ABSTRACT
The role played by public transport in Britain has changed considerably in recent decades. From what seemed a picture of continuous decline from the early 1950s to the early 1980s, trends in the rail sector reversed, first on the Underground and later on the privatized surface-rail system. A growth in the absolute volume of passenger-kilometres (km) has been followed recently by growth in market share. In the case of bus and coach travel, an absolute decline continued, but has levelled out in respect of the total passenger-km volume, and more recently in passenger trips.
