Workshop report – Beyond competitive tendering

Abstract

Most countries contemplating the introduction of competition-based organizational forms did not perceive the British deregulated bus regime to be the way forward. A deeper analysis of facts and an international coverage of the local successes of that regime remained marginal and, as a result, the reputation of deregulated regimes remained bad or – at best – a contentious issue. The rush for competitive tendering was further stimulated by the European Commission’s endeavour to enact a Regulation that put forward competitive tendering of exclusive contracts as the preferred way to organise local public transport markets. Yet, as discussed in this workshop, deregulation in various guises may well play a growing role in local and regional transport. This is already visible in long-distance coach transport and in (international) European railway markets as from 2010. The workshop paper discusses whether such competition-based institutional alternatives to competitive tendering can provide efficiency and service improvements, how such competition-based alternatives should be ‘regulated’ and, alternatively, how a non-competitive direct award could perhaps still guarantee good performance.