Abstract

This chapter assess some critical changes in transport provision in the context of commercial innovation. Three lenses (technology, commerce and policy) are utilised to frame the challenges and opportunities of examining these changes and provide a context and understanding through which future assessments and performance measurements can be applied. It is argued that technology can be assessed in the context of globalisation in two ways: the pervasiveness (or attempted pervasiveness more appropriately) of technological innovations and as a business strategy. In the context of a commercial lens, the focus becomes what how commercial realities and business strategies might make use of current technological trends. Finally, the lens of policy in this chapter brings government action (through laws and regulation) into the mix, arguing that, in some cases, ‘policy anxiety’ or ‘policy paralysis’ may stand in the way of some of these innovations taking hold. The chapter concludes by arguing that transportation and innovation share a bidirectional relationship that make it likely that each will continue to exert substantial influence over the other.