Political Economy of Community­Owned Transport

In this chapter, the principles of political economy are used to explore the political and economic implications of community ownership of urban transport. In essence, political economy refers to the interplay of economic and political fac­ tors giving rise to social phenomena. Many of the themes of previous chapters have concerned political issues and values and here a number of these are brought together to examine several key political economy aspects of community­owned transport, including the democratisation of urban transport, the implications for state resourcing and support for public transport and the relationship between community­owned transport and public transport. This chapter opens with a fram­ ing argument that there are limitations to public and private ownership and that community ownership offers advantages for dealing with the challenges of sus­ tainable transport.