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 50 yun 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 Jungsendo Shinsusen was 12 seconds.

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 rapit 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
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.

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/Mizuihata/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.