Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/115879 
Year of Publication: 
2015
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 15-061
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
We provide an empirical assessment of the German interurban bus industry two years after its deregulation in January 2013. In addition to a general description of key developments of the industry, we use a unique route-level price data set to study both competitive interaction in general and the potential price effects of a recently announced merger of the two largest players in the market in particular. We find that route-level average prices, inter alia, do not only depend on the number of competitors but especially on the composition of firms operating on a particular route. Although our empirical results suggest short-term price increases on certain route types post-merger, it remains an open question whether the merger should be classified as anticompetitive.
Subjects: 
deregulation
competition
merger
interurban bus services
Germany
JEL: 
L11
L41
L92
K21
K23
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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