Q.A Pune-based manufacturer of glass showpieces has received a large, urgent export order from a customer in another country who needs the fragile, high-value goods delivered within three days. Road and rail options would take over two weeks and involve multiple handling points that risk breakage. Which mode of transport should the manufacturer choose, and what factors support this choice?

False — air transport is the costliest, not the cheapest, mode.

Each mode of transport has its own features. Air transport is the fastest mode and is best suited for carrying light, valuable or perishable goods over long distances, but its operating and freight costs are very high, making it the most expensive mode of transport. In contrast, water transport is generally the cheapest mode, especially for heavy and bulky goods carried over long distances, though it is slow.

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The correct option is Road transport, the only mode that offers true door-to-door service.

Transport creates place utility by carrying goods and people from one place to another. Different modes suit different needs, but they differ greatly in flexibility.

Road transport uses vehicles like trucks, tempos and vans that can travel on a network of roads reaching almost every village, street and building. Because a vehicle can move directly from the seller's premises to the buyer's premises, road transport is the only mode that provides genuine door-to-door (doorstep) service without loading and unloading at fixed points.

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In India railways are a public utility service owned and managed by the government, not by private companies or individuals.

Rail transport in India is a nationalised service. It is controlled by the Central Government through the Ministry of Railways and the Railway Board.

• It provides cheap, safe and bulk long-distance carriage of passengers and goods. …