Top 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India

Road transport is the most preferred and popular mode of transport in the supply chain, used by suppliers and businesses. Transport companies provide scheduled delivery days and even next day delivery services, depending upon the demand. All kinds of cargo, goods packed or grouped in containers, even scheduled for sea or air transportation, are carted to and fro via road transport. Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transportion is the most  asked question in Logistics Landmark. Let’s Discuss.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India

Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India

Advantages of Road Transportation

Scrutinising the Advantages and Disadvantages of  Road Transport. There are innumerable advantages and benefits of road transport vis-à-vis other modes of transport.

1. Less Capital Outlay

A relatively much lower capital Investment is required in road transport, compared to other modes of transport such as railways and air transport which are much costlier. The cost of construction, operation and maintenance of roads is way cheaper than that of the railways or air transport. Roads construction is a public sector and primarily a jurisdiction of the Government and Local Authorities. Hence, only a miniscule amount of revenue is charged for the use of roads.

2. Door to Door Service

The greatest advantage of road transport, that makes it the core lifeline of the transport industry, is its ability to provide door-to-door, from source to destination, warehouse-towarehouse, doorstep services. This is something no other mode of transport can provide. This naturally reduces cartage expense, loading and unloading expenses, and other associated feeder transport costs.

3. Service in Rural Areas

Road transport is most flexible and adaptable with an outreach into the most remote areas that are inaccessible by rail, air or water. Hence, road transport is most suited for carrying goods and people to and from rural areas which are not served by rail, water or air transport. Hence, transport of cargo between large towns and small villages is possible only through road transport.

4. Flexible Service

In road transport, routes and timings can be adjusted and changed to suit individual requirements with ease. This naturally gives road transport a great edge over all other modes of transport that follow rigid and inflexible time and route schedules. 

5. Suitable for Short Distance

Road transport is the only transport that is viable, economically and otherwise, for short distances. It is way more cost effective and quicker to cart goods and people over short distances by road. Also, delays in transit of goods, due intermediate loading and handling, can be avoided as goods can be loaded direct into a road vehicle and transported straight to their place of destination. In other words, intermediate handling costs and feeder connectivity costs can be eliminated.

6. Lesser Risk of Damage in Transit

The risk of damage to goods is considerably lessened due to the elimination of intermediate loading and handling of goods. Hence, road transport is most suited for transporting fragile goods like chinaware and glassware, which risk getting damaged or broken easily during the process of loading and unloading. One time loading and unloading is the desired format for fragile goods. And road transport is the ideal transport for this. 

7. Saving in Packing Cost

The process of packing in road transport is less complicated and much less elaborate. Cargo transported by road transport does not require to be over packed to go through intermediate handling. Hence, less to no major packing is needed. Here again the packing costs are much lower in road transport than in other modes of transport. 

8. Rapid Speed

Road transport is most suited for speedy delivery. Water transport is very slow. Air and rail transport requires too much documentation and formalities and packaging. Also booking of the goods, and taking delivery of the goods, in case of railway, air and water transport, takes up too much time and is very tedious. In contrast road transport offers a quicker and a much more flexible and hassle free option. 

9. Less Cost

Road transport is highly cost effective as compared to other modes of transport. It requires a much less initial capital investment and also, the cost of operation and maintenance is also relatively much less. Even though the rates charged by motor transport companies is a little higher than that charged by the railways, the actual cost in the bigger picture, falls much less when transporting goods by motor transport. This is because road transport helps in saving in packaging costs, in the expenses of intermediate handling charges, and in the feeder connectivity charges.

10. Private Owned Vehicles

A major advantage of road transport is that it allows big business houses and companies to have their own motor vehicles and initiate their own road services to market their company products, without much cost of maintenance or headache of tedious formalities. Hence companies can have their own transport system running, without encountering any delays, within their own space and time frame. This is an enormous flexibility and advantage of the road transport.

11. Feeder to other Modes of Transport

No mode of transport other than road transport offers doorstep services. Hence, whether cargo is transported via air, rail or water, the movement of goods begins, and ultimately ends by road transport, that picks up cargo from the source and delivers the goods to the final destination. Road and motor transport are the feeder connectivity transport to all other modes of transport such as railways, ships and airways.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India

Disadvantages of Road Transportation

Everything has a flip side. This is the law of the universe. Hence, in spite of the innumerable and amazing merits, road or motor has some serious limitations and disadvantages:

1. Vulnerable to Season and Weather Impacts:

Road transport infrastructure and travel is vulnerable to weather changes and seasons. For instance, during rains or floods, roads become unfit and unsafe for use. Hence, motor transport proves to be less reliable than rail transport, in the event of volatile weather situations. 

2. Accidents and Breakdowns:

There is definitely a high risk of accidents and breakdowns in case of road transport. This makes motor transport not a very predictable or safe option, as compared to rail transport.

3. Not the Best Option for Long Distance and Heavy Cargo:

Road transport is not very suitable for transporting low priced and heavy cargo over long distances as it proves to be expensive.  

4. Slow Speed:

It is understood that road transport is not as fast as air or rail transport. Hence, slow speed of road transport is a disadvantage and a deterrent. 

5. Lack of Organisation and Structure:

As an industry, road transport is a much less organised or structured than its counterpart transport industries, air, rail and water, that are way more organised and structured. Often, road transport is irregular and undependable. The rates charged for transportation are also random, unstable and unequal. This lack of organization and randomness is due to the multiple players and options prevalent in the road transport industry. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India

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This Content ( BLOG- Top 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Road Transport in India) is created by NAVATA ROAD TRANSPORT DIGITAL TEAM 

 

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