Sober Thought transportation
Transport infrastructure and the transportation industry are essential if the Sober Thought economy is to prosper. Modes of transport exist in all three environments, viz. land, sea and air.
As in the real world, intermodal transportation is facilitated by the adoption of standard sizes of containers carried by ships, railways and transport trucks. The same container can be loaded sealed and intact without repackaging from one transportation mode to the next. Pending the adoption of a regional or NS UN standard, Sober Thought uses the Six Metre Equivalent or SME and Twelve Metre Equivalent or SME as its main physical and notional containers. The former's external measurements are 6 m long by 2.5 m wide by 3 m tall, its external volume 45 m3 and its capacity 15 tonnes; and the latter's 12x2.5x3 m, 90 m3) and 30 tonnes.
Land transport
Main articles: Sober Thought highways, SIAM and STferro.
The earliest and simplest way to get around is to walk. Over time, the most popular routes -- those to freshwater, shelter and sources of food -- become worn into the ground as trails. When the wheel is invented and draught animals harnessed, these trails prove inadequate and must be turned into proper roads.
City roads have lots of bicycles on them because they are one of the most efficient means of transportation ever invented, and have the side benefit of promoting physical fitness. Sober Thought had for a time prohibited motor vehicles in favour of bicycles and public transit as the result of a daily issue.
Since then, the Sober Thought government lifted the ban but cars must meet strict pollution standards and drivers must bear the full cost of their automobiles by a steep "carbon tax." While much smaller than most of its RL and RP counterparts, the automotive manufacturing sector is important in Sober Thought, most notably at SIAM. Public transit inside city limits -- through subway tunnels, along tramlines or on bus routes -- is reliable and cheap, since the carbon tax falls very lightly on efficient modes of transportation.
Between cities, autoroutes or motorways connect all major cities and most minor settlements with one another. Those bearing a "C" prefix are maintained in part by the federal government, and those "P" by provincial governments alone. The main branches of this network are integrated into the International Democratic Union-wide "I" highway system.
STferro, the government operated rail carrier, is responsible for national rail lines, and the cargo and passenger traffic on them. The basic network is supplemented by spur lines and short track railways operated by individual provinces or private enterprises.
Water transport
Main articles: STaqua and CDF Naval Service#Naval Reserve.
Water transport was initially easier than land transportation because the "roads" -- actually oceans, lakes and navigable rivers -- did not have to be built in order to be used. However, as boats grew into full-fledged ships, waterways like canals, harbours and locks had to be built. Combined with a variable length shipping season, water transport was eventually overtaken again by land transport and even by the young upstart of air transportation.
Nevertheless, today ferries move passengers and vehicles to and from Bristle Island, Potato Island and the lesser islands of the country. Great ocean going ships move bulk and container cargoes abroad, and large cruise ships take tourists onto the high seas. The state-owned and -operated STaqua is active in all of these endeavours, and dominates in passenger ferries.
The shipbuilding industry only survives because of the demands of the national navy. However, with the assurance of a steady stream of orders from the Naval Service, shipyards are able to build ferries, transports, cruise ships and pleasure boats of all sizes to satisfy the domestic civilian market. In keeping with the IDU industrial free trade agreement, Sober Thought's neighbours are free to bid on these projects as well, and its shipyards to export throughout the region.
Most RL and some RP nations have a coast guard, but Sober Thought does not. Instead, these functions are exercised directly by the Community Defence Forces and more specifically the CDF Naval Service and CDF Air Service. CDF maritime patrol aircraft fly over sealanes and are on the alert for ship mishaps and unauthorised vessels. CDF naval utility helicopters, whether on shore or aboard ships, are able to conduct search and rescue operations from the air. The mainstay of the unarmed coast guard vessels are cutters, are especially well equipped to help mariners in distress. Cutters, built on frigate hulls but with much less armament and armour, may be supplemented by more overtly warlike vessels like patrol boats, small craft tenders and frigates.
Air transport
Main articles: CommunitAir, CDF strategic air transport and CDF Air Service#Air Reserve.
This is the most expensive environment in which to travel and the last one to be exploited because it requires so much technical expertise. It is hard on nature because even the most efficient propeller or jet aircraft consume vast quantities of fuel, sonic booms by jets disturb animals, and paved runways and sprawling airports cover the land.
Nevertheless, it is faster than any other mode of transport and can be efficient when it serves outlying settlements. About a third of all air travel is done on CommunitAir, the state's flagship carrier. Other private sector airlines operate on a regional or provincial basis.
Like their seagoing counterparts, the aerospace industry relies on defence (broadly construed) and government contracts to survive. Certain products have dual capabilities, such as the air transport and refuelling series. The largest jetliners, the Aerotrain 500 and A-300, are used on the major routes linking the provincial and national metropoleis. With only small changes, these same jet aircraft bear the military designations T-62 Tommy and T-63 Tummy strategic transport aircraft.
Smaller routes support the A-50 regional jet and the A-20 executive jet, the military models being known as the T-61 Timmy and T-60 Tammy, respectively. For routes in the barrens, and for landing strips with unpaved runways, pilots prefer the very reliable and robust propeller-driven Sober Thought Air Industries Pegasus, so named for its role as an airborne workhorse. Its military designation is the T-40 Taavi, which is also fitting because it serves the Scandinavian-settled Kyrkje Fjell Land of Jarvet and it means "David" in Finnish.
Disregarding the passengers and solid cargo carried above, the next most common use for air transport is to move fuel itself. The A-3F and A-5F, tanker versions of the A-300 and A-500, move large quantities of fuel to places where pipelines and oil freighters cannot reach or are not economical. Their military designations are TL-62 Toulouse and TL-63 Tuileries.
