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Performance targets in transport policy

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  • Marsden, Greg
  • Bonsall, Peter

Abstract

The measurement of performance in the public sector has become increasingly important in recent years and it is now commonplace for transport organisations, and local and national governments, to publish performance goals for service supply and quality. Such commitments, when time referenced, are known as targets. This paper, explains how changes in management style, consumer rights legislation, contractual obligations and other factors have combined to make management-by-targets increasingly common in the public sector. The advantages and disadvantages of management-by-targets are illustrated through discussion of the processes and experience of setting transport targets in UK national transport policy. We conclude that while some of the targets have had a significant impact on policy makers, managers and their agents, the effects have not always been as intended.

Suggested Citation

  • Marsden, Greg & Bonsall, Peter, 2006. "Performance targets in transport policy," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 191-203, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:13:y:2006:i:3:p:191-203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bonsall, Peter & Beale, Jo & Paulley, Neil & Pedler, Annette, 2005. "The differing perspectives of road users and service providers," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 334-344, July.
    2. S. M. Grant-Muller & P. MacKie & J. Nellthorp & A. Pearman, 2001. "Economic appraisal of European transport projects: The state-of-the-art revisited," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 237-261.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tuominen, Anu & Himanen, Veli, 2007. "Assessing the interaction between transport policy targets and policy implementation--A Finnish case study," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 388-398, September.
    3. Kweon, Young-Jun, 2010. "Data-driven reduction targets for a highway safety plan," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 230-239, August.
    4. Antti Talvitie, 2008. "Model, process, technique, and the good thing," Transportation, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 375-393, May.
    5. Rietbergen, Martijn G. & Blok, Kornelis, 2010. "Setting SMART targets for industrial energy use and industrial energy efficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4339-4354, August.
    6. Agostino, Deborah & Steenhuisen, Bauke & Arnaboldi, Michela & de Bruijn, Hans, 2014. "PMS development in local public transport: Comparing Milan and Amsterdam," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 26-32.
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    8. Kareem Othman & Amer Shalaby & Baher Abdulhai, 2025. "Enhancing transit corridor performance through dynamic bus lanes: analyzing performance at different traffic compliance rates," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 901-928, October.
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    10. Marsden, Greg & Kelly, Charlotte & Nellthorp, John, 2009. "The likely impacts of target setting and performance rewards in local transport," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 59-67, March.
    11. Marsden, Greg & Rye, Tom, 2010. "The governance of transport and climate change," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 669-678.

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