Transport

Let's make this a smooth journey

Transport sectors are undergoing major reforms around the world in response to rising demand and the challenges of funding infrastructure. Frontier advises operators, investors, private companies, governments and regulators to help achieve more effective outcomes.

OK, let’s go!

Transport sectors are seeing significant reform. With this comes a need for advice on how to get your desired destination.

The last twenty years have seen major market shake-ups in air and rail transport, with big implications for regulatory and competition policy.

We’ve in-depth knowledge of all transport markets - with clients including airports, airlines, rail operators, automotive companies and associations, transport ministries and regulators.

We use this insight to create compelling evidence, using advanced empirical techniques, that keep our clients ahead of the game.

The value we add:

  • Providing strategic advice on costs, pricing and market developments
  • Advising on the design and implementation of regulatory frameworks
  • Measuring economic impacts
  • Expertise in antitrust and competition policy
  • Franchise evaluation
  • Analysing environmental impacts 
Up to speed with regulation

We help our clients meet their regulatory obligations, keep a competitive advantage and satisfy customers.

Our experts combine an understanding of regulatory structures with a deep knowledge of transport sectors.

We then use this in conjunction with advanced quantitative techniques and economic modelling to create solutions.

Our expertise:

  • The whole range of regulatory economics
  • Market power assessment
  • Designing regulatory incentives, price reviews and charging structures
  • Efficiency benchmarking
  • Asset valuation
  • Regulatory finance and cost of capital assessment
  • Demand forecasting

Read more about Regulation.

Competition

Competition policy forms an important part of the regulation of many transport sectors. Transport providers can have to navigate national and international competition policy as well as sector regulation. 

We bring to bear extensive competition policy expertise and an in-depth understanding of different transport network services. We apply our expertise to everything from market investigations  and merger inquiries, to anti-competitive conduct cases and state aid cases. 

Our experience also covers litigation, and acting as expert witnesses.

See more of our competition work here.

Economic and environmental impact

Extensive transport links are essential to meaningful economic development. But transport projects are often a balancing act between economic benefit and environmental impact.

Fresh economic thinking is needed to understand and measure that balance.  We do just that - using innovative techniques to assess the impact of different policies and investments at local, national and international levels.

Our clients include transport providers, trade and research associations, regulators and government bodies.

How we help: 

  • Cost-benefit analysis
  • Life-cycle analysis 
  • Understanding the competitive impact of environmental policy
  • Designing and assessing market-based solutions to reduce transport’s environmental costs.
  • Using insights from behavioural economics to help create a more sustainable transport system
Policy design

A great transport policy is at the heart of any well-functioning market economy.

Get it right and quality of life, competitiveness and economic growth can all get a boost.

We work in aviation, highways, ports and railways, assessing policies that involve both infrastructure operators and service providers. We often work with government agencies and senior official in European institutions, and support transport regulators.

What we do:

  • Rigorous assessments of suggested policies to help our clients make the best decisions
  • Design effective and innovative ways of measuring the impact of policies
  • Help potential investors to understand the implications of policy reforms.
Modelling and finance

Effective economic thinking is vital to shape solid transport investment - delivering value for money and the right incentives. We tackle important and complex questions, but not by using tired, off-the-shelf methods.

We combine our transport sector expertise with economic, financial and statistical techniques. Our innovative modelling turns thinking into actionable answers, tailored to the needs of our clients. For example, we’ve looked at modelling traffic flows, and how passengers choose airports.

We have particular expertise in financial modelling and analysis. We advise private and public organisations, worldwide, on all aspects of financing infrastructure projects, including:

  • Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
  • Asset valuation
  • Value for money assessment
  • Contract design.