The post-communist transition of urban public transport in Eastern Europe and Central Asia is examined in this paper through the unique case of transport development in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The paper discusses legislative changes and changes in governance, and the evolution of the major modes of transport in terms of ownership, scale and reliability. Political economy constraints and socio-economic considerations have played an important role in how the reforms were approached and enforced both in early stages and later as a response to negative spillover effects from earlier reforms. Policy recommendations are made concerning the problems of transition to a post-independence urban transport system in Tashkent.