Gwilliam, K.M., Nash, C.A. and Mackie, P.J. (1984) Deregulating the Bus Industry. Working Paper. Institute of Transport Studies, University of Leeds , Leeds, UK.
Abstract
In its Buses White Paper, the British Government sets out its proposals for abandoning quantitative control of entry to and provision of local bus services. The logic on which the proposals are based can be reduced to four propositions:-
(i) Deregulation will produce a competitive market.
(ii) Competition will substantially reduce costs.
(iii) A competitive market will improve resource allocation.
(iv) A competitive market will not cause any significant undesirable spin-off effects.
Each of these propositions is suspect.
If there is any competition on bus routes, it will tend to be small group rather than large group. Active rivalry involving schedule matching and price wars may occur, as may collusion. Neither will produce efficient results.
Even if a competitive result were to obtain, the resulting resource allocation would not be socially efficient. A first best optimum requires subsidies because the market is subject to external economies (the Mohring effect). If Government budget constraints operate, the second-best solution then requires cross-subsidies. Competition is not compatible with social efficiency in either of these cases. Nor will the competitive market solution optimise load factors. Quality competition, in the form of minibuses 'creaming' the best traffics, may also be socially undesirable.
The White Paper authors underplay the significance of these resource allocation arguments, while exaggerating the likely impact of deregulation on cost efficiency. Even though some cost savings may be available they could be obtained anyway under a regime of competitive tendering for profitable as well as unprofitable routes. Competition for the market rather than competition in the market is required.
Metadata
Item Type: | Monograph |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright of the Institute of Transport Studies, University Of Leeds |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > Institute for Transport Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Adrian May |
Date Deposited: | 14 Jun 2007 |
Last Modified: | 04 Jun 2014 21:18 |
Published Version: | http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/ |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Institute of Transport Studies, University of Leeds |
Identification Number: | Working Paper 179 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:2360 |