ROAD TRANSPORT
Road transport production consists of transportation of loads and passengers. Transport does not create new products, new things, it only carries productions, which have been created by industry or agriculture. Transport, upon carrying the above-described production, performs material process – the change of the place of the production, the delivery of the production to the consumer. This makes the essence of transport, as a material production branch. The production of a product is finally completed only when the product is delivered to the place of consumption – for usage of further remaking. Road transport proceeding with the delivery of products continues the industrial process in the sphere of distribution, and carrying passengers keeps satisfying the communication needs of population, i.e. takes part in the sphere of service. Transport merges the industrial process and realisation of the production, whereas, within other material production branches the above described processes remain independent. Due to this reason, it is impossible to accumulate transport production, therefore, there should be additional capacity, which, upon necessity might satisfy immediate need for the increase of transportation. The value of transportation production is created in the same way as it is in other material production branches. Transportation of loads and passengers uses: live work, i.e. work of road transport employees; materialised work, i.e. prior work, used up when producing means of transport, fuel, spare parts, etc.
The value of the transportation of the load is added to the value of the production of the load. Upon transportation of the production, there appear certain transportation expenditures, changes the value of the production.
Market – products, goods and services realisation system, the stability of which is decided by the level of incompatibility between the demand and supply (in case there is competition between the producers and a certain price making system).
The market of transport is created by the supply. In case, there’s certain production in some place and consumption is located in a different place, the demand for transportation services grows.
Road transport is divided into carrier’s (road transport company) and customer’s (transportation services buyer) markets. The characteristic feature of carriers’ market lays in the fact, that the demand exceeds the supply (resulting in carriers’ dictate, the increase of deficit), whereas exceeding of the supply and competition among carriers are characteristic of the customer’s market. That is why there’s an excess of the transport services offered in the market.
Under the carrier’s market conditions, the customer needs to be very active, in case he is willing to acquire the necessary transportation service, while under the customer’s market conditions, in order to get a certain order for transportation, it is the carrier, who needs to be active. The supply and demand in the transport market has a great influence on the regulation of the transportation services prices. In the market economy a product or service is sold at the market price.
Carrier can only plan the minimal price on the basis of the service cost. Whereas wishes and possibilities of the customer are reflected in the demand, i.e. in case of a lower service price the customer is more apt to use it. Yet in case the set price appears to be too small, the customer may doubt whether the service is of good quality or prestigious. When the demand increases, the price has a tendency to rise.
Demand development curve means that once the transportation service gets more expensive, carriers are apt to offer more services of this kind. This growth is closely related to the possibility to increase revenue. Higher price allows extending the volume of transportation, even if the cost slightly increases. When the supply increases, the price has a tendency to decrease.
COMPETITIVENESS OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES
It is obvious, that out of two services that have the same price, the one, which is of higher quality, will be the first to be sold and will have better consumption qualities. Other providers of the service will be forced either to improve the consumption qualities of the service or to lower the price. This could be implemented by new constructional solutions, organisational and technological innovations. When choosing transportation services provided by a certain carrier the following factors are taken into account: price for the transportation and assurance of the services. The most important factors of the service assurance: time of delivery, reliability, transportation possibilities, availability and security.
In the future, upon the growth of vehicle production and variety of transportation prices, the tariffs will be the crucial factor, which decides the choice of the carrier. The stability of the financial conditions should become an important factor when choosing the carrier, next to stability and delivery price.
Due to the fact that the number of transportation companies in the market increases, transportation tariffs tend to decrease. And the decrease of tariffs is only possible provided the cost of the transportation gets lower.
One more competitive advantage of the services provided by a road transport company lies in the specialisation of the services. Specialisation is not understood as concentration of all the services provided by a road transportation company in order to perform services of a certain kind, but rather ability to satisfy new and special customers’ needs and get a much higher price for that than the competitors do.
Company’s reputation is an especially valuable advantage under competition. Good reputation is not easy to achieve; it requires work, time and considerable material expenditure. It’s difficult to earn reputation, but it is very easy to ruin it.
PLANNING PASSENGERS AND LOADS TRANSPORTATION
The volume of load transportation is defined by the below-enumerated indices: number of departures, tons of loads that have been sent off, delivered and carried, turnover of loads. Sending off – a load that has been accepted for transportation according to a single document from a specific sender for a specific receiver. Tons that have been sent off – loads received from sender in stations, passage roads from water and road transport for transportation via railway according to a common document from the foreign roads for further transportation. Delivered tons - loads, the transportation of which has been performed during the accounting period in the delivery stations. The index “transported tons” is used in the railway work practice to calculate the volume of transitional transportation. Transported tons – the sum of tons of loads that have been sent off and received from the neighbouring roads.
The motion of loads mass is defined by the turnover of loads, that is calculated in pure tariff ton kilometres. (Tariff ton kilometres – mass of each sending off multiplied by transportation distance, according to travel registers).
In railway transport the volume of transportation and loads turnover is calculated for the direct and local communication.
Direct transportation – transportation via two or more roads, whereas local transportation means transportation via single road. Direct transportation is also divided into importation, exportation and transit. Importation – transportation of loads to the given roads station from other roads. Exportation – transportation of loads from the given road station to other roads. Transit – the kind of transportation, where departure and delivery station are out of the given road boundaries, and the load is already being transported via transit.
The volume of transportation and turnover of loads depends on the number of factors. The largest impact on the above mentioned is provided by the volume and structure of the industrial and agricultural production, distribution of the production power and interregional relations, organisation and specialisation of the production supply and realisation, quality of the transportation planning, development of communication roads and distribution of loads according to the kinds of transport.
Loads transportation structure characterises the position a certain load occupies in the common quantity of transported loads and the turnover of loads. The composition of carriages park and its carrying capacity, the mass of the train, means of loading works mechanisation, construction of devices for loads storage are strongly dependant upon the structure of loads turnover. Therefore, it is of great importance to railway transport. Conditions of loads transportation and its cost vary. The variability of directions and time is characteristic of loads transportation.
The variability of directions exists in all the sections of railway. There will always be a certain direction that has a considerably big flow of loads in comparison to other directions. Therefore loaded and empty directions are singled out.
The index of the variability of transportation in respect to directions is the reversibility coefficient, which is set by the ratio between the quantity of load transported by the empty direction and the quantity of load transported by the loaded direction. Within the network it is approximately equal to 0,60. Yet there are sections of railway, the reversibility coefficient of which only equals to 0,25-0,30.
The variability of transportation in respect to time may be divided into quarters, months, and days of the month and time of the day. The seasonal prevalence of production and consumption of certain kinds, as well as seasonal prevalence of rivers and seas transportation influences the variability of transportation in quarters and months. The following months are the ones, when railway transportation reaches its peak: March, April, May, October, December, whereas January and February are the months of minimal transportation.
The index of the transportation variability in respect to time is expressed by a variability coefficient, which is set by the ratio between the maximum quantity of the loads transported during a certain month and an average quantity of loads transported per month during a year. This coefficient makes an average of 1,05 for all the loads, and for such loads as bread, building materials, vegetables, fruit, sugar beets and etc. this coefficient is considerably bigger.
The variability of transportation makes it necessary for the railway transport to have the reserve of carrying capacity of the railway, the reserve of locomotives and carriages as well as to keep additional employees, which are only totally employed during the months of maximal transportation.
A considerable variability of transportation during a month is characteristic of railway transport. On the first non-working days and holidays the quantity of work with transported loads decreases. The monthly variability is mostly related to non-rhythmical work of companies and railways.
When planning transportation of loads, it is necessary to ensure total and opportune satisfaction of the country’s economical needs, minimal expenses for transportation, the right distribution of transportation for all the kinds of transport, the reduction and liquidation of irrational transportation, as well as making use of the carrying capacity of empty directions and the effective use of technical means.
The flows of various loads are summed in the junctions, thus calculating the total flows of all the loads. The multiplication of total loads sum for both directions by the length of railway section makes the turnover of the section loads in ton kilometres. The addition of all the sections turnovers makes the loads turnover of the road (road section).
The volume of transportation according to the kinds of communication is divided into importation, exportation, transit, and local transportation. The sum of direct and local transportation - the common quantity of the transported loads, the sum of local communication and exportation makes the exportation, the sum of local communication and importation makes the importation, and the sum of importation and transit – the received loads, the sum of exportation and transit – handing over of the load to the neighbouring roads.
The growth of passengers’ transportation is an important index of the economical and cultural development of the country. The development of passengers’ transportation stimulates the growth of productive forces.
Economical development, the material and cultural living standard, the growth of cities, sanatorium, resorts and tourism, passengers service, tariffs and other factors have a great impact on the volume and structure of passengers’ transportation.
From a certain point of view it is possible to judge about the development of passengers transportation according to the population movement coefficient. The coefficient is obtained by dividing the number of transported passengers or the number of passenger – kilometres by the average number of inhabitants.
Passenger’s transportation according to the kinds of communication is divided into direct, local and suburban. Direct transportation means transportation between two or more cities, local transportation – transportation via one road, suburban transportation – transportation within certain zones that belong to cities. Suburban tariffs are applied to this kind of transportation. Transportation division into direct, local and suburban is conditional.
An average distance of passengers’ transportation is an important index for passengers’ transportation definition. The distribution of large economical and cultural centres as well as the transport network, historical relation between inhabitants of the country regions, distribution of the main resorts, sanatorium, tourist centres make influence on the geography of the passengers’ transportation. Due to the fact that transportation of passengers in different regions of the country differs, the loading of the railway by passengers’ transportation in different regions is not the same.
The total number of passengers that set off from a certain point does not describe the work of roads while transporting passengers. There are roads that serve as a set off point for a relatively small number of passengers, but the largest part travel by transit. Therefore, it is important to take into account not only the number of passengers that set off, but also the turnover of the passengers.
Transportation also depends upon the time. Direct and local transportation depends upon quarters, months and days, suburban transportation depends, in addition to what has been mentioned, upon the time of the day. The smallest number of passengers is usually transported in Quarter I. The variability coefficient of the monthly transportation (the ratio between the maximal number of carryings and the average number of monthly carryings) for July is 1.18-1.20, and the passengers by kilometres – 1.45 – 1.50. In suburban transportation the number of the transported passengers decreases by 30%-60% on weekends and on the days before weekends. Transportation on different times of the day also differs.
Passengers’ flows in Lithuanian railway network are distributed unevenly. Railway sections Gudotai-Naujoji Vilnia – Vilnius – Kaunas – Kalzų Rūda and Kaišiadorys – Šiauliai – Joniškis; Vilnius Turmantas – may be distinguished because of intensive passengers flows. Not many passengers travel across the above-enumerated routes by local and international transportation, but these sections are rather loaded because of transit transportation. The rest of the railway sections carry fewer passengers.
The planning of passengers’ transportation is meant to satisfy inhabitants’ transportation needs. The plan forecasts work of the railway, road sections and stations with the passengers.
There’s no strict calculation related to the planning of passengers’ transportation. Railway gets no applications for passengers’ transportation. There may be various reasons for passengers’ transportation:
- Business trips at the state or public organizations expense;
- Movements due to the change of a living place, students’ of higher and secondary specialized schools travels to the place of studies, or in order to take examination, for practice or on holidays. Part of the above mentioned transportation is covered by organizations and educational institutions.
- Travelling to sanatorium, resort houses, tourism centers, and other relaxation places. The passengers mostly cover the travel expenses.
- Travelling related to cultural and life needs. The passengers cover the expenses.
- Suburban travels of employees, students and pupils, when the above-enumerated inhabitants live in the suburbs, but work and study in the city or vice versa.
