Managing public transport: Commercial profitability and social service

Abstract

In the past 20 years emphasis on the social role of public transport has grown as transit has become more subject to the direct intervention and financial support of external authorities. It is rare for the social objectives to be specified in a way which translates clearly into quantifiable targets, and the transit operator is left to tread an ill-defined path between commercial objectives and the wider social requirements. This paper examines the range of objectives of public transport policy, and the difficulties of ensuring maximum efficiency and effectiveness when much of the revenue comes from subsidies and when the goals are poorly specified. It discusses management information and operating strategies in relation both to commercial considerations and to satisfying social objectives. Particular reference is made to the changes which will follow deregulation of stage bus services in the UK.