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This paper reviews the basic issues involved in identifying and providing solutions to transport problems. The paper argues that solutions focusing solely on investment in capacity or second-best solutions to pricing such as road pricing and free public transport ignore the essential economic relationships involved in transport. The paper provides a critique of investment and pricing and argues for a more integrated approach in which optimal pricing is a core consideration in any investment decisions. This is seen as particularly important in a post Covid-19 world where many of the fundamental drivers of transport demand have changed, and public authorities face significant constraints on budgets whilst new pressures such as commitments to net zero in the face of global warming threats add additional pressures. The paper offers some thoughts on the principles involved in establishing a more suitable structure for dealing with the transport problem. • Identifies the core elements of the transport problem as pricing and investment. • Reviews problems in implementing first-best pricing. • Critiques investment decisions in the light of wider economic impacts. • Considers changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the move to net-zero. • Offers a set of principles for reforming transport policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has had a major impact on public transport systems across the world. Public financial support has been needed to maintain services in the face of drastically reduced ridership and adjustment to the need for social distancing. This paper explores the challenge this poses to current methods of delivery of public transport services and argues that a simple return to the status quo is unlikely as public transport adjusts to a new normal of more home working and fear of crowded spaces. In turn this impacts most on the transport disadvantaged. The paper argues that this may spell the end of the prevailing model of a deregulated competitive public transport that has prevailed in the United Kingdom and require a major rethinking of the way to provide an efficient and effective transport system. Such a rethink will depend on understanding the interplay of private and social norms and building public trust. • Transport impacts of Covid-19. • Public transport. • Government funding. • Transport planning. • United Kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed rail is frequently claimed to have a transformative effect on the economy. By bringing cities and regions closer together it is argued that economies can benefit from lower generalised costs of transport leading to enhanced growth and productivity. A counter argument is that such effects are largely redistributive with some regions benefiting and others suffering depending on their ability to take advantage of new opportunities. However, some argue further than this and claim that such step changes in transport provision can lead to major changes in economic structure that can transform regions’ absolute as well as relative position and thus redress the existence of regional disparities. In this paper, we address the question as to whether there is a clear and robust economic theory of the transformational impact of high-speed rail and if there is any consistent evidence to support it? The paper uses evidence from the North-west European High-Speed Rail network and a more detailed study of the UK’s first high-speed line, HS1. This is followed by a discussion of the various claims and counter-claims for the impact of the proposed HS2 that will link London with Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. On the basis of this some of the implications for the appraisal of such projects are considered. The main conclusion from the paper is that transport infrastructure by itself is not likely to be transformative, but coupled with other policy interventions it can contribute to such an effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-speed rail has developed both nationally and internationally in Europe as a successful alternative to both air and road over distances of 400–600 km. Inter-city traffic, especially between the major metropolitan areas in North-west Europe has benefitted greatly from the investment in this network. This paper explores two issues: the impact on the intermediate areas between these major metropolitan areas and the creation of potential cross-border inter-regional services. The evidence shows how both levels of service and potential economic impacts have been much less pronounced in these intermediate areas. Such areas have been affected both by a failure to see greatly improved direct access to major cities other than within their own countries and a lack of new cross-border inter-regional services. The paper argues that the creation of the high-speed rail TEN-T has not met the primary objectives of reducing regional disparities in accessibility or reducing the effect of national borders on regional integration. To achieve this requires not just infrastructure provision but an appropriate regulatory framework for service provision and accompanying measures at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we develop a simple model of regulatory competition in a multi-agency world. This argues that regulatory competition and potential conflicts arise in a similar way to tax competition between jurisdictions. This is then applied to contrasting situations drawn from metropolitan transport and cross-border rail services in Europe. The analysis demonstrates how regulatory conflicts can lead to inefficiencies which impact not just on the provision of transport services, but also on the potential wider benefits from transport, most notably labour market efficiency and productivity growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper I review the problems surrounding the use of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in the appraisal of large-scale infrastructure projects. I define the requirements of a best-practice transport CBA and show the difficulties in achieving these for large-scale projects. The main difficulties discussed are those of forecasting over long time periods, dealing with imperfect competition in transport-using sectors to obtain estimations of wider transport benefits, introducing private finance and appraising network effects. I conclude that CBA can remain a valuable tool as part of the appraisal process but that the inputs to a CBA have to be carefully assessed, and complementary approaches, such as computable general equilibrium modelling, have a useful role to play for very large or network projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing issue in privatised infrastructure is the appropriate incentives needed to ensure adequate maintenance of the infrastructure as a public resource. This paper explores the implications of some of the insights from theories of regulation and contracts for optimal management of transport infrastructure maintenance with respect to the interests of different stakeholder groups: contractors, owners, regulators, governments (subsidy providers or guarantors) and users. Evidence is taken from two UK examples: the major road network and the rail network. The former is seen to be largely a successful involvement of private capital through PFI-style DBFO deals, which has had positive impacts on service quality and cost to the public budget, though arguably less than could have been achieved. The rail network privatisation is seen as a failure in which maintenance was sacrificed in the interests of short-term profit. However, it can also be argued here that the real mistake was to underestimate the quality of the network inherited from British Rail. The paper concludes with some lessons and recommendations taken from the analysis of these two sets of cases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Transport costs have always been an important dimension in regional science. It is therefore remarkable that regional science and transport economics have developed in a rather unconnected way. Although being distinct, the routes of the two were parallel, and there are signs that the two fields will get closer to each other. This paper further discusses long run trends in transport costs and the potential spatial consequences. The main conclusion is that although in terms of money and time, the performance of transport has improved enormously, many economic activities have not become footloose to the extent as expressed by the notion of 'death of distance'. One of the reasons discussed is the role of transaction costs, some being clearly related with distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This short note considers the issues raised by Rothengatter's paper and discusses their implications for the way major transport infrastructure investments are appraised today. Using examples from some recent UK appraisals it focuses on the question of the difference between the marginal assumptions used as the basis of most cost-benefit analysis and the step changes implicit in large scale infrastructure projects. Further it looks at the extent to which wider economic impacts can be assimilated into appraisal rather than being treated as an add-on to conventional CBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the Special Issue on the Spatial Implications and Planning Criteria for High-speed Rail Cities and Regions attempts to distinguish its short- and long-term impacts described in the literature, classifying them into regional and inter-urban effects, urban effects and wider economic impacts. Articles composing this Special Issue are listed at the outset and referred to in the relevant subsections. This literature review highlights the need to distinguish between short- and long-term effects and shows that cases are context-specific. Planning challenges appear at two major points: 1) during the initial planning stage that includes the route and location of stations; 2) during the development process that follows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]