Public transport service contracts – Central government measures to improve interregional accessibility

The services organised through public transport service contracts have a clearly positive effect on accessibility in interregional public transport. The public transport service contracts contribute to more municipalities meeting all eight accessibility criteria at either a good or acceptable level, compared with the situation without such contracts. This shows that public transport service contracts add value and boost travel opportunities in interregional public transport.

The public transport service contracts’ contribution to improved interregional accessibility has fallen slightly in recent years, while the costs of the contracts have risen. Most of this deterioration is due to external factors, such as a reduced commercial public transport supply or decreased interregional services from regional public transport agencies. However, we note that, besides the external factors, there are also developments that can be attributed to the Swedish Transport Administration’s management of public transport service contracts. For example, the number of municipalities that have obtained improvements and the number of accessibility criteria that have been improved through public transport service contracts have decreased. Furthermore, central government costs per passenger have increased for the majority of regular public transport service contracts – that is, contracts that have been established as a result of the Swedish Transport Administration’s standard assessment processes.

The Swedish Transport Administration prioritises between different routes when they are analysed within the scope of the same assessment. This applies, for example, to prioritisation among different air routes within the joint air transport assessment, as well as bus and rail routes assessed within integrated packages. However, there is no prioritisation with regard to the Swedish Transport Administration’s other measures implemented through public transport service contracts in other parts of the country. It is important that the Swedish Transport Administration prioritises among different measures to deliver the greatest possible benefit when financial resources are limited.

In its management of public transport service contracts, the Swedish Transport Administration has a fundamental premise to improve accessibility where major shortcomings exist. However, there is a lack of consideration for cost-effectiveness in relation to accessibility objectives, as well as socioeconomic assessments that incorporate additional factors like passenger demand, in the overall evaluation.

The Swedish Transport Administration essentially has a well-functioning assessment process. At the same time, in some cases, decisions on public transport service contracts are made on the basis of insufficient documentation, unclear or unapplied guidelines and, in some cases, failure to follow assessment findings. Moreover, the procedure used by the Swedish Transport Administration is outdated and does not reflect current working practices.

The Swedish Transport Administration’s monitoring and evaluation of public transport service contracts feature limitations in system support, deficient quality assurance and inadequate documentation. Different approaches and inadequate verification of reported data impede obtaining a comprehensive overview and pose a risk of erroneous payments. Evaluations have seldom provided a basis for assessing whether the objectives of the public transport service contracts have actually been achieved. All in all, this means that the Swedish Transport Administration does not fully ensure that public transport services are delivered as contracted, or that accessibility objectives are achieved in the most cost-effective manner possible.

The Government’s steering of the Swedish Transport Administration’s work on public transport service contracts has been inadequate in terms of monitoring and evaluating the management of such contracts. The Government has not analysed whether resources suffice, are used efficiently or whether its steering leads to effective management of the contracts. Since all contracts are financed out of the same appropriation, contracts concluded on specific assignments from the Government may affect the Swedish Transport Administration’s ability to enter into other contracts. Without a structured evaluation, the central government risks lacking an adequate basis for decision-making, which may lead to inefficient use of central government funds, and contracts that are not founded on actual needs. Such an evaluation is also needed to develop the Government’s steering of the Swedish Transport Administration’s work on public transport service contracts.