Transport Geography Quiz: 20 Questions on Networks and Mobility

Correct answer: Dots are nodes; lines are links.

Nodes represent locations such as stations or terminals. Links connect those locations. Flows are the passengers, freight or vehicles moving through the network, rather than the lines themselves. The diagram simplifies a physical system into connected places.

Correct answer: 50 miles (80 km).

The train must follow A–B–C, so its network distance is 30 + 20 = 50 miles, approximately 80 kilometers. The straight line is not an available rail link. Distances along an actual network depend on which connections exist.

Correct answer: Route B, by 5 minutes.

Route A takes 40 minutes and Route B takes 35 minutes before the equal access and exit times. Waiting is part of the journey. Comparing only the in-vehicle ride would favor the wrong service for this traveler.

Correct answer: It combines demand onto shared flights but makes many trips depend on the hub.

A hub can combine passengers from several origins onto onward services, helping support routes with thin individual demand. Many passengers then need a connection. Disruption at the shared hub can affect journeys between otherwise distant parts of the network.

Correct answer: Derived demand: freight movements depend on demand for another activity.

These freight trips exist to move products to buyers. Fewer orders therefore reduce the need for collections. This is derived demand: much transport demand comes from production, consumption or other activities, rather than from a desire for movement itself.

Correct answer: Ships can carry large bulk loads without paying for air transport’s speed.

The shipment values capacity more than rapid delivery. Water transport can consolidate large cargo volumes, whereas air transport’s speed is often valuable for urgent or high-value goods. The actual choice still depends on routes, handling, schedules and quoted costs.

Correct answer: Transferring the load unit between modes without unpacking every item at each transfer.

The container becomes the unit handled by cranes, vehicles and terminals. Its contents usually need not be individually unloaded during a change of mode. Standardization facilitates intermodal transport, but compatible equipment, terminal space and any required inspections still matter.

Correct answer: Maritime transshipment.

The intermediate port transfers the container between vessels in the shipping chain. That is maritime transshipment. It differs from final inland delivery and does not, in this example, involve a change from sea transport to a land mode.

Correct answer: Hinterland: inland markets served; foreland: ports linked by shipping services.

A port’s hinterland is the landward market area from which it draws cargo or to which it distributes cargo. Its foreland concerns maritime connections to other ports. These are functional relationships and need not match administrative borders.

Correct answer: They double.

With the constant, origin population and distance fixed, doubling the remaining population term doubles the model result. This is a conditional model calculation. Actual flows also depend on transport options, behavior and other factors, so the result is not a guaranteed traffic forecast.

Correct answer: Longer voyages tie up ships for more time and can delay deliveries.

A chokepoint can concentrate many flows in a limited passage. If ships use the stated longer detour, each round trip consumes more vessel time. Deliveries and effective carrying capacity can be affected even at ports far from the disruption.

Correct answer: The final distribution from a local depot to individual customers.

Here, the last mile is the final delivery stage. Small loads, many stops and customer delivery requirements make it harder to retain the economies of a consolidated long-distance shipment. The term does not mean the distance is literally one mile.

Correct answer: Vehicles join the queue faster than they can leave through the bottleneck.

The bottleneck limits departures from the queue while arrivals continue at a higher rate. The difference accumulates as waiting vehicles. Congestion is therefore a relationship between demand and available capacity at a particular location and time, not simply a count of lanes.

Correct answer: Induced travel can offset part of the initial time saving; the size of the effect needs evidence.

Lower travel time can encourage additional driving, including different destinations or modes. This induced-travel response can erode initial congestion relief. A busier widened road alone does not measure net induced travel: analysts must also distinguish route shifts and other changes across the network.

Correct answer: Route connections alone do not establish usable access at the required time.

A connection on a network map is not enough if it cannot be used when needed. This worker’s return timetable limits access to the job. Evaluating accessibility requires the relevant opportunities, travel options and personal constraints, not just the presence of routes.

Correct answer: 10% and 2% of income, so the equal fare takes a larger share from the lower-income rider.

The proportions are 60 ÷ 600 = 10% and 60 ÷ 3,000 = 2%. Equal dollar fares can impose unequal budget burdens. This calculation informs an equity assessment, but alone does not establish affordability, discrimination or the best fare policy.

Correct answer: Travel B–A–D–C using the remaining links.

The remaining links form B–A–D–C, preserving a route between the stations. Alternative paths can support resilience when one link fails. Connectivity alone does not show whether the detour has enough capacity or whether it is acceptably quick.

Correct answer: A travel-time catchment for the stated mode and departure time.

The shaded area is a 30-minute isochrone catchment under the stated travel assumptions. Its edge reflects travel time, not a fixed distance radius. A different departure time, service pattern or mode can produce a different reachable area.

Correct answer: Bus: 30 grams per passenger-mile; car: 180 grams per passenger-mile.

Divide each vehicle’s emissions by the passenger-distance it provides: 900 ÷ 30 = 30 and 180 ÷ 1 = 180 grams per passenger-mile. Occupancy changes the comparison. These invented direct-emissions inputs do not establish a universal ranking or include vehicle production, fuel supply and infrastructure.

Correct answer: A feedback between transport access, land use and travel demand.

Transport access can influence where development occurs, and the resulting distribution of homes and activities can reshape travel demand. This is a feedback, not a guarantee that rail investment alone causes growth. Planning rules, markets and other conditions also influence development.