It was presented to Transport Minister Rob Maclellan, and was released as a total of twenty-five volumes and a final report, containing recommendations on every topic covered.
It argued for large-scale deregulation of transport markets, especially by the removal of the current restrictions on the carriage by road of such goods as cement, sawn timber, fertilisers and grain.
The report was particularly concerned about the operating losses made by VicRail, due to significant declines in patronage and large increases in car ownership.
Late-night services on the Upfield Line were eliminated (they were restored in 1997) and a multimodal fare system was introduced that, unpredicted by the Report, boosted patronage to such an extent that historians [who?]
[citation needed] Despite those changes, the Lonie Report proved very influential in transport planning, especially after the election of Jeff Kennett as premier.
Indeed, the Lonie Report could be seen as evidence for the relatively recent claims by academic Guy Pearse that car, mineral and fossil fuel lobby groups have long written government policy on energy and transport in Australia (see Greenhouse Mafia).
Perhaps more potent than criticisms based upon supposed involvement of vested interests, the Lonie Report had, as an underlying assumption, falling levels of public transport patronage.
Increasing subsidy levels are a trend that has continued in more recent years, albeit one apparently acceptable to government as a means of encouraging people to shift to public transport.
The Lonie Report seems to have been predicated upon a view that high levels of subsidy would be unacceptable to government and voters alike, which has not proven to be the case.