Disadvantages Of Multimodal Transport
As a way of promoting the advancement of national and international operations, transportation systems introduced a new transport level that proves crucial to businesses. Multimodal transportation is a means of transportation that delivers goods by incorporating several methods of transportation under one operator. The different modes of transportation such as road, railway, water, and air are combined depending on particular situations and the task, particularly to different continents. The concept traces its origin in the 1950s after the development of use of containers by McLean. Despite the numerous advantages ripped by its utilization, mediating such a system experiences numerous disadvantages.
Multimodal transportation leads to a monopoly of the transport industry. Multimodal transportation is efficient and effective through the utilization of various services such as information communication technology, infrastructure development, security and market access to make it run commendable. However, its introduction results in unduly restraining of competition by various transport entities, as it requires high capital investments and increased workforce to operationalize it. Hence, it causes minimal transport companies to afford to invest in different modes of transportation under one corporation. Therefore, such a transport venture end up benefiting large private firms or the government who eventually push out small businesses from the transportation business, thus killing the competitive nature of the industry and causing their monopoly.
The mode of transportation elicits difficulty in receiving cooperative agreements. The multimodal transportation system presents a lack of uniformed systems of determining liability, as the system comprises of different modes of transportation, guided by different laws. Thus, multimodal transportation faces numerous challenges as the introduction of transportation laws that considers this mode of transportation as a single entity are impossible. Instead, it is treated as different transport modes, where different liability and limitation measures and legal presidents are introduced. Consequently, the different laws, liability and restriction measures, makes it difficult for the multimodal transport method to achieve agreements due to constant disagreements and challenges in incorporating different laws and agreements of various means of transportation together.
The multimodal transport system leads to loss of jobs. Directing the movement of goods from one area to another at a reasonable price and at the designated time is a huge challenge to businesses particularly in the transport industry. It is because high amounts of finances and facilitates are required to ensure that the different modes of transportation that make up the multimodal transportation, work efficiently, at a low cost while remitting profits. Thus, for such businesses to maximize their profits, they result in computerizing most of their activities, thereby eliminating the need for some employees, consequently, resulting in numerous layoffs.
Combining of different modes of transportation to make multimodal transport method results in combining weaknesses of various methods of transportation, leading to the increase in the complication of the system that can prove difficult to solve. Each method of transportation experiences different challenges from others. Hence, the use of multimodal transportation elicits the onset of these different challenges altogether under one system, thereby causing problems such as delays, loss of products and losses as compared to when dealing with a single mode of transportation. For instance, sea transportation is preferred for products such as fuel products from different continents. However, if an accident were to occur at sea, not only would losses occur but environmental pollution as well that would affect the entire operation. Consequently, causing the usage of more resources to identify and implement solutions.
In conclusion, the concept of multimodal transportation elicits numerous setbacks. Its disadvantages include monopolizing the industry thereby destroying the spirit of competitiveness, difficulty in making cooperative agreements, loss of jobs and increasing the likelihood of combined weaknesses that creates problems.
