Mode of transport is a term used to distinguish between different ways of transportation or transporting people or goods. The different modes of transport are air,

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

, and

land transport Land transport is the transport or movement of people, animals or goods from one location to another location on land. The two main forms of land transport can be considered to be rail transport and road transport. Systems Several systems of lan ...

, which includes rails or railways,

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

and

off-road transport Off-road transport is moving people or articles on land without the use of paved roads, typically using off-road vehicles. Off-roading Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials s ...

. Other modes also exist, including pipelines, cable transport, and

space transport Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in o ...

. Human-powered transport and

animal-powered transport The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to animal-powered transport: Animal-powered transport – broad category of the human use of non-human working animals (also known as "beasts of burden") for the mov ...

are sometimes regarded as their own mode, but never fall into the other categories. In general,

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipel ...

is used for moving of people, animals, and other goods from one place to another.

Means of transport Means of transport are transport facilities used to carry people or cargo. __NOTOC__ Examples for means of transport for land transport * Automobiles *Bicycles *Carriages * Pack animals * Riding animals * Rickshaws * Trains * Trucks * Vehicles * ...

, on the other hand, refers to the transport facilities used to carry people or cargo according to the chosen mode (animal, vehicle, car, airplane, ship, truck, train and so on and so forth). Each mode of transport has a fundamentally different technological solution, and some require a separate environment. Each mode has its own infrastructure,

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles ( motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles ( trains, trams ...

s, transport operators and

operations Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Animal-powered

Animal-powered transport is the use of

working animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or fo ...

s for the transport of people and/or goods. Humans may use some of the animals directly, use them as

pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft an ...

s for carrying goods, or harness them, alone or in

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...

s, to pull watercraft,

sled A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...

s, or wheeled

Air

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air Aircraft, flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate Lift (force), lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the wing configuration, shape of ...

, typically

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

, is a heavier-than-air flying vehicle, in which the special geometry of the wings generates lift and then lifts the whole vehicle. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

s and military

cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger am ...

. For short distances or in places without runways,

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribute ...

can be operable. (Other types of aircraft, like autogyros and

airships An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In earl ...

, are not a significant portion of air transport.) Air transport is the fastest method of transport, Commercial jets reach speeds of up to and a considerably higher ground speed if there is a jet stream tailwind, while piston-powered general aviation aircraft may reach up to or more. This celerity comes with higher cost and energy use,Swine flu prompts EU warning on travel to the US
''The Guardian.'' April 28, 2009. and aviation's impacts to the environment and particularly the global climate require consideration when comparing modes of transportation. The

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...

(IPCC) estimates a commercial jet's flight to have some 2-4 times the effect on the climate than if the same CO₂ emissions were made at ground level, because of different atmospheric chemistry and

radiative forcing Radiative forcing (or climate forcing) is the change in energy flux in the atmosphere caused by natural or anthropogenic factors of climate change as measured by watts / metre2. It is a scientific concept used to quantify and compare the exter ...

effects at the higher altitude.IPCC, ''Aviation and the Global Atmosphere: A Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change'' (2000), Cambridge University Press
/ref> U.S. airlines alone burned about 16.2 billion gallons of fuel during the twelve months between October 2013 and September 2014. WHO estimates that globally as many as 500,000 people at a time are on planes. The global trend has been for increasing numbers of people to travel by air, and individually to do so with increasing frequency and over longer distances, a dilemma that has the attention of climate scientists and other researchers, the press, and the World Wide Web. The issue of impacts from frequent travel, particularly by air because of the long distances that are easily covered in one or a few days, is called hypermobility and has been a topic of research and governmental concern for many years.

Human powered

Human powered transport, a form of sustainable transportation, is the transport of people and/or goods using

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

muscle-power, in the form of

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

. Modern

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

has allowed machines to enhance human power. Human-powered transport remains popular for reasons of cost-saving,

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leis ...

physical exercise Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...

, and

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment (biophysical), environment, par ...

; it is sometimes the only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions. Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the transport can be enhanced through the use of roads, especially when using the human power with vehicles, such as bicycles and

inline skates Inline skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates typically have two to five wheels arranged in a single line. Some, especially those for recreation, ...

. Human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as snow and water, by

watercraft rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to