This book investigates the link between institutions and public policies with specific
reference to transport. It opens by examining the main arguments for the establishment of
metropolitan transport authorities. The potential impacts of institutional change on the policy
efficiency of institutions are then examined. Key problems for institutional designers are
identified showing how they can hamper the achievement of desired policy outcomes through
institutional solutions. Two in-depth case studies on institutional change in metropolitan
transport (in London and Barcelona) are presented with a view to testing the aforementioned
hypotheses and providing insights into the ways in which the two transport institutions were
reformed. The concluding chapter identifies lessons for institutional designers and highlights
the policy results that may be expected from the constitution of metropolitan transport
authorities.
