A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports, and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, airports, seaports, and truck terminals, or combinations of these. For private transport by car, the parking lot functions as an unimodal hub.
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route, and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of which kinds of transport are included, and air travel is often not thought of when discussing public transport—dictionaries use wording like "buses, trains, etc." Examples of public transport include city buses, trolleybuses, trams (or light rail), rapid transit (metro/subway/underground, etc.) and passenger trains and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail. High-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world.
Most public transport systems run along fixed routes with set embarkation/disembarkation points to a prearranged timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway (e.g., "every 15 minutes" as opposed to being scheduled for a specific time of the day). However, most public transport trips include other modes of travel, such as passengers walking or catching bus services to access train stations. Share taxis offer on-demand services in many parts of the world, which may compete with fixed public transport lines, or complement them, by bringing passengers to interchanges. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service.
Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination.
One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g., from ship transport to road transport), known as transloading. Another reason is to combine small shipments into a large shipment (consolidation), or the opposite: dividing a large shipment into smaller shipments (deconsolidation). Transshipment usually takes place in transport hubs. Much international transshipment also takes place in designated customs areas, thus avoiding the need for customs checks or duties, otherwise a major hindrance for efficient transport.
A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger information systems; less busy stops may use a simple pole and flag to mark the location. Bus stops are, in some locations, clustered together into transport hubs allowing interchange between routes from nearby stops and with other public transport modes to maximise convenience.
Beijing, as the capital and one of the four municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a transport hub, with a sophisticated network of roads, railways and two major airports. Six completed ring roads encircle the city with nine expressways heading in virtually all compass directions, supplemented by eleven China National Highways.
Transport in the capital is overseen by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.
An integrated transport network is a transport system that allows travellers to have a seamless, rapid public transport experience. Journeys are optimised to have as little interchange as possible, services are scheduled to minimise waiting times, and ticketing or other administrative tasks are reduced to the minimum. The concept may be applied to single transport modes or to combinations.
Clapham Junction (/ˈklæpəm ˈdʒʌŋkʃən/) is a major railway station near St John's Hill in south-west Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It lies 2 miles 57 chains (2.71 mi; 4.37 km) from London Victoria and 3 miles 74 chains (3.93 mi; 6.32 km) from London Waterloo. Despite its name, Clapham Junction is not in Clapham, a district 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-east.
A major transport hub, Clapham Junction station is on both the South West Main Line and Brighton Main Line, as well as numerous other routes and branch lines which pass through or diverge from the main lines at this station. It serves as a southern terminus of both the Mildmay and Windrush lines of the London Overground.