Rail versus bus local public transport services: a social cost comparison methodology
In the last years, several Italian legislative interventions concerning the local public transport (LPT) sector aimed at inducing Local Authorities to re-programming the current services by changing the existing transport modes in favor of less expensive ones, while preserving passengers mobility. Indeed, for some local railway routes the existing level demand and its characteristics (e.g. distribution along the day) would justify a switch from rail to bus mode, when the latter are proved to be less expensive in providing comparable services.