It is undeniable that the preparation of a new concession map for road passenger transport, which the Ministry of Transport is working on under the framework of the Sustainable Mobility Law, has been located at the epicenter of the division within the bus sector. Although large operators such as Alsa, Avanza, Arriba or Monbus, represented by Confebus, welcome the maintenance of the route concession system, the small and medium-sized companies in the sector represented by Direbus, defend, in the same vein as the German Flixbus, the liberalization of the passenger market.
This Wednesday, the Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, appeared in the Congress of Deputies to thoroughly explain the Sustainable Mobility Bill. During his presentation he placed special emphasis on the efforts that the ministry is making to design a new concession map, which in his opinion, “is raising unjustified controversy.” The lines advanced by Santano focused on alleviating the Executive’s intention to maintain and consolidate the current concessional system under an approach based on “bilateral State-CCAA collaboration to coordinate and intensify the networks of both administrations.”
Along these lines, he announced that the Government will subsidize the autonomies with 40 million for their approval of the new concessions map, but he also opened the door to establishing flexibility mechanisms so that, in certain cases and after a rigorous technical analysis, the Council of Ministers can open some services to competition “when it is demonstrated that it is the best solution for the citizen”.
Direbús warns of the risk of the viability of SMEs
The position revealed by the portfolio headed by Óscar Puente regarding the firmness of maintaining the concession model has not been well received by bus company associations such as Direbús. The employers’ association that defends the interests of SMEs in the sector reproaches that Spain’s concession system goes against the grain of the rest of the European Union countries, including its Iberian neighbor Portugal, where the bus service is already liberalized “in favor of more modal quota, “Lower prices, more schedules and companies to choose from.”
The director of Institutional Relations of Direbús, Juan Manuel Sierra, uses the example of the railway market to explain this medium as a model based on the liberalization of the main corridors and the entry of new competitors has benefited the user with more supply and higher prices. . accessible. Sierra, who defends a progressive liberalization of the market, expresses his disappointment with Transport’s position to update the concession system and warns of the risk to the viability of small and medium-sized companies.
“If the Tenders Launched by the Autonomous Communities Present Economic Conditions Below Profitability for Operators, Qaeden Lines Go Empty Because SMEs Are Not Going to Bid and This Attacks Freedom of Opportunities and Competition, alert. For more inri, from Direbús warn that under this economic context the environmental cost will be unviable for companies to renew their fleets. Furthermore, as members of the National Road Transport Committee (CNTC) they charge against the Ministry, for “not consulting or mentioning ” to the committee to address the bill. “We are faced with a dichotomy in which the sector is not going to stand still,” they emphasize.
Flixbus demands “a reform and not patches”
In the same vein it is pronounced from Flixbus. Sources from the German firm, which can only operate international lines, regret that the measure announced by Mitma regarding a new concession map “seems to eliminate almost any possibility of advancing in a model of opening lines of more than 100 kilometers that, “Their judgment and that of the CNMC would be much more beneficial for citizens and companies, especially SMEs.” The operator believes that, for the moment, there is nothing to indicate that this new concession map will take into account European regulations on service obligations. public and passenger collection on international lines (cabotage), “despite the success of the market opening that has occurred in all the countries around us.”
They defend that the long-distance concessional model in force in Spain since before democracy requires “a reform and not patches.” “The concession model is what has made us have the highest prices in all of Europe. This has been recognized by the CNMC and independent think tanks such as Funcas, which have analyzed that traveling by bus in Spain is 88% more expensive than in France or Italy,” he argues. They trust that, within the processing of the law, the political parties and the Ministry itself will adopt additional measures so that the bus “recovers a part of the 15 million users that it has lost in recent years to less sustainable and regulated means.” ulated, like car sharing.”
Confebus defends the concessional model
On the other side of the front is Confebus, which completely rejects the total or partial liberalization of the sector, but is inclined to update the concession map. A recent conference held by the employers’ association in the Congress of Deputies highlighted their position to positively welcome the intention of the bill and defend that the current concession model benefits companies in the sector by providing them with stability and making it easier for the administration to control. . that the public service is provided in the appropriate way, with a stable price and a continuous frequency.
However, the majority organization of the sector considers that there are some aspects that could be improved, such as those related to financing, which should cover the entire public transport system; the connection services, which must be comparable to those contemplated for the railway; or the adaptation of the concession map and the bidding system to the new reality of mobility.
