دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی همکاری در برنامه ریزی حمل و نقل عمومی - چرا، چطور و چه چیز؟ - الزویر 2018

ABSTRACT

This paper is about collaboration in public transport governance. Drawing upon the emerging literature that views collaboration through the lens of networks, we explore why and how regional public transport authorities collaborate with both municipalities and public transport operators in the planning of public transport. We also explore the advantages and disadvantages of such collaborations. Based on interviews with civil servants (government officers) in the Swedish metropolitan regions of Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Scania, we conclude that collaboration is, firstly, a way for the regional public transport authorities (RPTA) to engage with the local municipalities and develop joint agreements on public transport priorities. It is also a way to build a common identity with the public transport operators, who operate services under tendered contracts. Secondly, we find that collaboration takes place during official meetings, as well as in informal conversations and face-toface dialogues. Thirdly, the potential advantages and disadvantages of collaboration hinge on the ability of coordinating actors to put in place processes where the feasibility of plans can be established, and where a sense of common identity can be constructed.

Conclusions

We have in this article illustrated that network governance in public transport is crucial for two reasons: firstly, it is a way to develop joint agreements on public transport priorities and for the RPTA (or other public passenger transport authority) to secure the implementation of its plans in a situation where municipalities decide over land-use development, and; second, it is a way to build a common identity with the operators who operate under tendered contracts at “arms-length”. How networks are coordinated through collaboration function in practice is relatively ordinary, as we have shown that coordination takes place during meetings, as well as in informal conversations between civil servants and between these and the operators. Engaging in face-to-face dialogues also facilitates the development of mutual trust, which is a necessary but not sufficient condition for collaboration (Powell, 1990). Collaboration, understood as a form of coordination in networks, is not only about producing outputs and delivering decisions (cf. Pell, 2016), but its potential advantages (and disadvantages) lie in its ability to establish processes, where the feasibility of plans can be secured, and where a sense of common identity can be constructed. In terms of policy suggestions, it is worth pointing out that collaboration requires additional resources. Unless there are sufficient resources devoted to these activities, there is a risk that collaboration merely adds a new layer of administrative duties for officials (Pell, 2016). That collaboration requires additional resources is linked, we argue, to the expansion of networks as a new emerging norm of governance in the Swedish context of public transport. Rather than operating in the shadow of hierarchy (Héritier & Lehmkuhl, 2008; Levelt & Metze, 2013), we suggest that networks have emerged as a norm and a new form of governance in public transport, potentially overshadowing both the ways hierarchies (multi-level governance arrangements) and markets (public procurement and tendering) operate. Building upon this, we argue that hierarchies and markets increasingly operate in the shadow of networks. Hierarchy and market are stronger modes of governance, but these modes of governance are not ideal instruments to establish support, commitment and shared identity among the actors. For this network governance is needed.