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copyright 2002 by the ARTS Consortium. ARTS is a project within the fifth framework programme of the European Union - competitive and sustainal growth.
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 Legal/Regulatory Barriers include all barriers that have a legal or regulat ory dimension which may prevent or deter the process of designing/planning and implementing new and more flexible transport services. Legal and regulatory barriers subsumed under this Framework Category include restrictive legislation which influences the design of an innovative transport service negatively by
excluding special operators or essential parts of the new services (e.g. the combination of different kinds of transportation is prohibited). Of course, it is not only the existence of a law or regulation that may be an obstacle but also the lack of it. Another very important issue worth remarking on is the
application of licences and operating concessions, that may hinder new transport services. This includes both the coverage of the licences and operating concessions and the entrance criteria for obtaining them. A further question is whether competitive conditions and poor market conditions influence the introduction of innovative transport services negatively. This is of essential importance for operators trying to enter the market who may face a full or partial monopoly or difficulties inherent in the procedure for public invitation to tender. |
>> Legal or Regulatory Framework
>> Licences / Concessions
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In all countries investigated, except Sweden, licences and operating concessions are used as means for regulating access to the public transport market by new transport operators or new transport services. Licences and Concessions are often granted by national authorities, sometimes by regional authorities and only in case of special services (such as those for disabled people or tourism) by municipalities. In some very rigid cases they are mainly granted to the operator controlled by the state. In Italy, the current situation is in flux because the devolution programme (to be fully implemented by the end of 2003), includes a shift away from the concession system towards a public tendering process.
The introduction of new transport services is discouraged by the fact, that in most cases licences and operating concessions are not available. Additionally, new services usually do not fit well within a conventional inflexible system of operating concessions with fixed routes, fixed timetables or limited capacity. This is a fundamental barrier for on-demand services, which depend on the opportunity to react flexibly to irregular demand with, for example, door-to-door routes, whereas the conventional concession system provides a too inflexible and stiff framework for the implementation of innovative transport services. An additional fundamental barrier is the lack of acceptance of new transport services leading to a situation where licensing authorities reject the service because of its potential competition with the existing system.
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| If you want to know more about this Barrier and how to overcome it, please feel free to download our Handbook. |
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