Wydawnictwo Gazety Poselskiej

Railways were often described as an example of a natural monopoly. Their market structure was historically constructed as a monopoly, and strongly influenced by tight governmental regulation. Railways have been one of the most heavily regulated sectors of the economy almost all the time throughout its history.

With the "merger" of the MTRC and the KCRC in 2007, the history of Hong Kong's railways turned a new page. The two government-owned corporations were exceptionally profitable. Yet, this commercially successful railway model was not without social costs and political controversies. Moving Millions critically examines the governance history of the MTRC and the KCRC over the past three decades, and sheds light on the challenges to Hong Kong's railway after the "merger". The author discusses complex relationships between railway management, government policy and politics. Critical issues are analysed, including corporate governance; railway-property development; funding and managing new projects; mismanagement and controversies; public accountability; and passenger interest in fares, choice and convenience. The book compares how differently the MTRC and the KCRC dealt with the government, civil society, the market, and with each other to achieve commercial objectives and tackle public interests issues in a post-industrial society, where public expectations are rising despite constraints in democracy.

'This Handbook is a stellar compilation of up-to-date knowledge about the important topics in transport economics. Authors include the very best in the field, and they cover the most important topics for today's research and policy applications. Individual chapters contain sound, readable, well referenced explanations of each topic's history and current status. I cannot think of a better place to start for anyone wanting to become current in the field or in any of its parts.' – Kenneth Small, University of California-Irvine, US Bringing together insights and perspectives from close to 70 of the world's leading experts in the field, this timely Handbook provides an up-to-date guide to the most recent and state-of-the-art advances in transport economics. The comprehensive coverage includes topics such as the relationship between transport and the spatial economy, recent advances in travel demand analysis, the external costs of transport, investment appraisal, pricing, equity issues, competition and regulation, the role of public–private partnerships and the development of policy in local bus services, rail, air and maritime transport. This Handbook is designed both for use on postgraduate and advanced undergraduate courses and as a reference for anyone working in the field. It also complements the textbook Principles of Transport Economics.

This Handbook offers an insightful and comprehensive overview from a geographic perspective of the numerous and varied technologies that are shaping the contemporary world. It shows how geography and technology are intimately linked by examining the origins, growth, and impacts of 27 different technologies and highlighting how they influence the structure and spatiality of society.

Strategic Management in Public Services Organizations takes a comparative and international view on the appropriate use of strategic management models that are affecting the way public services organizations are managed. In an era of New and post New Public Management reforms, public managers at all levels are expected to respond to these new approaches, which profoundly affect their work practices, skills, and knowledge bases. Choosing a promising strategic management model and implementing it in a way that works for the organization or inter-organizational network in question also depends on an understanding of local politico-administrative and cultural contexts: this book helps the readers identify how to successfully tailor strategic management approaches to their specific circumstances and needs. This second edition builds upon the successes of the well-received first edition. Thoroughly updated to help public managers meet the challenges of a new decade, it has a refreshed collection of mini-cases and now includes chapter summaries. It also includes a new chapter on collaborative strategy and co-creation, in response to the growth of interest in more open forms of public policymaking. This is an advanced textbook aimed at the postgraduate level, particularly students on MPAs and MBAs with a public sector option or MScs in public policy and public management.

Numerous countries have attempted to improve the performance of their railways by introducing more competition, but there is fierce debate and no consensus on how this is best achieved. This book reveals how railways were an obvious target for reform because they were often losing traffic and money, and because the government was typically deeply involved as either owner or regulator.