Why we travel
People travel for many reasons. Children go to school, adults go to work, families visit relatives, and people go on holiday or to see a doctor. A school or a workplace that is far away needs a vehicle to reach it. Transport also moves goods. Food, clothes, furniture and fuel travel from farms and factories to shops and homes, so people can have things that are made or grown far away. Transport also helps people trade. In Egypt people travel in many ways: on foot, by bicycle, by tuk-tuk, by microbus and bus, by metro in Cairo, by tram in Alexandria, by train, by taxi, by ferry or felucca on the Nile, and by aeroplane. The best way depends on how far we go, how many people travel, how much it costs, and how soon we must arrive. A journey takes time. For example, a 10-minute walk and then a 15-minute bus ride make 10 + 15 = 25 minutes in all.
| Reason | Who | How |
|---|---|---|
| school | Mariam | by bus |
| visit relatives | Karim’s family | by train |
| bring vegetables to a shop | a farmer | by truck |
How do we travel? Ask ten children in your class how they come to school. Record the answers with tally marks, add up the totals, and draw a bar graph. Then pick one journey you make, for example to school or to visit relatives. Write the reason for the trip, the ways you could travel, and which one is best and why. If your journey has two parts, such as a walk and a bus ride, write the time of each part and add them. A grown-up checks that you cross roads safely.