COMPETITION IN THE STAGE BUS INDUSTRY ---PUBLIC TRANSPORT PLANNING AND OPERATION, PROCEEDINGS OF SEMINAR K HELD AT THE 12TH PTRC SUMMER ANNUAL MEETING, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, ENGLAND, 10-13 JULY 1984, VOLUME P253

Suggestions that monopoly has led to inefficiencies and the stifling of innovation have prompted a critical appraisal of how a more competitive structure might be generated in an industry which has been strictly regulated for over 50 years. The paper, with the use of economic models, concludes that competition "on the road" is liable, in the short run, to lead to a social welfare disbenefit to society. Also as competition will tend to be more prevalent on profitable routes and timings, there may well be welfare effects on users of other services as a result of reductions in internal cross-subsidy. There are, however, potential gains from competitive stimuli in the form of either removal of previous inefficiencies, the replacement of high cost operators by low cost ones, or better matching of demand and supply. The institutional problem is how to obtain these long run benefits without the short run costs of unfettered competition "on the road". This would indicate that in the bus industry competition for the market rather than competition in it is required. The paper concludes that, for effective potential competition in the bus industry, a regulated system with low entry barriers such as franchising or contracting of services should result. For the covering abstract of the seminar see IRRD 284761.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0860501388
• Corporate Authors:

  PTRC Education and Research Services Limited

  110 Strand
  London WC2,   England 
• Authors:
  • Savage, I P
• Publication Date: 1984

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 13-24
• Serial:
  • Publication of: PTRC Education and Research Services Limited
  • Publisher: PTRC Education and Research Services Limited
  • ISSN: 0960-9938

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Buses; Competition; Conferences; Demand; Economic factors; Economics; Level of service; Mathematical models; Public transit; Sociology; Subsidies; Transportation
• Subject Areas: Economics; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00487087
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• ISBN: 086050-138-8
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 1989 12:00AM