The State and its role - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 141

customer who is free to choose whether to use the services on offer but whose influence
(with others) is confined to their purchasing power. By contrast, the relationship to
public bodies is as a citizen who is obliged to accept any requirements which may be
imposed, but who also has the right (again with others) to elect representatives who
have authority to take action on their behalf. Thus if I want to run a car, I can choose
which particular make of car I buy, but if I want to use it on public roads I am required
to pass a driving test and to pay for a vehicle licence.
Private organisations have to work successfully with their suppliers, customers,
employees, business partners and so on but ultimately their policies will be determined
by their directors and shareholders. In the case of a commercial company (bus and
train companies for example) these policies will be geared to securing a satisfactory
return for its investors, without which the financial backing necessary to the company's
future will not be forthcoming.
In order to advance a company's interests relative to its competitors its dealings are
normally confidential and its policies are not open to public debate. Indeed members
of the public may not be aware that an issue is under consideration until a decision
is announced, or until the results of that decision become obvious. If people want to
make representations to a company it is under no obligation to receive or respond to
them, although in the interests of good public relations it may choose to do so.
Public bodies by contrast are run by members who are either themselves elected by
the population at large or appointed by others who are. The workings of these bodies
are open to public scrutiny and the responsible members are obliged to respond to
concerns or criticisms that are raised. Service delivery and impartial treatment of all
members of the population are over-riding criteria of operations rather than profit
generation (although control of costs may be equally important). The ethic of public
service is an important factor in public sector employment and in the vast majority of
cases the payment of staff is not linked to performance of the organisation as a whole
(however this might be measured).
At election time people have the opportunity to vote for their particular MP
(Member of Parliament) or local ward councillor but often use this as the occasion to
register a more general opinion on how well the country or their local council is being
run. There is a very rough justice in all this. Local councillors may be ejected because
of some national issue for which they have no responsibility. National governments
may suffer because of the decisions of key private companies, or movements in the
global economy, over which they have no control.
Nevertheless because the fate of governments is ultimately dependent on public
opinion they have a close interest in interpreting and acting upon the 'messages'
articulated by the electorate. As far as domestic policy areas such as transport are
concerned, governments do have the option of taking action to improve conditions,
whether they currently have direct responsibility or not . Thus even in situations where
responsibility lies primarily with the private sector (like the current provision of bus
services for example) there are normally powers already available which public bodies
can use to influence the behaviour of the firms concerned. If the requisite powers are
unavailable or insufficient then - provided the need is considered serious enough -
legislation can be introduced into Parliament to remedy the situation.
References to elections and to Parliament are the 'windows' on to the workings of
the State which ordinary people are most likely to be aware of. But in truth this gives
a distorted impression. Although the democratic process for electing representatives,
using them to scrutinise the workings of public bodies and (in the case of MPs) to