MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES, FARES AND SERVICE LEVELS IN BUS TRANSPORT

The author suggests that there appears to be a widespread assumption that public transport should, in the absence of any specific reasons for subsidy, be operated commercially in some sense. This suggestion, in relation to the task of the bus transport operator is discussed, and consideration is given to the implications of alternative management objectives for public transport in terms of fares, service levels and financial results. The discussion is developed in terms of a grossly simplified model of a bus company, and for the purposes of the discussion the internal efficiency of the operator is not considered. It is assumed that demand in terms of passenger miles is a function of price per passenger mile and the number of bus miles operated, but in a consideration of the cost function differences between routes and the problem of peak demand are ignored. The choice of alternative objectives for nationalised industries to price and output policies is discussed, and alternative commercial criteria subject to a budget constraint examined. A specific numerical example is presented to illustrate the discussion. /TRRL/