History of Transportation

History of Transportation

Coursework

1 . Discuss the role of antitrust laws in transportation during the regulated era

versus the deregulated era

Theoretically , antitrust laws are designed not so much as a punishment for large corporations as they are to promote competition . The changing nature of these laws reflects a perpetual swing between the sometimes competing forces of corporate profitability and consumer benefit (Coyle Bardi , Novack , 2004 . A healthy competitive business environment is the balance point that benefits both sides . As economies change , increased antitrust enforcement often goes hand in

hand with increased overall regulation . Conversely , less enforcement is often part of less regulation as a whole

The early railroads were highly profitable industries . The nature of the business and the lax regulatory scheme allowed for a few large companies to dominate the market . The Panic of 1873 and the following railroad strikes dented the profitability of rail lines . This handful of carriers still managed to keep a stranglehold on rates and market share

Sensing possible government intervention , the railroads made several attempts at self-regulation . Ultimately , these attempts failed because of cheating and lack of cooperation (Coyle , Bardi , Novack , 2004

Government intervened as trust-busters ' This intervention triggered an ongoing trend of increased government regulation . The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 triggered increased scrutiny of the transportation industry

A similar process occurred later in the airline industry . In both cases regulation eventually became so severe as to threaten the survival of the industry . In the future , the challenge for the transportation industry will be to find a way to effectively self-regulate . For the government the challenge will be to find a way to enforce antitrust regulations while resisting the urge to become overly involved

Antitrust laws serve important roles in regulated and unregulated environments . In unregulated eras , in particular , they serve as a hedge against corporate domination of a sector , region or society . At the same time , if they are not enforced intelligently and carefully they can hurt the very people they are designed to protect

2 . Analyze the major issues addressed by the ICC Termination Act national

transportation policy statements

The recognition that American transportation corporations must remain viable in a global economy led to an evaluation of transportation regulations . Critics of a highly regulated environment argued that ground transport needed to be deregulated the way the air industry had been in the 1970s . The response taken was to not only remove some regulations , but also to dissolve an entire federal bureau

The ICC Termination Act of 1995 was an effort to loosen government regulation over the railroad and motor carrier industries . In addition to eliminating the Interstate Commerce Commission , the Act also eliminated the Rail Services Planning Office , joint boards and the Rail Public Counsel

For the rail industry in particular , the Act removed a number of regulatory actions . Tariffs were removed . Regulations governing contract rates for certain commodities were eased and /or eliminated . Several surcharges and special rate considerations were also modified . In addition , restrictions governing labor in the...