The earliest form of transport, apart from horseback, is known to be the boat. Since the evolution of mankind, transportation is given immense consideration. Men from earliest days had a desire of moving around and this instinct was the main factor which allowed him to invent efficient vehicles for transportation. Efficient transport systems are of particular significance to nations enabling more contact and exchange of cultures, tradition and learning. Civilizations like the Indus Valley, through archaeological excavations, whole that vessels resembling boats or raft were used to ply up and down the River Indus. The invention of the wheel came about after hunter gatherers learnt to domesticate animals and grown crops. The earliest known examples came about after hunter gatherers learn to domesticate animals and grow crops. The earliest signs of wheels appeared in Mesopotamia around 3500 to 3000 BC. The chariot was used by the Greeks and Romans followed by the Europeans in the later centuries.

    After the invention of the system locomotive in 1804, steam engines replace horses as the primary means of power. Modern locomotives commonly use electric motors or diesel engines and pull long trains of passenger of freight cars. Steam and the development of the internal combustion engine lead to the creation of ships and cars, the development of motorized transport put an end to horse drawn coaches, chariots, howdahs and other traditional modes, opening up the highway to a global economy. After that there has been no stopping and transport today extends to numerous vehicle and vessels on land, air, sea and even space. The 1800s saw the beginnings of what we know today as the motor car. Germans were one of the first to manufacture cars under the name of Daimler and Benz. The first sustained, piloted flight of an airplane was made in 1903 by American brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright at Kitty Hawn, North Carolina. In 1914 the first commercial air service began in Florida.

    Throughout history, the economic wealth and military power of a people or a nation have been closely tied to efficient methods of transportation. Transportation providers access to natural resources and promote trade, allowing a nation to accumulate wealth and power. Transportation also allows the movement of solders, equipment, and supplies so that a nation can wage war.

    Reliable transport is necessary for the facilitation of people and goods in the country and outside the country. It forms the backbone of the country’s trading activities.

Transportation is vital to a nation’s economy. Transportation has also reduced the cost of transferring raw materials and natural resources; therefore it has decreased the manufacturing cost of goods, which has caused nations to become pioneer in exports. The transportation industry is one of the leading industries of the world, generating over billions of revenues and providing livelihood to one-fifth of the humanity. In USA alone, according to a statistic, transportation industry provides 7.4% of Americans with job and contributes 3.2% of GDP to the US economy.

    The effect of transportation on environment is a disastrous one, which was realized in the mid of the 20th century. The burning of fossil fuels in car combustion engines have paved way for increased  levels of Lead, mercury, carbon mono oxide and nitrogen oxide in the environment. In addition petroleum-based transportation is responsible for approximately one-third of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, a contribution to global warming. Transportation involves large imports of oil which is responsible for economic imbalance of many countries.

Furthermore, transportation is also responsible for the accidents that occur every day as a result of which many people get injured or may even die in several cases. So in the lights of above facts, one must look into the issues that are concerned with transportation.