ABSTRACT
Deregulation of transport services has proved as attractive to welfare states as to free market economies. It has encouraged the adaptation of services to changes in demand and increased their efficiency. Deregulation conflicts with the objectives of the welfare state however, where it threatens the viability of minimum public transport services or restricts the access of those citizens without the use of a car to employment, shops and welfare services. It may also be necessary to continue to regulate transport in order to protect the long-term environmental welfare of the population. Such considerations are often more easily appreciated in welfare states than in free market economies. The experience of Sweden since the 1950s provides a clear and particularly well-documented case study of the possibilities and limitations of deregulation in a welfare state with high living standards.
