ABSTRACT
In common with many other industries and services, transport has been subject to the ebb and flow of policy debates and decisions relating to competition, control and ownership within this country. At present, opponents of the measures of privatisation and deregulation are warning of a return to nineteenth century conditions, while defenders of the new initiatives herald such a reversion as a positive advantage, claiming that it is the system of control erected to restrict private enterprise which is largely responsible for the decline in public support. The arguments rehearsed in the bus industry have also affected other sectors, notably rail, while growing concern over the effects of road congestion may eventually force additional restrictions in the hitherto relatively little controlled road network. An added complication is the effect of hidden subsidies and other distortions, the removal of which is an integral part of the free market recipe for improvement. For others however, these subsidies are essential in a much more planned, co-ordinated and less openly competitive approach to provision.
