This chapter describes how, by the 1970s, in much of the world, transport had become a largely public sector activity. Roads, railways, airports and many ports were publicly owned. Rail, most bus and coach, and many air services were provided by public sector operators. The one big exception to the rule was road haulage, which was often provided by a mix of large and small private sector companies, and where in any case much activity was undertaken by private companies on their own account. In the 1980s transport moved progressively in the direction of the market approach, and widespread privatization of transport operations and sometimes even infrastructure took place. This chapter considers the arguments for and against privatization of transport operations and infrastructure, alternative ways of carrying out such privatization and it assesses the results it has achieved, taking as a case study rail and bus transport in the United Kingdom before drawing conclusions.
Samenvatting