In cities around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic put the brakes on public transport. Buses, trains and light rail cars — once teaming with commuters — ran empty for much of 2020 and 2021. They have continued to run below capacity post-lockdown, thanks to renewed preferences for car travel and the rise of work-from-home practices. In the longer term, as urban populations grow, public transport will no doubt return to higher patronage — and to familiar capacity constraints.

From scarcity to abundance and back again.

So what is the role of pricing in all of this? Is it useful as a means of managing demand and rationing scarcity? How should it account for social and private costs? And how well were these decisions made prior to the pandemic?

About the Speakers

Hudan is a Research and Inquiry Manager at the Productivity Commission. He has spent the past 15 years working in public policy at the Productivity Commission (PC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). His work has covered areas in social policy (including parental leave, disability insurance and education) and on the regulation of network infrastructure (including transport, electricity, telecommunications, and digital platforms). Hudan holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours in Economics from the University of Sydney.

Natalie is a Senior Research Economist at the Productivity Commission (PC). Her work has covered policy areas including public transport, vocational and higher education, airport regulation, childcare, disability services, family violence, out-of-home care, housing and justice services. Previously, Natalie was a Senior Consultant in the Policy, Programs and Evaluation team at KPMG and a Research Secondee at the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute. She has also spent nearly a decade as a researcher and contributor with Pearson Education, working on economics textbooks for high school students. Natalie holds a Bachelor of Economics / Arts (Honours) from the University of Sydney, and a Master of International and Development Economics (Microeconomic Policy) from the ANU.

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