In 1962, when the U.S President John F. Kennedy spoke to the American people and the rest of the world on the American Space Project which aimed to put Americans on the moon and begin a new form of travel, he helped to revive the sense of unbridled opportunity and hope in a tumultuous world arena plagued by Cold War politics. He famously said, “We (the USA) choose to go to the moon and do all the things we do, not because they are easy but because they are hard.” It was indeed amazing to see that something as simple as a new means of transportation being generated by the space race could rally a nation like America, and usher in a revolution upon the already existing modern transportation methods and infrastructure, connecting people, businesses, governments and more, together in ways people never thought was possible just a few centuries ago. Arguably, the latest advent of modern transportation has been drawn into one of the greatest conflicts of modern human history: transnational terrorism, which has in many cases brought the world to its feet. Thankfully, that pessimistic outlook is overshadowed by transportation developments in defense. Also, we should not forget that modern transportation has developed trade, tourism and even systems for commerce, through the effect of bringing the world closer together than ever before. It may very likely be the case that modern transportation is largely beneficial, although we must first dig deeper in order to come to a conclusion.
Undoubtedly, modern transportation has made the world so close, such that transportation itself has become both a target for terrorism, and a vehicle for it. Terrorism is certainly one of the greatest worldwide concerns at present, regardless of whether current approaches are effective or not. Modern methods of transportation such as mass transit through trains for instance, have proven to be alluring targets for terrorists. In an enclosed, moving space, people are put at their most vulnerable. The first thing that one may think of when getting on a train or plane, is not whether terrorists will mount an attack within the vehicle, but rather about simply getting from point A to point B. Too many times, have radical extremists taken advantage of this, as seen for example, in the 1995 gassing of the Tokyo Subway by a cult group known as Aum Shinrykyo, killing 12 and injuring thousands. Modern transportation has actually made the idea of mass transit scarier than ever before. After all, practically everyone will recall the events of 9/11 whenever they pass through airport security today. 9/11 was the most deadly set of attacks on U.S soil thus far. Al Qaeda agents hijacked United Airlines and US Airways planes and deliberately crashed then into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC and into a rural field in Pennsylvania. Certainly, modern transportation methods have brought terrorists closer to us. Despite this, the above effects have motivated governments to step up security throughout transport networks, such as that of stringent security checks at ports of entry and exit. Indeed, while one incident is one too many, transportation in itself has helped to guard against such attacks by creating increased vigilance, and arguably has also contributed to a rise in new methods of warfare against terrorism.
New methods of transportation have helped greatly in the war on terror, providing a safer and more collaborative method of warfare. Many of such transportation methodologies have existed prior to the outbreak of international terrorism, while other are more recent developments. Take drones, unmanned artillery vehicles as an example. By being able to transport weapons and use them remotely has arguably saved a lot of the costs incurred by flying F-35 jets into war zones, although the latter is still being used frequently. It reduces the potential for casualties by targeting specific areas or people that should be eliminated. B-52 bomber planes have also returned to the Middle East zone of conflict in a bid to sustain the war efforts. Unlike commercial jets, these military jets not just transports military personnel, they can also hold great amounts of ammunition, weapons, bombs and other military equipment. Couple this with the international resolve to defeat terrorism by countries like Britain and France, and even to some extent, Russia, militaries have been able to execute their missions more effectively than having boots on the ground. This resolve shows the hope of all countries to finally putting a stop to terrorism can be put into efficient action. In that light, international terrorism has become less of a problem when we know that there are also good stewards of modern methods of transportation.
Moving on to the economy, modern methods of transportation has most certainly helped to forge new business ties between countries, and even between countries and firms themselves. This can ultimately be linked back to the globalization of economic activity, where transportation technologies have increased global connectivity and are still slated to continue improving. We see this manifesting thorough the growth of international trade and flow of Foreign Direct Investment. The European Union for example, allowed the free movement within the 27 countries that it is made up of. The elimination of border checkpoints allows a smoother commute either via air or train, allowing businesses to move their staff ever more easily from country to country to maximize productivity. Modern transport methods have essentially made the possibility of various countries becoming cores of economic activity a reality. Singapore itself is a transportation hub with the world’s best airport, as rated by Skytrax, and one of the busiest maritime ports in the region and the world. Even methods of transporting commodities, such as undersea oil pipelines or oil tankers have given rise to the oil refining industry in Singapore, which generates a huge part of our GDP. All these methods of transportation bring long-run benefits, as business will continue to develop wherever it is conducive and physically connectable to do so. Hence, we are seeing that modern methods of transportation are indeed beneficial to a large extent.
Modern transportation has likewise created or improved new commerce systems that create a more personal connection between customers and firms, thereby bringing about greater consumer experiences that fuel the growth of the retail industry, particularly online. The rise of e-commerce is perhaps, another phenomenon of this increasingly close world. With methods like airfreight and containerized shipping, transactions have become more efficient, cheap and fast. Take Amazon.com, the world’s largest airline retailer for example. As a result of business deals with air freight carriers like UPS and DHL, Amazon is able to get their products into the hands of their international customers in as little as 2 days. This inevitably creates greater efficiency and productivity for the firm. Recently, Amazon even introduced its own brand of air freighters known as “Prime Air”. Such a development was meant to improve shipping reliability for its “Prime” customers, just one of the many modes of transport that they are taking advantage of in order to provide a better and more competitive customer experience. As modern methods of transportation further connect the world, ecommerce is likely to keep booming, and that has a profoundly positive impact on the world economy.
Finally, modern transportation has transformed the tourism industry, bringing people across the world to learn and experience the different faces of the world, thereby leading to both economic and social benefits. The development of tourism not just has to do with improved aircraft, but also maritime vessels, which serve as means for holiday cruises. Now, people can get up close with the glaciers of Alaska, or the majestic coasts of South Australia, places which are generally harder to get to on foot or via automobile. With ports of call at many locations, it increases the accessibility of many more locations. Moving on to commercial jet aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most fuel-efficient planes in the world at present, and has grown to be to backbone of many airline carriers’ long-haul operations. Greater fuel efficiency and customer-centric amenities have not only made unconventional air routes more profitable, but also enabled the connection of culture. In 2016 alone, U.S-based United Airlines has launched a plethora of new routes from their hub in San Francisco, California, to places like Xi’an, China, Singapore and Auckland, New Zealand. This is enabled the phasing out of stopovers, transforming the way people travel long haul. We could still argue that tourism “broadens one’s mind”, but ultimately, the onus of that is on the tourist, not the method of transportation. Certainly, tourism may not always be beneficial for all. Take African Savannah vacations and their effects on natives as an example. Nonetheless, new transportation methods have still managed to make that trip more sustainable, from increased consumer experience, to lower carbon emissions. Hence, it could very well be the case that modern methods of transportation bring the world closer than ever before is indeed beneficial.
In conclusion, modern methods of transportation have greatly affected all of our lives, in one way or another, and the world has never been brought closer together than before. From a pessimists’ point of view, this would open the door to threats unimaginable. Still, as history and reality have also proven to an even stronger extent, the effects of new methods of transportation have brought tremendous economic and social benefit, and from the way, transport is still developing now, a new sustainable future of transport awaits on the horizon.