公路運輸有可及性高、運用靈活、使用普遍等特性，然而安全性及準點性較低；相較於公路，鐵路運輸之優點為運量大、準點性及安全性高，缺點為投資大且可及性較低，而高速鐵路則另外具有速度快的特性，將隨著運輸距離的加長而發揮其最大效益。高鐵加入營運後，以期高速、準確、運量大、班次密集等特性，將使公路客運業者在中長程運輸面臨極大的挑戰，甚至失去長程客運的大部分市場佔有率。然而，在完善的運輸系統中，公路客運與高鐵應是合作而非競爭之關係。政府施政目標及世界趨勢都將往複合運輸的方向發展，因此公路客運業者應找尋可以與高鐵互補之運輸市場，如路線接駁或加強短程運輸的服務水準，以發揮公路運輸之固有特性，並補充高鐵的不足。

　　　　　The characteristics of highway transportation are high accessibility, high mobility and popular, but it has some shortcomings such as lack of safety and lower on-time service level, in contrast to highway transportation, rail transportation is known for its massive capacity, higher on-time service level and safer while it is capital intensive and lower accessibility. High Speed Rail (HSR), due to it high operational speed, possesses significant cost-effectiveness with increasing transport distance. When HSR start service, it will make a great threat to the intercity bus companies in the medium and long distance markets. However, the interrelation of highway and HSR transportation should be cooperative. The operators of highway passenger transportation should develop new marketing strategies complementary to HSR, e.g., feeder routes and increasing level of service for short-range transportation. Various business opportunities are discussed in this paper.