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British transport since 1914: An economic history
Journal of Historical Geography, 2, 3 (1976) 262-288
Reviews
The British Isles and the European mainland
DEREKH. ALDCROF~,British Transport since 1914: An Economic History (Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 1975. Pp. 336. E12.50) Dr Aldcroft’s book draws on a wide range of sources in its treatment of the development of transport in Britain since 1914. Attention is concentrated on the problems created by rapid changes in the structure of transport demand and by changes in technology. The size of the transport sector in Britain’s economy is discussed and the changing structural format of transport services is analysed. Different modes of transport, as well as their respective infrastructures, are all examined. One of the most valuable attributes of the book is its analysis of the background to each item of transport legislation, and its summary of the legislation itself. A major criticism is its unduly heavy emphasis on the period after 1945. The period of government wartime control from 1914 and the problems of reconstruction up to 1921 are dealt with too briefly. If the “wartime experience in transport services had demonstrated that unified control could lead to substantial improvements in operational efficiency”, why was the government’s main concern after the war to release undertakings from control? The inter-war period is surprisingly dismissed in a single chapter under a number of thematic headings : the treatment given to this important period in transport development is disappointing, and little is added to the coverage already provided by existing works. The chaotic and largely unregulated road passenger transport sector in the 1920s should, for example, have been described in greater depth. More than three-quarters of Aldcroft’s book is devoted to the period since the Second World War. After dealing with the legislative background to changes in transport ownership, structure and control, each mode of transport is examined in turn. Criticism is made of persistent government interference with airline ordering policies, and of the post-war record of British shipping. In the final chapter, Aldcroft identifies infrastructure adaptation as the basic need for the future. It is disappointing that the bringing of the Passenger Transport Executives under local authority control and the birth of the Transport Policies and Programmes system were not included. Although they did not come into effect until 1974, these changes were a committed part of local government reorganization in 1973 when the book was being written. Despite the mass of detail included in this work, one must conclude that it has brought very little new material to light and that at Ll2.50 it is overpriced. University of Salford
R. D. KNOWLES
Reviews
The British Isles and the European mainland
DEREKH. ALDCROF~,British Transport since 1914: An Economic History (Newton Abbot: David and Charles, 1975. Pp. 336. E12.50) Dr Aldcroft’s book draws on a wide range of sources in its treatment of the development of transport in Britain since 1914. Attention is concentrated on the problems created by rapid changes in the structure of transport demand and by changes in technology. The size of the transport sector in Britain’s economy is discussed and the changing structural format of transport services is analysed. Different modes of transport, as well as their respective infrastructures, are all examined. One of the most valuable attributes of the book is its analysis of the background to each item of transport legislation, and its summary of the legislation itself. A major criticism is its unduly heavy emphasis on the period after 1945. The period of government wartime control from 1914 and the problems of reconstruction up to 1921 are dealt with too briefly. If the “wartime experience in transport services had demonstrated that unified control could lead to substantial improvements in operational efficiency”, why was the government’s main concern after the war to release undertakings from control? The inter-war period is surprisingly dismissed in a single chapter under a number of thematic headings : the treatment given to this important period in transport development is disappointing, and little is added to the coverage already provided by existing works. The chaotic and largely unregulated road passenger transport sector in the 1920s should, for example, have been described in greater depth. More than three-quarters of Aldcroft’s book is devoted to the period since the Second World War. After dealing with the legislative background to changes in transport ownership, structure and control, each mode of transport is examined in turn. Criticism is made of persistent government interference with airline ordering policies, and of the post-war record of British shipping. In the final chapter, Aldcroft identifies infrastructure adaptation as the basic need for the future. It is disappointing that the bringing of the Passenger Transport Executives under local authority control and the birth of the Transport Policies and Programmes system were not included. Although they did not come into effect until 1974, these changes were a committed part of local government reorganization in 1973 when the book was being written. Despite the mass of detail included in this work, one must conclude that it has brought very little new material to light and that at Ll2.50 it is overpriced. University of Salford
R. D. KNOWLES