Comparison of Air, Road, Time and Cost Distances in Hungary

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discuss the differences between geographical, road, time and cost distances with the help of the Hungarian railway network and road network data. The first section deals with the general characteristics of distances and spaces and the validity of metrical axioms in time and cost space.
Time and cost space are more complex than geographical space, because there is only one measurement of air kilometer and the kilometer distance between points of network can be determined more or less precisely. However, time distances and cost distances fall into an interval and at best only shortest or typical distances, shortest or typical lengths of time and the cheapest or typical costs can exist. The second and third sections compare locally and globally the geographical space and various road, time and cost spaces.