Transportation in Surea
Transportation in Surea has a highly developed and sophisticated transport network, encompassing both public and private transport and infrastructure spending has been large. About 90% of the daily journeys are on public transport, making it one of the highest in the world.
A major growth and expansion in the transportation sector is experienced in Surea since 1955 and especially since the early 1980s. Airports, roads, and railway construction will provide a massive employment boost in Surea over the next decade.
Rail transport
- see also: Shinsusen
In Surea, railways are a major means of passenger transportation, especially for mass and high-speed transport between major cities and for commuter transport in metropolitan areas. Railway services are operated by private rail companies, regional governments, and companies funded by both regional governments and private companies. Surean trains are also famous for always being on time. Five stations (Tsusawa Station, Meguzawa Station, Chiwon Station, Heitsuji Station, and Ito Station) serve more than a million passengers each on an average day, making Surea one of the most railway using nation per capita.
Subway systems are avaiable in all metropolitan cities and special cities while monorail systems are avaiable in all urban and suburban areas. A flat fare of 300 yun ($3.00) with unlimited transfers applies to all lines. Children less than 1.2m in height ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
All lines now collect fares through automatic fare collection (AFC) machines that accept single-ride tickets and T-Card, an integrated circuit card (ICC card) that can store credit for multiple rides. Riders can purchase tickets and add credit to T-Card at ticket counters and vending machines in every station. T-Card is also accepted on all city buses.
Shinsusen are the high speed trains in Surea and they are known as the bullet trains. About 38 Shinsusen trains operate in 5 main lines and 2 mini lines daily. The fastest shinsusen trains are the 700S series and 500S series, which operate at a maximum speed of 330 km/h. Shinsusen trains are known to be very punctual. A train is recorded as late if it does not arrive at the specified time. In 2006, the average delay per train on the Geidu Shinsusen was 12 seconds.
Rail transport in Surea, with the exception of Shinsusen, are usually divided into Local, Limited Express, and Express services. Local rails stops at every stations, while Express stops only at major stations. Limited Express stops at major stations and 1-3 other stations in between 2 major stations. Foreigners who are not aware about the difference of these services usually ended up at the wrong stations.
Buses
Local services
Virtually all towns in Surea of all sizes are served by regional bus service. Regional routes are classified as Gōshu basu (高速バス, "high speed" express bus) or komyuta basu (コミュータバス, commuter bus) with Gōshu buses operating over the longer distances and making the fewest (if any) stops en route. Komyuta buses typically operate over shorter distances, are somewhat slower, and make more stops. Gōshu buses are blue in colour and Komyuta buses are yellow.
Bus rapid transit
BRT served as the main bus service for large cities in Surea. BRT comprised of two different routes, district and inter-districts. BRTs that run within the district are green in colour while inter-district BRTs are red.
Roads
Roads in large cities of Surea are technically divided into 3 major lanes. The outer lane is for bicycles usage, middle lane is for cars and other vehicles, and the inner lane (between the two sides of traffic) is for buses and taxis.
Highways in Surea are classified as expressways. Almost all expressways are toll highways, and most of the expressways are built, maintained and operated by Surea Expressway Corporation (SEC).
The expressway network serves most parts of Surea. Tolls are collected using an electronic toll collection system. SEC also operates service amenities (dining and service facilities) en route.
There are also several privately financed toll roads. Dongbei Expressway, Shidu-Dongdu Expressway, Konggei International Airport Expressway, Hondu-Tengei Expressway, and parts of the Konggei Ring Expressway are wholly privately funded and operated BOT concessions.
Electric Bicycle
Bicycle usage had grown rapidly over the near decade since the Ministry of Industries announced that all imports and local productions of motorcycle were banned for polution control purpose. Bicycles had been replacing motorcycle usages and with the 10 years vehicle policy, motorcycle usage is slowly out of sight. As of March 2009, there are no more usage of motorcycle seen in any part of the nation.
Surea is one of the world's leading importer of electric bicycles. According to the data of the Bureau of National Development and Transportation, in 2004 Surea sold 3.5 million electric bicycles, which was almost twice the year 2003 sales. Sales reached 6 million in 2005, and 8 to 10 million in 2006. By 2007, electric bicycles were thought to make up 30 to 40 percent of all two-wheeled vehicles on the streets of every major cities (50 percent in suburban and rural area). A typical unit requires 8 hours to charge the battery, which provides the range of 25-30miles (40-50km), at the speed of around 20km/h.
Waterways
There are 1770 km of Waterways in Surea; seagoing craft play all coastal inland seas.
The sixteen major seaports designated as special important ports by Ministry of Industries include Chiwon, Morisaga, Lekong, Burekai, Suyu, Kenga, Kongkai, Luzaki, Beizugu, Shohinata, Sakong, Miyubi, Fuzunaga, Shikami, Satawa and Mamutu.
Surea has 586 ships of with a volume of 1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over. There are 99 bulk ships, 37 cargo ships, 12 chemical tankers, 20 combination bulk, 4 with combination of ore and oil, 25 container, 45 liquefied gas, 9 passenger, 2 passenger and cargo combination ships, 201 petroleum tankers, 19 refrigerated cargo, 44 roll-on/roll-off ships, 9 short-sea passenger, and 60 vehicle carriers (2001 est.).
Ferries connect Gisu to Honpura and Kenpura. They also connect other smaller islands and the main islands. The scheduled international passenger routes are to China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Coastal and cross-channel ferries on the main islands decreased in routes and frequencies following the development of bridges and expressways but some are still operating (as of 2008.)
Air transports
Surea has many airports. The main international gateways are Konggei International Airport (Konggei/Chiwon/Takajima area), Hondu International Airport (Hondu/Mizuigata/Suyu/Senmori area) and Kandong International Airport (Bintamalu/Luzaki area). The main domestic hub is Jundu International Airport; other major traffic hubs include Tengei International Airport, Shidu Airport, and Jokong Airport. 10 heliports are estimated to exist (2003).
The two main airlines are Dragonfly Airways and Surea Airlines. Other passenger carriers include low cost carrier airlines such as SkyAsia and Skyblue Travel.
Domestic air travel in Surea has historically been highly regulated. From 1983, the two major domestic airlines (SAL and SkyAsia) were allocated certain routes. SAL also had a flag-carrier monopoly on international routes until 1992. Airfares were set by the government until 2004, although carriers had freedom to adjust the standard fares starting in 2002 (where discounts of up to 50% were permitted). Today, fares can be set by carriers, but the government retains the ability to veto fares that are impermissibly high.