The Need For Regulatory And Ownership Change In The RoadPassenger Sector – The Cases Of Barbados And Sri Lanka

Abstract

Changes to the ownership and regulatory regimes in developed countries have been well explored by many authors, but a hitherto less studied aspect is the need for change in the developing world. This paper reviews one co-author’s recent experience in two countries – Barbados and Sri Lanka. The empirical evidence identifies a range of characteristics with a number of key themes emerging. Significant amongst these are the roles of politicians in tacitly accepting unsustainable positions, combined with an inability of bus company managers to bring their influence to bear. The positions in those two countries are compared with the outcomes in the British market, and observations made with regard to the degree that expatriate expertise (and possibly personnel) would be able to make an impact. It is concluded that, although such expertise may help in the short term, the key issue is one of politicians and managers having the will to confront the problems which face them. A transfer to private sector ownership may facilitate this.