Comparison of Old and New Public Transport Systems

Can anyone honestly say that they have never benefitted from public transport? Public transport has revolutionised travel since the 19th century (Study.com, 2015). It reduces congestion, makes travelling easier, is better for the environment and continues to get safer and safer. I cannot begin to explain the problems that would occur if the world still used the primitive transport methods used in the past. There is no doubt in my mind that new public transport systems are profoundly superior to old public transport.

The way we travel has progressively gotten easier to use since its establishment 200 hundred years ago. From the new technology that enables us to plan and track the service to the numerous locations that it services, public transport is becoming more user friendly. When I say that old transport was inferior, I mean it. Before public transport, people too poor to own horses had to walk or find sympathetic travellers to take them. Then came public transport, usually uncomfortable and impractical (GOGO Charters, 2017). Furthermore, Melbourne’s earliest trams could only take 20 passengers and made irregular stops (Yarra Trams, 2020). This shows how, public transport from the past was largely inferior to modern methods where the ease of use makes using the service practical and accessible to everyone, regardless of income, location or organisation. While some might say that modern public transport has a long way to go, I strongly believe that the innovation that is seen today is far better than anything from the past. Therefore, innovation in public transport has allowed this day and age to have effortless access to public transport.

In addition, public transport these days is getting consistently more environmentally conscious, unlike the old methods where little information was known about carbon emissions. At the very root of public transport is the ability to create reduce on the planet by moving many people in one vehicle. Did you know that one train in Brisbane can take almost 1000 people at capacity (Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, 2019)? I think that is amazing, especially with more and more plans to continually reduce the amount of emission produced from the transport we already use. However, in the past, the cable cars, trams and other methods of transport did not even have any indication or idea of what climate change was, as it only began making news about 30 years ago (National Geographic, 2018). It is clear that the earlier modes of public transport were inferior to the newer more sustainable methods that are always improving. So, it is obvious that new public transport is more environmentally conscious than old public transport and therefore, preferable.

Finally, today’s public transport is significantly safer than old public transport. One of the most notable forms of public transport was the cable car which was incredibly dangerous due to the cables being very prone to snapping. A scary example of the just how dangerous public transport was in the past was the 1976 Cavalese cable car disaster where 43 people died after steel support of the car snapped causing it to fall 660 feet to the bottom of the mountain. Unfortunately, this horrific disaster occur again in the same place. I am certain that you would not want to be around when public transport disasters like these were commonplace (World Atlas, 2017). Furthermore, other previous forms of public transport like the horse drawn carts were unbelievably uncomfortable due to the roads still being made of cobble stones (GOGO Charters, 2017). Comparatively, modern public transport is designed to be safe and comfortable for all users and have incorporated ‘help buttons’, CCTV footage and safety offices/guard into all of their platforms, buses, trains and boats (TransLink, 2020). It is obvious that modern transport is better and safer compared to old public transport.

In conclusion, new public transport is significantly better than old public transport in all aspects; including ease of use, environmental awareness and safety. I strongly believe that everyone’s lives would be significantly impacted in a negative way, by changing back to the old modes of public transport. I think that is important that we continue to innovate and create more sophisticated transport that anyone who wishes to use it, can do so.