Spain is just one of Europe’s largest economies. system of special concessions in bus transport medium and long distance routes. While Germany, France, Italy or Portugal have promoted the liberalization of bus routes in recent years, in Spain the Government and autonomous communities continue to monopolize the business through years of concessions, and there are signs of this. inefficiency.
this National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) It puts pressure on the executive and communities and demands the liberalization of major bus routes covering more than 100 kilometers in line with the recommendation of the European Commission. After more than three years of work, the body ‘Study on intercity passenger transport by bus’, that it presents numerous efficiency issues in the current operation of the lines and proposes to follow the major EU countries towards liberalisation.
The current concession system implies that the Government or autonomous communities – depending on the characteristics of the lines – grant administrative concessions to private companies to operate bus services under a monopoly regime through the exclusive use of certain routes.
CNMC advocates liberalization of medium and long-haul service through companies launching on-demand routes, and while several operators can compete on the same lines, Administrations can protect unprofitable but socially necessary routes through public service obligations (OSP). ), which subsidies will be granted and the existing concession system will be maintained.
Competition urges administrations to liberalize now, emphasizing that this is the ideal time to renew the many concessions that are about to expire, because the future Sustainable Mobility Act is under way and the Department of Transport is now ready. preparation of a new map of bus line concessions (its initial design sparked controversy as a 72% cut in the number of state concessions was considered and was rejected by a majority in Congress).
European Example
According to the CNMC, users in countries where bus transport has been liberalized, price reductions, more routes and thus passenger volume increased rapidly Who decides the bus? Average prices for bus service in Germany and France are 23% cheaper than in Spain and 36% cheaper in Italy. Since the service opened to competition, the number of flights in Germany has almost sixfolded, in France it has quadrupled, and in Italy it has increased by 30%. The current legal framework in Spain prohibits operators from opening routes outside of concessions, even if they identify a commercial opportunity.
“The concession system we have in Spain is underworked,” CNMC sources say. The institution commanded by the murderous Fernández denounces it. More than half (52%) of bus line concessions have expired On the Spanish market and with the obvious misuse of the application for the extension of concessions by the Administrations, average duration of benefiting from concessions exceeds 30 years (in some autonomous communities this is even close to 50 years), when the legal limit is set at 10 years, it is extended for an additional 5 years if justified. “The renewal of many expired concessions is urgent, and it is necessary to regulate and strengthen the exceptional character of the extensions of concessions,” they say of the organism.
CNMC also argues that it is also urgent to improve the specifics of tenders where concessions will be awarded on routes that maintain this regime, regardless of whether or not bus service will be liberalized. body suggests split offers into lots to make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to join in competitions without the need to join alliances; supporting the selection of the best operator by giving more weight to economic bids in the final score of tenders; and eliminating the phrase having a certain number of vehicles or personnel, as this gives an advantage to companies already operating the route.
“The concession system is completely legal. But it’s a question of efficiency, it’s a question of improving management”, they are receiving penalties from CNMC. “Large operators today are very protected, which is not in the best interest of customers. Some bus routes within Spain are more expensive than connections between Spain and Paris”.