---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The system of transportation is not…"
description: "\"The system of transportation is not coherent; it is not treated as integral. Roads compete with with railroads and airlines in chaotic fashion, and at ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png"
---

#  The system of transportation is not coherent; it is not…

![“The system of transportation is not coherent; it is not treated as integral. Roads compete with with railroads and airlines in chaotic fashion, and at immense cost to the nation.” quote by Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png)

> “The system of transportation is not coherent; it is not treated as integral. Roads compete with with railroads and airlines in chaotic fashion, and at immense cost to the nation.”

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Transportation is fragmented, with roads, rail, and airlines competing without coordination, causing high costs.

**In simple terms:** Transport systems lack integration, leading to wasteful competition.

Key Takeaway

Promote integrated planning across modes.

Themes

transportation systems efficiency policy cost integration

Mood

frustrated analytical

Type

policy analytical

When to use this quote

- government planning
- infrastructure projects
- budget allocation
- urban development

Key Concepts

systems theory public policy network analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- How can agencies overcome siloed decision making?
- What incentives align different transport modes?

A Different Perspective

Coordination challenges persist due to entrenched interests.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Railroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railroads/) [Transportation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transportation/)

## Related quotes

> [What opened up the American West was the fact that you owned the real estate. You owned the gold mines, the oil wells. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/what-opened-up-the-american-west-was-the-fact-that-you-owned-the-real/)

[Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/)

> [If there were a major earthquake in Los Angeles, with bridges and highways and railroads and airports all shut down and huge buildings collapsing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-rudman/if-there-were-a-major-earthquake-in-los-angeles-with-bridges-and/)

[Warren Rudman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-rudman/)

> [In the first place, Cranford is in possession of the Amazons; all the holders of houses above a certain rent are women. If a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/in-the-first-place-cranford-is-in-possession-of-the-amazons-all-the/)

[Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/)

> [This country has achieved its commercial and financial supremacy under a regime of private ownership. It conquered the wilderness, built our railroads, our factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-b-cortelyou/this-country-has-achieved-its-commercial-and-financial-supremacy/)

George B. Cortelyou

> [A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging loudly and vainly as the train goes by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/a-critic-is-a-gong-at-a-railroad-crossing-clanging-loudly-and-vainly/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [“When you are waiting for a train, don't keep perpetually looking to see if it is coming. The time of its arrival is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-waiting-for-a-train-don-t-keep-perpetually-looking-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You don’t get it, do you?" I said. “It’s not a question of ‘what then’. Some people get a kick out of reading railroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-don-t-get-it-do-you-i-said-it-s-not-a-question-of-what-then-some/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I started composting in 1970 by taking my food scraps out behind where I lived and burying them in a hole next to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/i-started-composting-in-1970-by-taking-my-food-scraps-out-behind/)

[Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/)

> [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [There are two things I don't care how smart you are, you will never understand. One is an alienist's testimony, and the other is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-are-two-things-i-don-t-care-how-smart-you-are-you-will-never/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [It will be hard James but you come from sturdy peasant stock men who picked cotton and dammed rivers and built railroads and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-will-be-hard-james-but-you-come-from-sturdy-peasant-stock-men-who/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

> [“She was fifteen when it occurred to her for the first time that women did not run railroads and that people might object. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-was-fifteen-when-it-occurred-to-her-for-the-first-time-that-women/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“In the early days of the country, before we had railroads, telegraphs and steamboats—in a word, rapid transit of any sort—the States were each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/in-the-early-days-of-the-country-before-we-had-railroads-telegraphs/)

[Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/)

> [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/)

Mother Jones

## More by Anthony Stafford Beer

> [Management problems are not respecters of the company organization, nor of the talents of the people appointed to solve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/management-problems-are-not-respecters-of-the-company-organization/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [Instead of trying to specify a system in full detail, specify it only somewhat. You can then ride on the dynamics of the system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/instead-of-trying-to-specify-a-system-in-full-detail-specify-it-only/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [A slowly moving queue does not move uniformly. Rather, waves of motion pass down the queue. The frequency and amplitude of these waves is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/a-slowly-moving-queue-does-not-move-uniformly-rather-waves-of-motion/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [It is terribly important to appreciate that some things remain obscure to the bitter end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/it-is-terribly-important-to-appreciate-that-some-things-remain/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [The purpose of a system is what it does. There is after all, no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/the-purpose-of-a-system-is-what-it-does-there-is-after-all-no-point/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [Policy-making, decision-taking, and control: These are the three functions of management that have intellectual content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/policy-making-decision-taking-and-control-these-are-the-three/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [The strategies that managers employ are at least as important as the facilities at their disposal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/the-strategies-that-managers-employ-are-at-least-as-important-as-the/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [If cybernetics is the science of control, management is the profession of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/if-cybernetics-is-the-science-of-control-management-is-the-profession/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [It is the concept of likelihood that a real understanding of probability resides, and we must learn how to measure it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/it-is-the-concept-of-likelihood-that-a-real-understanding-of/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [There is, then, a logical priority about the arrangements, and logic has nothing to do with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/there-is-then-a-logical-priority-about-the-arrangements-and-logic-has/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [According to the science of cybernetics, which deals with the topic of control in every kind of system (mechanical, electronic, biological, human, economic, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/according-to-the-science-of-cybernetics-which-deals-with-the-topic-of/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [A stochastic process is about the results of convolving probabilities-which is just what management is about, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/a-stochastic-process-is-about-the-results-of-convolving-probabilities/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [Certain management policies-stretching of credit resources, for example-may lead to great progress in good conditions; but, like the Grand Prix car in comparison with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/certain-management-policies-stretching-of-credit-resources-for/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

> [Too close a view may interfere with one's grasp of an overall problem or concept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/too-close-a-view-may-interfere-with-one-s-grasp-of-an-overall-problem/)

[Anthony Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

[Explore all 15 Anthony Stafford Beer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/)

## More Airline quotes

> [One of the Internet's highest-profile companies, Priceline once dreamed of transforming the way consumer goods are bought and sold by offering customers the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-berenson/one-of-the-internet-s-highest-profile-companies-priceline-once/)

[Alex Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-berenson/)

> [Juan Tripp was a friend. Good name for an airline man, huh? Juan Tripp after another?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-wray/juan-tripp-was-a-friend-good-name-for-an-airline-man-huh-juan-tripp/)

[Fay Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-wray/)

> [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [If the Wright brother were alive today Wilbur would have to fire Orville to reduce costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-kelleher/if-the-wright-brother-were-alive-today-wilbur-would-have-to-fire/)

[Herb Kelleher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-kelleher/)

> [Hart is still like that little tub of vaguely milklike gunk that comes with airline coffee. It is labeled a "nondairy" product. Fine: we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/hart-is-still-like-that-little-tub-of-vaguely-milklike-gunk-that/)

[George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/)

> [Be Luke Skywalker, not Darth Vader. Ultimately love is stronger than evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-burr/be-luke-skywalker-not-darth-vader-ultimately-love-is-stronger-than/)

Don Burr

> [As a businessman, Frank Lorenzo gives capitalism a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/as-a-businessman-frank-lorenzo-gives-capitalism-a-bad-name/)

[William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/)

> [I have an 800 freephone number now that I call if I get the urge to buy an airline stock. I call at two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-have-an-800-freephone-number-now-that-i-call-if-i-get-the-urge-to/)

[Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/)

> [I don't mind flying. I always pass out before the plane leaves the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-campbell/i-don-t-mind-flying-i-always-pass-out-before-the-plane-leaves-the/)

[Naomi Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-campbell/)

> [Can a physicist visualize an electron? The electron is materially inconceivable and yet, it is so perfectly known through its effects that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/can-a-physicist-visualize-an-electron-the-electron-is-materially/)

[Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/)

> [Funny, isn't it? The airlines go to all that trouble to keep you from taking a gun on board, then they just hand you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/funny-isn-t-it-the-airlines-go-to-all-that-trouble-to-keep-you-from/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [Any serious airline has to look at a worldwide network.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-mallya/any-serious-airline-has-to-look-at-a-worldwide-network/)

[Vijay Mallya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-mallya/)

> [Running an airline is a normal job. Racing is more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niki-lauda/running-an-airline-is-a-normal-job-racing-is-more/)

[Niki Lauda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niki-lauda/)

> [Those were my children being slaughtered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-burr/those-were-my-children-being-slaughtered/)

Don Burr

> [I came from the music business, which reputedly has the biggest egos, but I really think the airline world caps it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-fernandes/i-came-from-the-music-business-which-reputedly-has-the-biggest-egos/)

[Tony Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-fernandes/)

Browse all 342 Airline quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The system of transportation is not coherent; it is not treated as integral. Roads compete with with railroads and airlines in chaotic fashion, and at immense cost to the nation.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anthony Stafford Beer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/the-system-of-transportation-is-not-coherent-it-is-not-treated-as/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Airline"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/the-system-of-transportation-is-not-coherent-it-is-not-treated-as/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c43/anthony-stafford-beer-32446_airline_the-system-of-transportation-is-not-cohe_292098.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The system of transportation is not coherent; it is not treated as integral. Roads compete with with…” — Anthony Stafford Beer",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Anthony Stafford Beer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-stafford-beer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The system of transportation is not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/the-system-of-transportation-is-not-coherent-it-is-not-treated-as/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-stafford-beer/the-system-of-transportation-is-not-coherent-it-is-not-treated-as/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
