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ely. ast, at w d, w f profi ry me operators maximum freedom. Much concern has been dedicated to pu both from the general public and politici te? Sh he res becam imising firms. In Scandinavian countries and in London, and to some extent in other countries, the decision over local and regional public transport supply and prices has been kept in the hands of a public For long-distance public transport, the circumstances and the economically efficient policy are less clear. Most long-distance public transport operators are commercial profit maximisers, private or state owned. Airlines, railway, coach services often compete in some ranges of distance. Is there a cause for govern-ment intervention? Rail transport, urban and long-distance, has inmost countries so far been left in the hands of governmentally controlled bodies, but two exceptions are Great Britain and Sweden. In both countries, the q This work was financed by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA). We are grateful for valuable comments by Roger Pyddoke and Reza Mortasawi. Contents lists availa