Public transport price prevails over quality

Proposals for an overhaul of outdated legislation on public transport provision might be considered overdue given the deep transformations the sector has undergone in the past few decades. Current EU rules on issues such as compensation for low-profit routes were drawn up back in 1969, a time when most public service operators were still state-owned companies.

Public transport is a service of general interest par excellence, given its importance to economic and social life of communities. Jonathan Goldberg, secretary-general of the Paris-based European Metropolitan Transport Authorities, says that the need for universality of access has never been greater. The association is calling for a sector-specific framework of rules, separate from existing legislative proposals, that would define public transport as a service of general interest and set guidelines for local authorities.

"Urban expansion has led to increasing distances for everyday trips," he says. "The private car, which was once regarded as the universal solution to all mobility needs, will never be accessible to all people. Moreover, nuisances caused by excessive use of private cars [such as pollution, noise and congestion] are now widely acknowledged and mean that public authorities have no choice but to implement policies leading to a reduction of car traffic."

Under new legislation, however, the public transport sector is to be exposed more than ever to competition. Rules approved by EU transport ministers in June will promote greater transparency in the relationship between local authorities and operators, introducing restrictions on the length of contracts, defining levels of compensation and, most significantly, imposing compulsory tendering for all services bar rail (in cases where the annual value of contracts is less than €1.7 million for less than 500,000 kilometres).

Sabine Trier, deputy secretary-general of the European Transport Workers’ Federation, is worried that quality will suffer as a result. "National, regional and local authorities have a responsibility to ensure delivery of this service at a good level of quality with access for everyone at a price that is affordable for less advantaged groups," she says. "When there is competitive tendering, the local authority accepts offers based on the lowest price. Everything becomes a question of the cheapest price, which does not [ensure] the best quality. We think there should be legislation…imposing quality criteria."

Local authorities and transport operators, which currently have to deal with a number of grey areas on issues such as state aid and tendering processes, hope that new legislation will provide clarity. On state aid, in this case compensation offered to operators running low-profit routes, legislation will be based on the 2003 Altmark ruling delivered by the European Court of Justice - involving local government in the German city of Magdeburg in eastern Germany and local transport company Altmark - which clarified the conditions that would have to be fulfilled for state aid to be considered legal.

Proposals for an overhaul of outdated legislation on public transport provision might be considered overdue given the deep transformations the sector has undergone in the past few decades. Current EU rules on issues such as compensation for low-profit routes were drawn up back in 1969, a time when most public service operators were still state-owned companies.

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