United Kingdom

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The London Underground

The London Underground operated 408 km (254 mi) of railway in the early 2000s, of which about 42 percent is under the ground. Known as the tube, the system serves 275 stations, with more than 500 trains running during peak periods. Expansion of the system has continued; the Jubilee Line, connecting the southeast and east to central London, was completed in 1999. Much of the system is old, however, and breakdowns are a recurring problem. Despite its problems, the Underground provides reliable public transportation for an impressive number of commuters across a large metropolitan area. There are also urban rail systems in Glasgow, Liverpool, Tyne and Wear, Manchester, and Sheffield.

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Air Travel

Along with other industries, Britain’s airlines were nationalized after World War II and then were privatized in the late 1980s. British Airways is one of the world’s leading airlines and has one of the largest fleets in Europe. It was formed in 1974 by combining the two state-run airlines, British Overseas Airways Company (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA). Together with Air France, British Airways in 1976 introduced the first supersonic passenger service, using the Concorde aircraft. Concorde service was discontinued in 2003. Britain has numerous independent airlines, as well.

London’s main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, are among the world’s busiest centers for international travel. Heathrow handles more than 67 million passengers a year, and is the world’s busiest airport for international travel. There are nearly 150 other licensed civil airfields in Britain.

In 1970 Britain joined Airbus Industrie, a European consortium of aircraft manufacturers. In 2001 Airbus became a single integrated company, owned 80 percent by the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (formed from the merger of the French, German, and Spanish partners in the Airbus consortium) and 20 percent by BAE Systems PLC, formerly known as British Aerospace.

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Roads

About 90 percent of all passenger travel in Britain is by road, and primarily by private car rather than public transportation. The unstoppable growth in passenger cars during the 20th century was paralleled by rising public concern about the environmental effects of increased traffic and especially concern about air pollution. In 1994 the government slowed its road-building program. The move was in part a response to research findings that tended to confirm environmentalists’ claims that the main effect of building new roads and motorways had been to encourage extra traffic and not, as intended, to improve the flow of existing traffic. Road building began to pick up again in the early 2000s. The Transport Act of 2000 gave local authorities the power to charge drivers for use of the roads in an effort to reduce congestion. In 2003 London motorists began to pay for the privilege of driving into the center of the city.

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Communications

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The Post Office

The Post Office was founded in 1635 and is noted in history for issuing the famous Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive stamp, in 1840. In 1969 the Post Office was reorganized as a public corporation. Today, its operations are divided into three major brands: the Royal Mail, Parcelforce Worldwide, and the Post Office. The Royal Mail handles the collection and delivery of mail, Parcelforce handles parcel delivery, and the Post Office handles retail services to the public. The Post Office also handles the payment of government pensions and welfare benefits, issues licenses, collects utility company bills, and offers banking services for certain banks. It also issues foreign currency and traveler’s checks, sells travel insurance, and acts as the agent for Western Union’s money transfer service. The Post Office directly operates only about 500 sites; the other post offices in the United Kingdom are franchises.

The Royal Mail monopoly ended in 2006. Other licensed operators are now able to collect mail from businesses and from their own collection boxes, and to transport and deliver mail to business and residential customers. The Royal Mail is still required to provide a universal collection and delivery service, delivering mail at a uniform price to all UK addresses.

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Telecommunications

Britain has one of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced telecommunications systems. Telecommunications were officially the responsibility of the Post Office until 1981, when British Telecom was founded to take over telecommunications management. British Telecom was privatized in 1984 and in 1991 changed its name to BT. BT agreed to a merger with the U.S. telecommunications company MCI in 1997 to form Concert, one of the biggest companies of its kind in the world. A number of other companies offer telecommunications services such as mobile communications, overseas wireless and cable, and cable television. The National Grid, the privatized electricity transmission company, has used its pylon network to set up a fiber-optic telecommunications system, and cable television companies also offer telephone services.