Throughout the history of man on this planet, our main modes of transport have always changed as technology advances. In the very early days, we walked and ran everywhere, but then started to move onto horseback. As civilization became more advanced, we developed mechanical means to move to distant places far quicker.

Modern technology plays a massive influence in our travel plans. A few generations ago, it was quite normal for people to spend the whole of their lives in one small area. In more recent times, many people spend their spare time exploring other countries and continents.

In many countries the train became the first mass transportation system of people hundreds of miles. This opened up many opportunities for people to spend vacations by the coast, or even to move further away from relatives in search of work. Rail travel is still a vital means of transportation in many parts of the world.

Some countries have returned to rail travel as a form of commuter transport to take the pressure off many highways, and some cities have seen the return of trams to carry workers and shoppers to and from the city center.

The largest mass transportation of today is air travel, with an estimated quarter of a million people in the skies over the United States at any one time. As well as these domestic flights, a large part of any airlines profits come from international travel. During the busiest part of the day, a flight is traveling between New York and London, UK four times an hour, resulting in London Heathrow being the busiest international hub airport in the world. As this is only one route, it is easy to see how busy the air systems are across the whole world.

In every economy throughout the world, the automobile has played a major part in every society. At one time, people were tied to timetables provided by the transport networks, but the car enabled everybody to travel where they want and when they wanted. However, with the massive price rises affecting fuel, and the likelihood that fossil fuel will run out at some point, many people may have to return back to public transportation unless a greener option is developed.

The travel arrangements we have today would have seemed like science fiction to people only 100 years ago. Whenever we take a flight, we often travel at over 500 miles an hour, but this might seem quite outdated in the next hundred years. Commercial sightseeing trips into space are planned within the next few years, so it seems hard to imagine the different modes of transport we will have in the future.