An increase in the number of route miles of the bus fleet, the underground and the overground train fleets will act to change the supply of these forms of transport.

The opening of new routes and increased frequency will increase the supply of non-car transport. This opportunity means many people may switch to the use of public transport. This should reduce the number of vehicles on the road and the level of congestion.

(Disclaimer Statement: Note the following is a very broad statement that has been used for educational purposes to illustrate theory. The actual relationship may not always hold due to the complexities of the issues. Therefore, it may not always be taken literally in practice.)

The problems with this policy stem from issues relating to the size of the change and the wider implications on the economy.

• The policy may not be very successful if public transport does not appear to be a close substitute. If this is the case then the car drivers will not switch to non-car modes of transport.
• The wider implications include issues of finance. If the service providers are in the public sector, then the policy will require an increase in public expenditure. If this occurs then there are issues of increased taxation or switching from other expenditure areas. Both of these could have adverse implications for the macro economy.

The default level of route miles for bus, underground and rail is set at no change in the model. However, it can range between cut by 50% to increase by 50%.

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