working paper

Organizational Form and Performance in Urban Mass Transit

Publication Date

July 31, 1987

Author(s)

Abstract

Ownership and management for urban mass transit organizations have taken many forms over the years, with publicly-owned and managed systems now dominant. In recent years, however, strong economic and political forces have increased pressures for privatizing urban mass transit services. This review analyzes twenty studies from three countries on the relationship between organizational form and transit performance. It concludes that previous research has not made a persuasive case for the whole-scale privatization of either ownership or management of urban mass transit organization.