Introduction

First published in 1999, this book contains case studies of rail transport policy-making in two UK Passenger Transport Authority areas and reviews the factors informing such policy-making. It contributes to transport geography by explaining why the actual policies implemented in Strathclyde and Merseyside were pursued, and to the continuing development of the political science theory of the urban policy regime by analysing the differences in policy development attributable to the different ‘city-regional’ (Strathclyde) and ‘public choice’ (Merseyside) geographical structures of local governance. The book demonstrates that these differences in the spatial organisation of local institutions play a powerful role in determining the operation of the local ‘regime’ of policy-makers, the form of final policy outputs, and the level of public accountability achieved.