is accompanied by a plethora of activities, which define the characters of an individual. As the sun rises and sets, many activities happen, involving movement from one place to another. The definition of transportation behavior is well understood by considering the normal activities that people engage in on daily basis. In the wake of improved modes of transport and ease of communication, traversing from one point to another has become easier. As opposed to sometime back when the movement was impeded by poor connectivity, the current world is characterized by good automobiles, well-constructed roads among others. Reflecting back on my daily routine helps me to have a succinct image of what a normal day entails. I have come to understand that many factors are considered to explain the transportation behavior of the person. As the dawn sets in, my mind is always clear of the activities that I ‘m expected to accomplish, and the number of kilometers to cover at a specified time.  Furthermore, the trend that is adopted by a person is strongly related to the human geography, which is defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, as “the geographical study of urban spaces and urban ways of being.” The following table illustrates my routine for three consecutive days in a week. The information contained gives a clear indication of the number of trips that I make on daily basis, and the estimated distance covered per a given time.

Choosing the mode of transport is linked to some factors. Depending on the location of the individual, the options might vary. While it’s considered paramount to use the mode that is fast, sometimes it becomes challenging to integrate that assertion. My normal working days start on Monday to Friday, and they account for most of my active hours. Over the weekend, I rarely take time out so as to recover from the exhaustion of working five consecutive days. I prefer driving a personal vehicle to work because it’s fast. In normal working days, other alternatives such as buses come along with their complications. One, they take time on the roads, since they move dropping people at various drop points. This is more time consuming, and in most cases, the people who resort to this mode of transports end up late for work. Again, the roughness with which the touts handles the passengers demotivates me from using public means.

Moreover, the number of buses plying along the route of my workstation is less.  Most of the public vehicles prefer using the roads that lead to the central business. This is because most of the people work in the urban areas, and opt to use the buses as opposed to personal cars. Due to this reason, there is high competition on the means of transport, causing heavy congestions during the morning hours. Working far from town leaves me with only one option, to use my car. In the same vein, my child goes to school in the nearby of my place of work. As a way to save cost and reduce time latency, I pick him as I set off the office. It gives me motivation and pleasure to discuss with him about the day’s activities and also evaluate his growth in terms of academics. Although there is an option of letting him to use the school bus, I find that sometime he might find no one in the house. Together with my wife, we agreed to eliminate the cost of house help, and take the responsibility of picking the child. Far from considering the factor of reducing expenses, it’s important for personal fulfillment as the child grows in the save hands. This routine happens on a daily basis, for the entire week.

Far and above, I am an avid lover of physical fitness. Every Monday and Wednesday after work, I take a walk to the gym center. This is a place where I have been a member for a year since I enrolled. I choose to walk as a personal preference. Jogging to the place enables me to be mentally set and physically prepared, to exercise for an average of two hours. Sometimes I choose to cycle to the destination, as a way to flex the muscles. Furthermore, I normally do my shopping on Wednesdays in the nearby shopping mall. I use the bus to reach the place due to certain factors. One, the parking lot is limited, due to the urban location of the retailer. The geographic location limits the customers from accessing the premise by use of personal cars. Only a few spaces are available, specifically reserved for the dignitaries and workers. Second, the mall attracts a lot of people, due to its strategic positioning. People from different corners of the city converge to make purchases, heightening the human traffic in the area. As a way to ameliorate the struggles of searching for convenient parking, I find it prudent to take a bus and walk right inside the shopping mall without much struggle.

The dependence of the automobiles has heightened in the modern world. Alluding to the locations of the various offices around the town, one can identify that the structures and architectural planning are designed to motivate the people to use personal cars. From Monday to Friday, the traffic congestion is a clear indicator, of how people have become car dependent. Automobile dependence has been defined as “a situation in which a city develops on the assumption that automobile use will predominate and because of that assumption the automobile is given priority in the infrastructure that is built within the city.” Apart from a few retailers, most of them have designed the structures with ample parking to lure the customers. The transition is going alongside the modern world, where people like convenience.

One week to me means a lot since I make tremendous movements from one place to another. From home to work, picking the child from school, taking errands and gym and also shopping in the city. The consolidated information from the previous table illustrates that I make a total of nine trips in a week. Among them, six are accomplished through the use of the personal car. Statistically, this is an estimate of 67%, which confirms my strong reliance on the use of the automobile. One thing I attribute my reliance on the use of cars is the desire to improve my efficiency. I find it easy to accomplish the tasks more promptly and save time. The landscape and the architectural design in the city of my residence favor the use of automobile significantly. This is characterized by a low density of town dwellers and location of industries and offices far from town. As the time progress, people are inclining to own the cars, which could also impact the environment negatively.