Transport systems

It is morning and Lina is going to school. Lina lives here. The school is here. Lina cycles to school. She uses her muscle power to transport her where she is going.

How does she cause herself to move forward? The power of Lina's muscles goes to the pedals, then to the cycle chain, then to the rear wheel. At the centre of the rear wheel sit cogs that work as gears. They make the wheel turn and the bike moves forward. The bike is a technical system for transportation.

But what happens? A puncture in the front tyre! Lina needs to take the bus instead. Now let's see. When does the next bus come?

In the morning, the buses run frequently. Good, then she doesn’t have to wait so long. Somebody has obviously been thinking about these timetables. And where the bus stops should be. Public transport is also a technical system for transportation.

Here comes the bus! Lina puts her bus card against the ticket reader to pay. The ticket reader is also a technical system. But not only that. It's also part of an economic system.

If the ticket costs too much, nobody wants to go by bus anymore. But if it costs too little, the money is not enough for the bus driver's salary, and fuel for the bus engine, and maintenance. Yes the bus engine. How does that work? The bus Lina travels on has a diesel engine.

The fuel is injected and ignited in the engine. The power of this reaction is transferred through the gearbox to the wheels, and makes the bus move forward. The bike, the bus, and the ticket reader are technical systems. Together with many other systems they are part of the transport system. Where is everybody going?

Why is there so much traffic? In the morning, Lina is not the only one going somewhere. Others also go to school. Their parents go to work. Later this afternoon everyone will go home.

Then there will be a lot of traffic again. The time in between will be quite calm. Maybe not so calm though. It’s not only people who are transported: goods are moved from places where they are manufactured to places where they are to be sold. Will Lina get to school on time?

The bus that Lina travels on is driving on a street with a lot of traffic. Therefore there are several lanes here. Look, now Lina's bus goes into a lane where only buses can go. Then it comes to a traffic light. The network of roads with different numbers of lanes, lanes reserved for buses, and traffic lights are all parts of the transport system.

A system designed to make Lina and everyone else able to move around as smoothly as possible. Oh, how long are we having to wait for this traffic light? It just seems to stay red! Wouldn't it be good if it turned green every time a bus came? Now it’s turned yellow and green!

Lina finally got to school. First, she used the bike, then the bus. The bike and the bus are technical systems. On public transport, Lina paid for her ticket, and was part of a economic system. Timetables and bus routes are examples of administrative systems.

The traffic light is also a technical system. Several traffic lights together form a traffic signal system. It can be programmed so that traffic flows as smoothly as possible. All these systems: technical, economic and administrative together form a larger coherent system: the transport system. So many systems Lina was involved in without even thinking about it!