Chapter 6: Economics of Transport Networks

Transport is a network industry akin to such other sectors as telecommunications and energy distribution. As such it exhibits a set of economic characteristics that influence the way it is viewed by economists and the way it has been treated by regulators (Economides, 1996). These in part stem from the potential separation in the supply of the network infrastructure links (roads, rail track, etc.), the hubs and interchange points (stations, ports, airports, etc.), and the operations (cars, trucks, trains, ships, etc.) (Brooks and Button, 1995). But equally important are the interdependencies that exist between the costs and benefits of providing the various elements in any transportation network.