A regional transportation network is used to represent mainly interurban traffic. This could be useful to assess toll roads. Trips usually cover medium to long distances.

A regional transportation network is used to represent mainly interurban traffic. This could be useful to assess toll roads. Trips usually cover medium to long distances.

In air transportation, since the seat costs of small acft is normally higher than those of larger ones, there is either a need for higher fares or subsidies. In Brasil state governments reduce fuel taxes, and thus lower fares, to stimulate demand. And, of course, using regional transportation networks not only as O/D operations per se, but also as a feeder for larger carriers.

Great question. I think we need to be clear what we mean by regional transportation. Suppose we have a large country divided into regions. There is transport within and between these regions. Within a region, the ideal is to gather material and consolidate it for transport to the rest of the country / world. For example in North America the Plains Region produces crops that are assembled and forwarded -- for example, gathering material into Winnipeg and subsequent transport to the Great Lakes might be a form of regional funnel to bring wheat to the rest of the Lake system (including the East Coast if we include transport by the St. Lawrence Seaway). The role of regional transport in this case then would be funnel material and move it to places where there is demand to meet the supply. The quality of the transport network will determine whether or not it is feasible to bring the supply from source region to demand in the receiving region. If the infrastructure is deficient, the cost of moving the material may exceed the value from the expected price obtained in the destination.

Then we have issue of inter-regional transport -- if we have regional specialization and certain materials are to be traded from one region to another, we need inter-regional links. Could be by waterway, river, rail, highway.

Some major problems occur when there is a breakdown / flaw in regional connection -- so there are I believe periodic blockages when there are floods, or capacity limits, or excess material trying to push in to the limited linkage.

Morton E. O'Kelly thank you, inter-and-intra regional transportation was something I did not consider, but now I see the need to look at the question in light of this.

The major purpose of the regional transport network is to provide transport services to all settlements, enterprises and residents of this region.

Olexandr Polishchuk , thank you.

Transportation systems, like most infrastructure, is created to facilitate development. But, if transportation facilities and services are well-designed and well-executed, land prices near highway interchanges and transit stations goes up in price. This chases development away to cheaper, but more remote sites. When infrastructure is extended to these remote developments, the cycle repeats, chasing development even further away. The resulting urban sprawl is bad for the environment. It is bad for government budgets (due to the wasteful and expensive duplication of infrastructure). And, it is bad for the private sector that loses productivity due to inefficient land use patterns.

Policies to make regional transportation systems more effective and efficient would include:

* Distance- and congestion-based roadway user charges;

* Performance-based parking fees; and

* Land value return.

These policies create incentives for more compact land use which facilitates more efficient and effective transportation facilities and services.

Transport and mobility dynamics can vary greatly depending on the economic and social characteristics of the region. In this sense, the following article explains this phenomenon more in depth: Li, B., Gao, S., Liang, Y., Kang, Y., Prestby, T., Gao, Y., & Xiao, R. (2020). Estimation of regional economic development indicator from transportation network analytics. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-15.

Francisco Alonso thank you.

I think that:

In the era in which the power of now is confused with the immediate satisfaction of any need, regional transport networks (interconnected) become a global network. A global, air, maritime, land and communications tool in charge of creating the propitious scenario for the economic development of the territories. Although the result usually continues being the imbalance between regions.

And often ignoring development alternatives unrelated to transport and more in line with environmental sustainability scenarios.

Maybe there is 'another' but not so opaque real purpose of developing, increasing and growing-update transportation networks. Because this is another industry itself.

I agree with the answers provided by Mr. Rybeck, Mr. Alonso, and Mr. O'Kelly.

Well developed transport system is a harbinger of development be it at the rural, urban, regional, national or global scale. However, the focus of transport development at each scale differs as policy makers always endeavor to create a directional alignment of what need a proposed transport system is designed for. At the regional level, transport system are usually designed to connect different growth poles into a singular seamless flow of goods and resources. The growth poles which could be provincial headquarters/state capitals or national capitals (for example capitals of member states of SADC) are linked together in seamless phalanx of highly connected hub of development. Such regional hub of densely connected transport network system is in Western Europe (Germany, France, Holland and Belgium).

Adeyinka Ajayi , thank you for your answer.

You are welcome.