Spoke–hub distribution paradigm
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The spoke–hub distribution paradigm is a form of
"Hubbing" involves "the arrangement of a transportation network as a hub-and-spoke model".[2]
Benefits
The hub-and-spoke model, as compared to the point-to-point model, requires fewer routes. For a network of n nodes, only n − 1 routes are necessary to connect all nodes so the upper bound is n − 1, and the complexity is O(n). That compares favourably to the routes, or O(n2), which would be required to connect each node to every other node in a point-to-point network. For example, in a system with 10 destinations, the spoke–hub system requires only 9 routes to connect all destinations, and a true point-to-point system would require 45 routes. However distance traveled per route will necessarily be more than with a point-to-point system (except where the route happens to have no interchange). Therefore, efficiency may be reduced. Conversely, for a same number of aircraft, having fewer routes to fly means each route can be flown more frequently and with higher capacity because the demand for passengers can be resourced from more than just one city (assuming the passengers are willing to change, which will of itself incur its own costs).
Complicated operations, such as package sorting and accounting, can be carried out at the hub rather than at every node, and this leads to economies of scale. As a result of this, spokes are simpler to operate, and so new routes can easily be created.
Drawbacks
In addition, the hub constitutes a bottleneck or single point of failure in the network. The total cargo capacity of the network is limited by the hub's capacity. Delays at the hub (such as from bad weather conditions) can result in delays throughout the network. Cargo must pass through the hub before reaching its destination and so require longer journeys than direct point-to-point trips. That may be desirable for freight, which can benefit from sorting and consolidating operations at the hub, but it is problematic for time-critical cargo, as well as for passengers. The necessity of baggage transfers at the hub also increases the risk of missing luggage, as compared to the point-to-point model.
Commercial aviation
In 1955, Delta Air Lines pioneered the hub-and-spoke system at its hub in
Airlines have extended the hub-and-spoke model in various ways. One method is to create additional hubs on a regional basis and to create major routes between them. That reduces the need to travel long distances between nodes near one another. Another method is to use
Transportation
The spoke–hub model is applicable to other forms of transportation as well:
- Sea transport in which feeder shipstransport shipping containers from different ports to a central container terminal to be loaded onto larger vessels.
- Cargo airlines: most UPS Airlines flights travel through its Worldport at Louisville International Airport, and many FedEx Express parcels are processed at its "SuperHub" at Memphis International Airport.
- Intermodal freightis often loaded from one mode to another at central hubs.
- Public transit uses various transport hubs to allow passengers to transfer between different lines or transportation modes. Often those hubs are intermodal linking buses, trams, local trains, subways and so on.
For passenger
Industrial distribution
The hub-and-spoke model has also been used in economic geography theory to classify a particular type of industrial district. Economic geographer Ann Markusen theorized about industrial districts, with a number of key industrial firms and facilities acting as a hub, with associated businesses and suppliers benefiting from their presence and arranged around them like the spokes of a wheel. The chief characteristic of such hub-and-spoke industrial districts is the importance of one or more large companies, usually in one industrial sector, surrounded by smaller, associated businesses. Examples of cities with such districts include
East Asian relations
In the context of East Asian geopolitics,
This system was inspired by
In April 2014, all ten ASEAN defense chiefs and United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel attended the US–ASEAN Defense Forum in Hawaii. The meeting was the first time the US hosted the forum and was part of a US attempt to get the countries to strengthen military ties between themselves.[6]
See also
- Hub and spokes architecture
- Hubs and nodes
- Roundabout (traffic circle)
- Foreign policy of the United States for an example of international coordination through a third country.
- Ville Radieuse
- Highway dimension
References
- ^ "Delta's Firsts in the Airline Industry".
- ^ "Hubbing". 30 May 2018.
- ^ Delta Air Lines Newsroom - Press Kit. Delta.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.
- JSTOR 3078589.
- S2CID 57566528.
- ^ Keck, Zachary (2 April 2014). "US Swears Asia Pivot Isn't Dead". The Diplomat. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
Further reading
- Badcock, B. A., 2002, Making Sense of Cities: A Geographical Survey, London: Arnold, pp. 63–94.
- Lawrence, H., 2004, "Aviation and the Role of Government", London: Kendall Hunt, pp. 227–230.
- Markusen, A (1996). "Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts". Economic Geography. 72 (3): 293–313. JSTOR 144402.