Patterns of entry and exit in the deregulated German interurban bus industry

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. http://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp17041.pdf Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar. Terms of use: Documents inDis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW. PATTERNS OF ENTRY AND EXIT IN THE DEREGULATED GERMAN INTERURBAN BUS INDUSTRYNiklas S. Dürr ♣ and Kai Hüschelrath * June 2017 AbstractWe study patterns of entry and exit in the German interurban bus industry in the first three years after its deregulation in January 2013. Using a comprehensive data set of all firm and route entries and exits, we find that the industry grew much quicker than originally expectedwith particularly a few new entrants being most successful in quickly extending their route networks from regional to national coverage. Although the clear majority of routes is operated on a monopoly basis, competition does play a key role on routes with a sufficiently large base of (potential) customers. From a spatial perspective, three years after deregulation, the entire interurban bus network connects 60 percent of all 644 larger German cities -with the intensity of entry being dependent on the number of inhabitants, average income, the share of under 24 years old and the presence of intermodal competition by intercity railway services.JEL Class L11, L41, L43, L92, K21, K23

Low-cost bus business models and the case of Brazil

“…However, in countries where the deregulation was appropriately implemented, allowing competition, coaches became responsible for the mobility of the less-wealthy and time-rich citizens (van de Velde, 2009;White & Robbins, 2012;Preston & Almutairi, 2014;Dürr & Hüschelrath, 2017). This is consistent with the evidence of very low incomeelasticity for coach travel in comparison with other modes.…”

“…In order to obtain market share, even traditional companies have to lower their prices and the full implementation of the low-cost strategy grants some competitive advantages to its players. More recently, the entrance of low-cost operators in some countries is taking place immediately after the deregulation of the markets (White & Robbins, 2012;Preston & Almutairi, 2014;Dürr & Hüschelrath, 2017).…”

Evolving long-distance passenger services. Market concentration, fares and specialisation patterns in Italy

“…The most impressive cases of coach liberalisation has happened recently and evolved extremely quickly. German, Italian and French (Augustin et al, 2014;Dürr et al, 2016;Dürr & Hüschelrath, 2017;Blayac & Bougette, 2017;Grimaldi et al, 2017) coach sector passed in a few years from an unknown niche to the headlines of newspapers, partially reproducing what has happened ten years ago with the low-cost airlines.…”

What can be Expected from Mergers After Deregulation? The Case of the Long-Distance Bus Industry in France

“…Aarhaug and Fearnley ( 2016 ) observe that deregulation in Norway led to significant growth in passenger numbers and the emergence of a new form of competition based on innovation and digital technologies. New entry has been important in Italy and Germany (Dürr et al, 2017 ; Beria et al, 2018 ), although deregulation resulted in strong consolidation in Germany (Dürr et al, 2016 ; de Haas & Schäfer, 2017 ). 7 Deutsche Bahn exited the intercity bus market in 2016.…”