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- Ticket aces: they want to start the bus business on routes in exchange for investments
Ticket aces: they want to start the bus business on routes in exchange for investments
Private bus carriers are being offered to invest in the development of urban transport infrastructure in exchange for working on urban routes. We are talking about the construction of service stations, gas stations and other facilities. In return, investors will be able to conclude long-term contracts without holding tenders. This initiative was put forward by public figures, they propose to discuss it in the Ministry of Transport and the State Duma. However, market participants believe that this is beneficial only to large companies with free funds, and not for the majority of firms operating in the regions.
Why you need to invest in infrastructure
For the organization of bus transportation in the regions, it is proposed to consider long-term concessions (public partnerships with private companies). With such an initiative, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, Yevgeny Moskvichev, and the Ministry of Transport were approached by the All-Russian Association of Passengers (OOP). Its representatives believe that this will attract additional investments in the development of transport infrastructure in cities. So far, such agreements have been concluded only for electric public transport.
The PLO requests amendments to art. 14 FZ-220 "On the organization of passenger transportation by motor transport", which will expand the mechanisms of investment and public-private partnership.
— Now it is possible to implement concessions in relation to trams, trolleybuses, electric buses. The PLO is proposing to extend this practice to all public transport in cities," Ilya Zotov, chairman of the association, told Izvestia. — Bus bases can be the main object of investment, because regions and municipalities do not have enough budget funds for them.
According to the plans of the national goal "Comfortable and safe living environment", 85% of the passenger transportation fleet should be renewed in cities and large agglomerations by 2030. The state allocates money for this within the framework of the federal program "Development of Public Transport" (ROT). Buses arrive in the regions under preferential leasing with compensation from the budget.
But buses are not available to everyone, but on a competitive basis, taking into account the development of infrastructure in cities. The more invested in the urban network in the regions, the higher the chances of updating public transport, it is indicated in the parameters of the ROTH project.
When considering applications from regions for the supply of transport, the Ministry of Transport takes into account already built dedicated lanes, turn-around areas, stops, and more. Among the mandatory requirements is the availability of gas stations for buses of large and medium classes.
The regions have little money to upgrade this infrastructure, which is why they have to look for funds from non-budgetary sources, Ilya Zotov notes. And considerable investments are required: the cost of one modular automotive gas filling compressor station (CNG station) with two transfer columns reaches 55 million rubles. And for the construction of one bus base, an average of 2-3 billion is required, the expert notes.
"In many cities, the infrastructure is extremely worn out, especially the facilities of motor transport enterprises, parks, workshops, and so on, which were built back in Soviet times — in the 1970s and 1980s," Dmitry Yampolsky, General Director of ANO Public Transport, told Izvestia.
An investor can enter the region and finance the construction. In return, the authorities can provide guarantees for long-term work on some routes in order to discourage investments, the PLO letter says. To do this, it is proposed to provide this carrier with maps of regular routes without conducting separate auctions. In this case, contracts can be concluded for several years. As an option, the investor will have access to the operation of a fleet of new spacious buses coming under the Public Transport Development project.
As Sergey Khrapach, head of the Mezhregionautotrans association, told Izvestia, this transport may well be operated by private companies under a concession when concluding relevant contracts.
If there is a new spacious transport, the quality of transportation will also change, Ilya Zotov believes. Passengers will benefit from this. Investments are beneficial for carriers for another reason — poor infrastructure reduces the service life of the vehicle.
As the Ministry of Transport told Izvestia, the proposal of the All-Russian Passenger Association requires a comprehensive analysis and in-depth study. Izvestia also sent a request to the office of Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport Yevgeny Moskvichev.
How to make transportation more convenient
"The proposed bill will allow investors to invest a lot of money in public transport with a payback guarantee," the chairman of the Association of Passenger Carriers told Izvestia Tatiana Rakulova. — Theoretically, it is beneficial for passengers if a large investor appears who enters a new market, bypassing bidding with a new comfortable vehicle. However, the question arises as to what to do for carriers already operating on bus routes.
According to her, contracts with them are concluded for only one year, there are no working capital, which is why they cannot plan the renewal of transport. There is a risk that the initiative may provoke their bankruptcy and the redistribution of business in cities, she believes.
The chairman of the OAPR fears that large companies with capital and connections may bypass the bidding in the regions and take all the good routes for a long time.
The concession principle provides for private investments with a certain rate of return, but in fact passenger transportation on regular routes is usually social in nature, that is, unprofitable or unprofitable, as a result of which municipal and regional authorities are forced to date them, notes Sergey Khrapach from Mezhregionautotrans.
The low marginality of the business in the field of public transport makes it uninteresting for potential participants in most regions, the expert believes.
— There are about a dozen urban transportation concessions in Russia so far — as a rule, these are trams, — said Dmitry Yampolsky. — The most famous example is the Chizhik carrier in St. Petersburg. There are good projects in Taganrog, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, etc.
St. Petersburg Chizhik tram
But it is still impossible to determine the effectiveness of the concessions, because less than three years have passed since their launch, the expert says.
— The mechanism of bus concessions can be workable and become an additional tool for improving the quality of transportation with proper control over the performance of transport work, — Ilya Zotov believes. — It is not limited only to investments in infrastructure, but it definitely increases the transparency of passenger transportation.
According to the expert, this mechanism will become operational when the regions switch to a regulated tariff, which involves the creation of a single operator, which, being municipal or regional, will allow tracking the schedule and collecting fares. If the carrier follows the schedule and maintains the proper quality of services, then he receives payment for the work.
— Now, in most cases, control over carriers is insufficient, and limited punitive measures do not allow imposing tangible punishments on them, — Ilya Zotov continues. — It is also difficult to stop the work of unscrupulous companies before the end of the contract, therefore, the practice of short-term contracts for 12 months is common. Negligent carriers often work in the "gray", and budgets receive less tax revenue. All these factors are hindering the development of public transport.
The concession mechanism will provide another tool for solving these problems, the expert believes.
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