This report gives the findings of a study visit in late 1987 to West Germany sponsored by the Public Administration Committee of the Western European Union. The aim of the study was to investigate the administration of public local passenger transport in the Federal Republic, in particular the integration of private transport operators. The report describes the legislative background to the framework that regulates all public transport services in Germany; the financing of investment and operating costs is also discussed. Four conurbations (Hamburg, Munich, Hannover and Nuremberg) are described, where transport is coordinated by a single organisation. Five non-urban areas are also included, between which the administration of public transport varies widely, and where experiments in rationalisation are taking place. Private bus operators play an important part in urban public transport in Germany; some 70 per cent of buses and coaches are privately owned. These operators are also involved in the planning and control of integrated services. Private taxi operators provide services at unsocial hours and in rural areas. The report concludes that following the deregulation of bus services in Britain in 1986 there is now little in common between the two countries' administration of public transport. (A)
Abstract