Local public transport company

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The Local Transport Company ( LNG ), also rarely referred to as the Local Transport Organization ( LNO ), is based on Section 6 of the Local Public Transport Act (ÖPNVG) in Hesse . On behalf of the responsible authorities, it takes on sovereign tasks (within the framework of services of general interest) in local public transport (ÖPNV).

Framework

As part of until 2009 applicable legal requirements of the European law (EU regulation no. 1191/69) had the liberalization of public transport services of public transport must not be abbreviated. Taking into account the EU regulations on public subsidies and the related ruling of the European Court of Justice of July 24, 2003, it was only possible under certain, very narrowly defined conditions to operate local public transport without tendering (to the traditional operator, mostly municipal utilities , successor companies the rail buses, etc.) (internal allocation), provided that they are owned directly or at least indirectly with sufficient influence by the public sector. Against this background, the state of Hesse set the establishment of local public transport companies by the public transport authorities as a binding requirement with its regional local transport law in 1995 . With the amendment of the Hessian Public Transport Act in 2005, this obligation no longer applies, and the establishment of local public transport companies (only referred to as “local transport organizations” or “public transport organizations” in the law) has been a voluntary task since then.

With the adoption of Regulation (EC) No. 1370/2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and road, which came into force in 2009 , EU Regulation No. 1191/69 was no longer applicable. The German Passenger Transport Act was adapted to the EU regulation in 2013. In the new legal framework, the direct award or the competitive award of transport contracts or public service contracts to transport companies is specified as an alternative . With certain exceptions, however, direct awards are still only possible to internal operators owned or controlled by the respective regional authorities. The basic structures and functions of the Hessian local public transport companies were therefore also compatible with the changed legal framework.

tasks

conditions

Since local public transport usually cannot cover costs, it is the main task of the local LNG to describe and order the desired transport services. Not only the line routes, but also the clock frequency and other details such as the vehicle equipment, passenger information, flexibility, etc. are specified. In the context of a tender, several lines are always to be combined into a bundle, whereby this should contain relations with high and weaker demand.

Award procedure

The order is placed through the conclusion of a contract. Its contents are regulated in Hesse in Section 9 of the Hessian Public Transport Act and, in addition to the criteria already mentioned in the tender, above all include measurement factors for quality control and performance compliance as well as appropriate sanctions for violations. In implementation of EU Regulation 1370/2007, the order is expressly made in accordance with the so-called "orderer-maker principle". In particular, the following points must be regulated in the relevant transport contract, regardless of the type of award:

  • Scope of the transport and services to be provided including the design of the offer in the event of unscheduled changes
  • Quality and control of the services of the transport company, sanctions for non-performance and poor performance as well as incentives for the further development of offers and quality of offers
  • Distribution of the fare income and the amount of financial compensation in accordance with the requirements of EU Regulation 1370/2007

Coordination with transport associations

The entire area of ​​Hesse belongs to transport associations : The northern part of the North Hessian Transport Association (NVV), Central and South Hesse to the Rhein-Main Transport Association (RMV) and the Bergstrasse district to the Rhein-Neckar Transport Association (VRN). The respective LNGs have to agree and coordinate their offers with the local transport association.

implementation

In accordance with legal requirements, LNGs were set up across Hesse. Occasionally these still work under the umbrella of the local transport company, often as part of the district or city administration (in independent cities), but sometimes (e.g. in Frankfurt ) they already form their own companies (here traffiQ ) that no longer work with the Service providers (here the Stadtwerke Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main VGF) are interwoven.

A special case is the Bergstrasse district, which is located in the area of ​​the Rhein-Neckar transport association , which extends over parts of the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, so that the different legal provisions of the states must be observed. Although this district is also subject to the legal obligation under Hessian law to found a local public transport company, it has commissioned the transport association to take over its tasks. Since LNGs are not provided in the other two federal states and instead the transport association acts as the responsible entity, this “solution” is currently recognized as sufficient.

Effects

Traffic Company

Due to the collective bargaining agreements, it is often difficult or even impossible for long-established operators to get a job in the event of a tender or to continue to be commissioned without a tender. For this reason, many companies use subcontractors whose employees are subject to a different collective agreement or have founded subsidiaries that are also subject to the other collective agreement. Depending on the time of the last concession award, services have already been put out to tender in many areas. B. the kvk (Kraftverkehr Kinzigtal) lines in Rüsselsheim served, while in the traditional area today other providers provide the services. Parts of the network have already been put out to tender in Frankfurt; in the final stage, all bundles there are to be awarded by tendering.

Passengers

Basically, due to the specified quality requirements, passengers should not notice which provider has been commissioned with the connections they are using. However, practice has shown that there were repeated problems here, be it due to a lack of line studies, insufficient language skills or insufficient friendliness.

Perspectives

According to the more recent rulings of the European Court of Justice, internal allocation is not subject to quite as strict criteria as many initially assumed. Among other things, it is important that cross-subsidization within a company (traditionally in the case of public utilities that also operate an energy sector) is not viewed as aid that distorts competition. This opens up political possibilities for design. While Frankfurt is currently consistently following the line of the tender, in many other cities, for example in Wiesbaden, attempts are being made to maintain the existing structures of the city's own or local transport companies.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sibylle Barth: Regionalization laws of the federal government and public transport laws of the states , in: Hubertus Baumeister (Ed.): Law of the public transport. , DVV Media Group, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7771-0455-3 , pp. 231–450, here p. 395
  2. ^ Felix Berschin: The European common market in commercial passenger traffic . in: Hubertus Baumeister (Ed.): Law of public transport. , DVV Media Group, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7771-0455-3 , pp. 21-229, here p. 108 and 119 f.
  3. ↑ Sibylle Barth: Regionalization laws of the federal government and public transport laws of the federal states , in: Hubertus Baumeister (Ed.): Law of public transport ., DVV Media Group, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-7771-0455-3 , p. 231– 450, here p. 412
  4. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.vrn.de
  5. ↑ http://www.giessener-allgemeine.de/Home/Stadt/Uebersicht/Stadtwerke-erleichtert-EU-Kommission-billigt-Quersubventionierung-_arid,162417_regid,1_puid,1_pageid,113.html Viewed on February 18, 2010 07: 30 o'clock