UC Irvine Institute of Transportation Studies

Ownership and management for urban mass transit organizations have taken many forms over the years, with publicly-owned and managed systems now dominant. In recent years, however, strong economic and political forces have increased pressures for privatizing urban mass transit services. This review analyzes twenty studies from three countries on the relationship between organizational form and transit performance. It concludes that previous research has not made a persuasive case for the whole-scale privatization of either ownership or management of urban mass transit organization.