M.Com. (Transport Economics) / The relative importance of road transportation cannot be over-emphasised. As at 30 June 1981 the number of licenced commercial vehicles registered in South Africa was 855 450. Freight transport for reward during 1975 was conducted by 5 588 differen t op era tors throughout South Africa. During 1981 a total mass of 239 576 000 metric tons was transported by professional freight carriers. The total revenue kilometres travelled amounted to 646 332 000 kilometres. Control over road transportation in South Africa is carried out in accordance to the regulations as stipulated in the Road Transportation Act (Act 74 of 1977) and the Road Traffic Ordinance and Regulations (Number 21 of 1966). The aim of the Road Transportation Act is to regulate, in an orderly manner, the economic aspects related to road transport and to ensure that the misallocation of resources are restricted to a minimum. An analysis of the nature and magnitude of regulation in South Africa indicates that during 1983/84 permits were issued to approximately 12 percent of all registered commercial vehicles. The statistics clearly indicate that economic regulation has a meaningful affect on the road transportation industry. The aim of this study is to research the practical implications of economic regulation practices in South Africa. A further aim of the study is to determine to what extent decisions are based on meaningful information and whether it is in line with acceptable theoretical principles. The reason for a research and analysis of this nature is related to the fact that economic regulation leads to high administrative costs for the responsible authorities.

M.Com. (Economics) / The objective of this study was to obtain information that will enable the identification of the role, nature and magnitude of private road freight transport in the South African economy. The underlying rationale was the lack of information in this regard in South Africa. Information about private road freight transport was obtained on a sectoral basis by means of a literature analysis and an empirical investigation.