Global Passenger Transport

Patrick Moriarty

doi:10.3390/encyclopedia1010018

Abstract

Global passenger transport consists of all passenger travel by private and public road vehicles, rail passenger travel, air travel, and non-motorized travel. The vehicular travel component expanded an estimated 14-fold between 1950 and 2018, so that now it is not only a major energy user and CO2 emitter, but also the cause of a variety of other negative effects, especially in urban areas. Global transport in future will be increasingly subject to two contradictory forces. On the one hand, the vast present inequality in vehicular mobility between nations should produce steady growth as low-mobility countries raise material living standards. On the other hand, any such vast expansion of the already large global transport task will magnify the negative effects of such travel. The result is a highly uncertain global transport future.

Highlights

Before 2020, the future for world transport looked set to continue the steady growth seen over past decades, with only minor and short-lived interruptions
Car ownership was steadily spreading from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to the rest of the world, and air travel was growing rapidly
The pandemic has driven home the fragility of forecasts based on past extrapolation. It is not known if or when global vehicular travel will return to previous patterns

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Given the great inequalities in ownership of vehicles and plane travel throughout the world, it might be argued global passenger transport will continue to rise strongly as predicted by OPEC and Airbus, as presently low-mobility countries catch up with the OECD. These countries are keen to enjoy the many benefits they perceive from car ownership and air travel, as well as the economic benefits from a national car manufacturing industry.

Transport Levels and Modal Shares

Transport

Energy Efficiency Limitations

Future Transport

Findings

Conclusions