This thesis is a result from a project 
funded by the co-operative research programme T3 of 
the Netherlands Organisation of Applied Scientific Research TNO 
and the Netherlands Research School for Transport, Infrastructure, 


and Logistics TRAIL 
TRAIL Thesis Series no. 2006/5, The Netherlands TRAIL Research School, Delft, The NetherlandsThis thesis studies the effects of regulatory reform on innovative capabilities, mainly 
technological and organisational innovation and learning, in the public transport 
organisations. Though there is little research that explicitly examines the relationship 
between regulatory reform and technological innovation in the public transport sector, 
we utilise, in this thesis, various theories and studies correlating to the issue as well as 
empirical evidence (case studies) to support the analyses. In this thesis, the main 
research question asks: 

‘What effect does regulatory reform (in the public transport market) have on 
innovative capability, and which routes of innovation will prevail?’ 

The thesis is based on two theoretical perspectives: innovation theory and institutional 
and organisational studies. This thesis provides a broader perspective on innovation; 
it focuses on both the technological and organisational aspects of innovative activities. 
In this thesis, the public transport service is exemplified by the ‘twin characteristics’ 
approach which defines public transport in terms of three sets of characteristics: 
technical characteristics, competence, and service characteristics. It then classifies 
innovation into three subgroups: service innovation, pure technical innovation, and 
competence development. Within those three groups, the innovative capabilities of 
the public transport system can be divided into three more categories, namely, 
innovative capabilities related to 1) infrastructure, 2) vehicle, and 3) service operation. 
These innovative capabilities can be considered as guidelines for analysing the 
innovation process in the public transport sector. Furthermore, the thesis defines three 
levels of innovation to locate where the innovation is positioned in time and space