{"id":12897,"date":"2024-03-29T11:13:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T10:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.epf.eu\/wp\/?p=12897"},"modified":"2024-11-19T16:15:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T15:15:36","slug":"railtech-debate-will-passengers-benefit-from-market-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.epf.eu\/wp\/railtech-debate-will-passengers-benefit-from-market-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"RailTech debate: Will passengers benefit from market opening?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 7. March, EPF\u2019s senior researcher Delphine Grandsart was invited to participate in the RailTech conference<\/a> in Utrecht as a panelist in a debate focused on the question “Will passengers benefit from market opening?” Other speakers were Viola S\u00fct\u0151 (LegalRail), Nick Brooks (ALLRAIL) and Tijmen Voet (NS). So\u2026 will passengers benefit from market opening? For EPF, the answer is YES, BUT\u2026 it is not a miracle solution.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When talking about competition in public transport, it is useful to distinguish between \u201copen access\u201d (competition on<\/em> the market) and contracted public services (competition for<\/em> the market), and how this impacts the relationship between operators and passengers. In the first case, it is the operator that decides on timetables, fares, service levels on board etc. In the latter case, it\u2019s the public authority that decides on such aspects.<\/p>\n

In both cases, several examples have shown that competition may lead to lower cost and lower prices, greater customer choice, sometimes new routes. Competition is an incentive for operators to innovate and improve their service quality. This is true for competition between rail operators, but also for competition between different modes. Competition between bus & rail can drive prices down for both. Competition with air travel is an incentive for rail to do better.<\/p>\n

However, there are also some potential downsides or pitfalls. The advantages of innovation versus a single strategic integrated network need to be balanced against each other. In case of different operators \u2013 where to obtain an overall map of services that are available? Where to find information and buy a ticket for a journey involving multiple operators? How about station management and passenger assistance across operators? In case of a disruption, are passengers able to hop on the next available train?<\/p>\n

In rail, there\u2019s no such thing as \u2018perfect competition\u2019. To start with, it is difficult for new operators to enter the market, due to factors such as insufficient capacity of the existing infrastructure, limited access to authorized rolling stock, and very lengthy decision-making cycles in timetabling, making it difficult to include new services in the short term. Also, competition only works when demand is high. On services that are not profit-making, regional governance (and subsidies) may be needed to guarantee supply of services of public interest that are unattractive from the market side.<\/p>\n

In EPF’s view, government intervention is needed in case of market failure, to ensure, amongst others:<\/p>\n