The porters were usually the women, probably because the men had to be
ready to beat off attacks by wild beasts or enemies. Even now; to carry the
household goods is the job of women in back, ward wandering tribes.
The next step was the use of pack animals for carrying goods. The kind of
animal used varied in different places, but the general idea was the same -
the bundles or baskets were carried by the animals on their backs. The dog,
although too small to carry much, was probably one of the first transport
animals used because it is so easily trained. Dogs are still to be trained for
dragging sledges in the Arctik because of their light weight.
2. The next advance in land transport came with the invention of the
wheel. The wheel at once led to the development of two-wheeled carts and
four-wheeled waggons and carriages, but before these could be used for
carrying goods over long distances, a system of roads was necessary.
These roads had to be wide enough to take a cart and paved, for unless
their surface was paved the wheels sank in and the cart stuck. In Britain,
and also over much Europe, the first long-distance paved roads were made
by the Romans, chiefly so that troops could be marched without delay from
place to place. The roads made it possible to use wheeled
traffic. However, when the Roman Empire collapsed, the roads gradually
got in to a very bad state.
3. There were two problems to be solved - first, how to make good
roads, and, second, to decide who was to pay for them. In Great Britain
these problems were solved in the 18th century. Stretches of roads were
handed over to groups called trusts. The trusts borrowed money for repair
ing and improving the roads, paying it back from the sums they collected
from road users. This method of paying for new roads and bridges is still
used, especially in the United States. Then it became possible to travel
rather comfortably by coaches. In cities like London, rich people had their
own carriages, while poor people went on horseback or walked. Then
appeared carriages that could be hired for short distances. They correspond
to the modern taxis. The word is short for "taxi cab" which in turn comes
from the words taximeter and cabriolet. A cabriolet is a light twowheeled
carriage introduced from France .in the 19th century. The taximeter is a
mechanical device connected with the wheels which, by measuring the
distance travelled, shows the fare due at any moment. It is also controlled
by a clock so that waiting time too is charged for.
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