A transport hub or transport interchange is a location where passengers and cargo are exchanged across several mode of transport. Hubs make out the center of spoke-hub distribution paradigms, allowing passengers and cargo to be transported from one place to another without a direct service. Some transportation hubs also allow transport to be exchanged between the same mode of transport, while others allow transport to change mode, permitting the operator to take advantage of several modes’ strong sides.

Many types of hub exist; in public transport this includes train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips, while in private transport the parking lot functions as a hub. In freight transport hubs are classification yards, seaports and truck terminals, or combinations of these.

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Public transport

The nature of public transport makes it necessary for people to change transport modes throughout the journey. The first hub a passenger often will come across is a bus stop where one changes from pedestrian to bus. But often public transport is built around a network of different transportation methods, each serving different functions with varying frequencies, distances, speeds and stopping patterns. Typical transportation hubs in public transport include bus stations, railway stations and metro stations.


Interior of South Station, a major MBTA, Amtrak and Greyhound transportation hub in Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Modern electronic Passenger information systems and journey planners require a detailed digital representation of the stops and Transportation hubs including their Topology. Public transport data information standards such as Transmodel and IFOPT have been developed to provide a common terminology, conceptual models and data exchange formats to allow the economic, large scale collection and distribution of stop and interchange data.

Airports

Main article: Airline hub

Airports have a twofold hub function. First of all they make it possible to concentrate a lot of passenger traffic from large areas into one place so the airlines have a good market. This makes it important for airports to be connected to the surrounding transport infrastructure, including roads, bus services and some places also railway and rapid transit systems.

Secondly some airports also function as intra-modular hubs for the airlines, or airline hubs. This is a common strategy among network airlines who fly only from limited number of airports and usually will make their customers change planes at one of their hubs if they want to get between two cities the airline doesn’t fly directly between. Airlines have extended the hub-and-spoke model in various ways. One method is to create additional hubs on a regional basis, and to create major routes between the hubs. This reduces the need to travel long distances between nodes that are close together. Another method is to use focus cities to implement point-to-point service for high traffic routes, bypassing the hub entirely.

History

In 1955 Delta Air Lines pioneered the hub and spoke system at its hub in Atlanta, Georgia, in an effort to compete with Eastern Air Lines. In the mid-1970s FedEx adopted the hub and spoke model for overnight package delivery, and after the airline industry was deregulated in 1978, Delta’s hub and spoke paradigm was annexed by several airlines.

Freight

One of the most important transportation hubs is freight hubs. There are usually three kinds: sea-road, sea-rail and road-rail, though they can also be sea-road-rail. This is because the three main freight transport modes each have their own separate advantages concerning price, barriers and distribution. With the growth of containerization, intermodal freight transport has become more efficient, often making multiple lags cheaper than through services—increasing the use of hubs.

References

  1. ^ Delta Air Lines. “Delta through decades”.

See also

  • Junction (traffic)
  • Intermodal Journey Planner
  • Layover

v • d • e

Public transport

Bus

Bus rapid transit • Express bus • Paratransit • Public light bus • Trolleybus

Rail

Cable railway • Commuter rail • Heavy rail • Heritage railway • Heritage streetcar • High-speed rail • Inter-city rail • Interurban • Light rail • Maglev • Medium capacity system • Monorail • People mover • Personal rapid transit • Rapid transit • Rubber-tyred metro • Tram • Tram-train

Car/Carriage

Auto rickshaw • Carsharing • Cycle rickshaw • Hackney carriage • Horsecar • Horse-drawn vehicle • Motorcycle taxi • Rickshaw • Share taxi • Taxicab • Vehicle for hire

Water transport

Cable ferry • Ferry • Hovercraft • Hydrofoil • Water taxi

Locations

Bus bulb/boarder • Bus garage • Bus lane • Bus stand • Bus station • Bus stop • Bus terminus • Bus turnout • Hub • Interchange station • Kassel kerb • Layover • Metro station • Park and ride • Queue jump • Taxicab stand • Train station • Tram stop

Revenue/Fares

Bus advertising • Contract of carriage • Dead mileage • Farebox recovery ratio • Free travel pass • Manual fare collection • Proof-of-payment • Transit fares • Transit pass • Zero-fare public transport

Scheduling

Public transport timetable • On-time performance • Vehicle tracking system

Other

Boarding • Hail and ride • Headsign • Request stop • Rollsign

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Categories: Transportation