Widened in scope and completely updated, this new edition of a well established textbook provides an authoritative introduction to all modes of public transport: bus, coach, metro, rail and domestic air. Current technology is reviewed and developments likely to affect operational performance are identified. Network planning techniques, and the relationship between public transport systems and urban structure, are critically examined.

Costing techniques are described, followed by a review of pricing techniques, with particular references to innovations such as the travelcard. Most public transport use is concentrated within urban areas, but specific attention is also given to issues affecting rural areas and the inter-city sector. Recent policy experience in Britain is reviewed, with particular reference to the effects of deregulation and restructuring during the 1980s. A final chapter examines long-run policy issues, including implications of energy availability and European policy issues.

New technology and operating methods are discussed in comparative terms, and the organizational structure in Britain is described (including current proposals for British Rail and local government), followed by a review of the present role of public transport incorporating results from the latest edition of the National Travel Survey and the 1991 census.

Public transport: its planning, management and operation will serve as a basic textbook for both specialist students in transport and those in related fields - such as planning, geography, civil engineering and business studies - taking optional courses in transport. Any reader concerned with transport as a policy issue will find the book useful as a contemporary account of a crucial dimension of any advanced economy.