Transport distance

Geography glossary

Topic: World Transport and Communication · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 6 "Tertiary and Quaternary Activities"

Meaning

Transport distance is how far apart two places are along a route. It can be measured in three ways:

  • km distance: the actual length of the route in kilometres;
  • time distance: how long the trip takes;
  • cost distance: how much the trip costs.

Two places can be close in kilometres but far apart in time, for example when the road is poor or crosses mountains. People usually choose a mode by its time distance or cost distance, not by kilometres alone.

Example

Delhi and Mumbai are the same number of kilometres apart for every traveller. Even so, the trip is shorter in time distance by air, and a train often has a lower cost distance. This is why a busy traveller may fly while a family on a budget takes the train.

Don't confuse with

  • Isochrone: an isochrone is a line on a map that joins places reached in the same time from one point. It is a way to map time distance, not a type of distance.

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