Features of terminology for transportation involving several modes of transport

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the content of professional terms that are used to characterize various methods of transport operations by Several Modes of transport. The species and substantive unification of the conceptual items in the sphere under consideration is of great practical importance, since for each type of transportation special requirements and special conditions must be observed. However, at present, domestic and foreign regulatory documents and professional standards do not have an agreed system and conceptual certainty with esteem to special terms that are used in industry standards and official policy documents at the national and international levels. The aim of the work is to study the features of the interpretation and use in domestic and foreign practices of special terms on transport operations by Several Modes of transport, to develop recommendations for further improvement of the definition of transport terms and their systematics. In the course of the study, universal methods of scientific knowledge were used, including the study of the structural and content characteristics of the following terms: mixed, multimodal, intermodal, combined, comodal and synchromodal transportation. At the same time, organizational and technological factors of transport operations by Several Modes of transport were taken into account. Particular attention was given to the relationships and interrelations between the various types of mixed transport. The study found that the concept of «multimodal transport» is the most generalizing term for all types of transport, in the implementation of which two or more modes of transport are used. The term «multimodal transportation» in the regulatory documents of individual countries and interregional communities has various interpretations. Therefore, recommendation to clarify the existing classification model of the concept of «mixed transports». For the developed system of types and varieties of mixed transports, it is advisable to unify transport terms. The analysis did not reveal the basis for classifying synchromodal transport as an independent category of mixed transports. The main feature of synchromodal transportation is the use of an innovative model for organizing information interaction between participants in the transportation process. In this case, synchromodal transport can be organized in the form of both direct and mixed transports. The results of the study can be used to further improve the theoretical approaches to the typology of mixed transports, forregulating the existing and developing new criteria for classifying transportation, as well as to unify transport terminology at the international level.

Keywords

• multimodal transport
• intermodal transport
• combined transport
• comodality
• synchromodal transport