There is a substantial discussion lately about the increasing globalisation of the world economy and the need to accommodate new technologies and new organisational and administrative structures. This has been having an impact on the transport sector requiring substantial changes. Some transport modes in some countries have maintained a steady process of adjustment, generating new opportunities for growth. In other cases political and economic factors have bottlenecked change and imposed great hardship. To help them respond to the pressure they face from globalisation, the transport sectors customers are now demanding global seamless transport markets, in which national and modal borders do not hinder the choice of the most appropriate route/mode combination for the movement required. As global transport markets develop, trans-national transport operators act like locals wherever they operate. Technology has been a driving force, shifting policy influence gradually from states to non-state actors (NSAs) and markets. Increasingly governments have only the appearance of free choice when they formulate transport policies. Markets are setting rules enforced by their own power and non-state actors are increasingly involved with policy development in international transport. This interim paper attempts to evaluate the impact of NSAs on international transport policy making for the inland transport sector. The final report envisaged for 2002 will suggest ways and means of changes required in international consultations for policy development to help us deal with the trans-national scope of today's transport challenge.
Abstract