The experience of express coach deregulation in Great Britain

This paper reviews the effect of express coach deregulation in Britain following the Transport Act 1980. The authors have monitored the range of services offered before and after the Act, using operators' literature, roadside surveys, on-vehicle passenger interviews and interviews with operators as sources of information. These are used to present an overall picture of express deregulation, with particular reference to changes in real fare levels, and also the relative importance of competition within the coach industry compared with that of inter-modal competition (that between coach and rail). The latter has emerged as more significant.The greater part of the paper is devoted to analysis of the long-distance market but the development of commuter coach services into central London is also examined, together with the reasons why independent operators have secured a larger share of this market.