The title of this paper has been chosen for several reasons. To take financing first: problems of financing in transportation occur at several distinct levels, namely

—systems suppliers, for example, aircraft manufacturers;

—terminals and infrastructure, for example, ports and airports;

—operating companies, for example, airlines.

We shall essentially be focusing attention on financing of systems.

Secondly, innovation will receive attention within the systems, because while financing of conventional systems may not be easy, that of innovatory systems is often almost impossible. An innovatory transportation system may be defined as a package of equipment or components, at least some of which are radically new and which are designed to meet the requirements of a given transportation market.