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Commercial public bus transport services in Germany: How a market in motion struggles with its regulatory framework

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  • Beck, Arne

Abstract

After decades of stagnation, the competitive market for commercial public bus transport services in Germany is beginning to move. Nevertheless, compared to the total market volume, the number of cases where competition is observable remains small. An empirical analysis of competition in the commercial services market as compared to competition in the non-commercial services market confirms that entry barriers do exist. These barriers clearly impede competitive developments in this embryonic market, which relies on the market initiatives of operators to develop. The paper identifies a key entry barrier in the institutional framework: for potential market entrants, the overall uncertainty regarding competitive procedures for commercial services is significantly higher than usual in tendering procedures. This high uncertainty poses the main disadvantage for newcomers as compared to incumbents.

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  • Beck, Arne, 2010. "Commercial public bus transport services in Germany: How a market in motion struggles with its regulatory framework," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 183-194.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:29:y:2010:i:1:p:183-194
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Walter, Matthias & Haunerland, Fabian & Moll, Robert, 2011. "Heavily regulated, but promising prospects: Entry in the German Express Coach Market," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 373-381, March.
    2. Augustin, Katrin & Walter, Matthias, 2010. "Operator changes through competitive tendering: Empirical evidence from German local bus transport," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 36-44.
    3. David A. Hensher & Ian P. Wallis, 2005. "Competitive Tendering as a Contracting Mechanism for Subsidising Transport: The Bus Experience," Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, University of Bath, vol. 39(3), pages 295-322, September.
    4. Mathisen, Terje Andreas & Solvoll, Gisle, 2008. "Competitive tendering and structural changes: An example from the bus industry," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, January.
    5. Preston R. Fee & Hugo M. Mialon & Michael A. Williams, 2004. "What Is a Barrier to Entry?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 461-465, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea ZATTI, 2012. "New Organizational Models In European Local Public Transport: From Myth To Reality," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 83(4), pages 533-559, December.
    2. Andrea ZATTI, 2011. "Organizational models in European local public transport: is the new paradigm really dominant," Departmental Working Papers 2011-29, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    3. Gordan Stojić & Dušan Mladenović & Olegas Prentkovskis & Slavko Vesković, 2018. "A Novel Model for Determining Public Service Compensation in Integrated Public Transport Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-20, August.
    4. van de Velde, Didier & Beck, Arne, 2010. "Workshop report - Beyond competitive tendering," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 145-151.

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