The Thredbo story: A journey of competition and ownership in land passenger transport

Abstract

This is a companion paper to Bray, Hensher, and Wong (2017), reviewing developments in public transport institutional reform, contract design and implementation over the past 30 years since the inception of the International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport (known as the Thredbo Series). Whilst Thredbo has grown to encompass all topics in transport planning, policy, contracting, financing, data, as well as funding; competition and ownership remains the core focus and the 14 conferences to date constitute a unique resource to chart the conversation and state of the art as it has evolved in both developed and developing economies. Discussion is structured around three eras (the early years, turn of the century and recent developments) and six elements of contracting—market arbitration, procurement mechanism, asset ownership, contract design, risk allocation and contract management. What emerges is a shift in interest from deregulated to contracted markets (and back to deregulated to some extent), a renewed focus on institutional performance in line with changing government and community expectations, and an increasing desire to place contracted services within the broader context of land use, well-being and wider economic benefits. Importantly, this paper also covers some landmark ideas which have grown to become key cornerstones of the Thredbo series including the STO (strategic/tactical/operational) framework, regulatory cycles in the bus and rail sectors, as well as trusting partnerships between transport regulators and operators. We conclude with the enduring legacy of the Thredbo series and look with optimism to the future for what the next 30 years of Thredbo may bring to the land passenger transport sector.