Saturday 27 September 2014

PROPORTION OF ADULTS USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT


PROPORTION OF ADULTS USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO WORK OR STUDY IN THE CAPITAL CITIES OF AUSTRALIA CHANGE BETWEEN 1996 AND 2006.

Years
1996
2000
2003
2006
Change

%  %
%
%
%

 Sydney
23.4
25.0
25.9
26.3
12.4
 Melbourne
13.1
15.9
15.3
17.7
35.1
 Brisbane
14.3
11.6
15.7
17.5
22.4
 Adelaide
12.2
10.6
13.4
14.4
18.0
 Perth
10.5
11.3
10.5
10.7
1.9
 Hobart
12.8
5.2
6.9
10.3
-19.5
 Canberra
11.4
8.2
8.1
7.9
-30.7
Total  
16.3
17.2
17.9
19.1
17.2

The table gives a comparative study of the changes in the use of public transport by adults for work or study in the capital cities of Australia from 1996 to 2006.

Overall, public transport use grew by 17% for all capital cities combined, with Melbourne experiencing the highest growth (35%).  While increased use of public transport is reflected across most capital cities, only Canberra and Hobart experienced a decline in the proportion of adults using it.  In Canberra, public transport use fell by about 31% between 1996 and 2006. While rates of use fluctuated in Hobart over this period, the 2006 rate was around 20% lower than that in 1996.

In 2006, Sydney had the highest level of public transport use, with over one-quarter (26%) using it, whereas Canberra (8%) recorded the lowest level of public transport usage.  Other capital cities that made significant contribution to the public transport use are Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide at 17.7%, 17.5% and 14.4% respectively.

In conclusion, most capital cities in Australia experienced a moderate increase in the use of public transport, but it was only a small proportion compared to other forms of transport.

Friday 26 September 2014

Essay (47) Air Travel and Communication



The 20th century witnessed huge breakthroughs in air travel and communication.  This has brought benefits to many nations through close contact with foreigners at different levels, from tourism to business.  Some people, however, say there were more drawbacks than benefits.  To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Countries have achieved substantial progress in various fields, such as business and tourism as a result of closer international relations through developments in airline sector and electronic communication.  However, we need to examine whether the negative impacts of these developments have outweighed the benefits.

Firstly, frequent flights and cheaper airfares are the latest trends in airline sector, which has boosted tourism in many countries, helping them to reap great economic benefits.  Besides, even areas like mountains and jungle regions have become exotic tourist destinations due to easy accessibility by air. For example, a major income in many African counties and island nations like Singapore is tourism and the main reason is the popularity of air-travel.  Similarly, through developments in internet communication, people now can book their flights and hotels online, which has made travel more convenient and economical.

Furthermore, international businesses have grown tremendously, as executives can conveniently fly to different countries and communicate online to transact businesses.  Another area that has emerged due to the development of modern communication systems is business outsourcing.  For example, many Indian companies like Infosys and Wipro today perform software development and back office jobs for major US firms, through their employees located in Indian cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad. 

However, greater access to people of other countries has also led to certain consequences like internationalisation of criminal activities like terrorism and degradation of the cultures of people in underdeveloped countries.  Nonetheless, these negative aspects have very little significance as individuals and businesses in all countries have greatly benefitted from development of air travel and communication.

In summary, despite certain drawbacks, the growth of air travel and communication systems has definitely helped the comprehensive development of the economies of many countries.