ABSTRACT
Policies for the regulation and control of urban transport have a long and varied history which certainly extends back beyond the days of the Roman Empire when laws were enacted to restrict the use of chariots in city streets. The 1920s and 1930s had seen some more direct involvement in policy-making, especially with regard to the provision of public transport services. By the late 1970s a number of factors led to a gradual reversal in thinking regarding the public transport orientation of policy. Transport policy must respond to changing urban conditions. The demand for urban public transport services is in decline in most Western countries despite considerable sums being provided by way of operating and capital cost subsidies. A policy of easier market entry would have the advantage that it could well encourage more flexibility in the nature of the public transport services provided and lead to more innovative attitudes being adopted by potential suppliers.
