Editing Porter (carrier) (section)

== Today ==
Porters are still paid to shift burdens in many [[Third World|third-world countries]] where motorized transport is impractical or unavailable, often alongside [[pack animal]]s.

The [[Sherpa (people)|Sherpa]] people of [[Nepal]] are so renowned as [[mountaineering]] porters that their [[ethnonym]] is synonymous with that profession. Their skill, knowledge of the mountains and local culture, and ability to perform at altitude make them indispensable for the highest Himalayan expeditions.

Porters at [[India]]n railway stations are called [[coolies]], a term for unskilled Asian labourer derived from the Chinese word for porter.

Mountain porters are also still in use in a handful of more developed countries, including [[Slovakia]] (''horský nosič'') and [[Japan]] (''bokka'', 歩荷). These men (and more rarely women) regularly resupply mountain huts and tourist chalets at high-altitude mountain ranges.<ref>''[https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20029780/slovak-mountain-porters-are-a-dying-breed.html Slovak mountain porters are a dying breed]''. The Slovak Spectator. Spectator.sme.sk. 30 June 2008.</ref><ref>[https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22569170/roundup-ondaks-time-capsule-inspired-by-a-chile-mining-accident.html Article with news on Slovak mountain porters]. The Slovak Spectator. Spectator.sme.sk. 30 June 2008.</ref><ref>[https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sloboda ''Sloboda pod nákladom'']. Trailer for a documentary on the Slovak mountain porter tradition, by Pavol Barabáš and K2 Studio. K2 Studio official Vimeo account.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL60hmH6ULg Japanese mountain chalet porter Masato Hagiwara in action]. YouTube.com. 28 September 2018.</ref>

=== In North America ===
Certain trade-specific terms are used for forms of porters in North America, including [[bellhop]] (hotel porter), redcap (railway station porter), and [[skycap]] (airport porter).

The practice of railroad station porters wearing red-colored caps to distinguish them from blue-capped train personnel with other duties was begun on Labor Day of 1890 by an African-American porter in order to stand out from the crowds at [[Grand Central Terminal]] in New York City.<ref name="drake">{{cite book|last1=Drake|first1=St. Clair|author-link1=St. Clair Drake|last2=Cayton|first2=Horace R.|author-link2=Horace R. Cayton Jr.|title=Black Metropolis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RPgI6EhRvwC&pg=PA237|year=1970|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn=978-0-226-16234-8|page=237}}</ref> The tactic immediately caught on, over time adapted by other forms of porters for their specialties.<ref name="railwayprogress">{{cite book|title=Railway Progress|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WHzVAAAAMAAJ|access-date=24 March 2013|year=1950}}</ref>