Setting the scene : background and overview of regulatory reform in the transport sector

Abstract

This book concerns the regulation of transport within a European context, covering air, rail, road passenger and freight, urban public transport, inland waterways, short sea shipping and intermodal transport. All these sectors have experienced substantial changes over the last three decades and this book aims to present the main such changes and their impacts. Over this period, and since the publication of the first European Commission (EC) Transport White Paper in 1992 (European Commission, 1992), important reforms of the transport sectors have been introduced in individual member states and supported by various EC initiatives, including implementation of several Directives and a number of Green and White Papers, most recently in 2011 (European Commission, 2011). Even though this has not been an objective of the Commission, there have been changes in ownership structures moving away from significant state intervention towards more autonomous entities and even private sector involvement for both transport infrastructure and operations. Some progress has also been achieved in terms of competition for transport operations, facilitated amongst others through third-party access rights to the markets.