John Baggaley National Transport Strategy Conference How far should Government intervene in the transport market?

National Transport Strategy Conference Some words of wisdom! Governments intervene to prevent anarchy Some-one needs to intervene in any ‘system’ to create order…. …..so the questions are: “Do we want order?” “How much order do we want?” In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the entropy - or disorder - of a closed system always increases. Put simply, it says that things fall apart, disorder overcomes everything - eventually.

National Transport Strategy Conference What do we mean by ‘intervene’? Provide a framework Road traffic legislation Competition Law Rail Franchising Bus Deregulation A set of rules based on some assumptions Direct an outcome Build a road Finance Concessionary Travel Subsidise a ferry service Charge tolls on bridges Specify a franchise Have a department?Manage the system?

National Transport Strategy Conference Who do we mean by Government? Politicians Need to be elected regularly Like things that people notice Civil Servants Not specialists Minimise impact on politicians An interest group Persuades government Single minded No cost considerations An agency staffed by professionals No good without responsibility Need to be at a distance from politicians

National Transport Strategy Conference What are we trying to achieve? Access to facilities Transport is a derived demand (and vice versa)! Predictability Affected by congestion Affected by unreliability Sustainability Health – noise, pollutants, exercise, safety Continued existence – global warming, fuel To achieve these we might need: Less travel Less travel by car Less travel in single occupant cars A greater proportion of travel by public transport We might also need to: Spend less on transport in total Use fewer resources for transport – people, materials

National Transport Strategy Conference So – should….. ….someone intervene? to ensure access to improve reliability to influence choice to conserve resources to reduce damage to give us a future ……Government intervene? by becoming a customer as a surrogate for the disenfranchised by regulating the market to avoid waste and reduce harm by becoming a supplier because the intervention needed to give order requires a monopoly

National Transport Strategy Conference Discussion… ….is the question How far should government intervene in the transport market? or just How should government intervene in transport?