Specification of public service obligations

1. The competent authority shall lay down specifications for public service obligations in the provision of public passenger transport services and the scope of their application in accordance with Article 2(e). This includes the possibility to group cost-covering services with non-cost-covering services.

When laying down those specifications and the scope of their application, the competent authority shall duly respect the principle of proportionality, in accordance with Union law.

The specifications shall be consistent with the policy objectives stated in public transport policy documents in the Member States.

The content and format of public transport policy documents and the procedures for consulting relevant stakeholders shall be determined in accordance with national law.

2. The specifications of the public service obligations and the related compensation of the net financial effect of public service obligations shall:

achieve the objectives of the public transport policy in a cost-effective manner; and

financially sustain the provision of public passenger transport, in accordance with the requirements laid down in the public transport policy in the long term.’;

Article 4 is amended as follows:

in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:

clearly set out the public service obligations, defined in this Regulation and specified in accordance with Article 2a thereof, with which the public service operator is to comply, and the geographical areas concerned;

establish in advance, in an objective and transparent manner:

the parameters on the basis of which the compensation payment, if any, is to be calculated; and

the nature and extent of any exclusive rights granted, in a way that prevents overcompensation.

In the case of public service contracts not awarded according to Article 5(1), (3) or (3b), these parameters shall be determined in such a way that no compensation payment may exceed the amount required to cover the net financial effect on costs incurred and revenues generated in discharging the public service obligations, taking account of revenue relating thereto kept by the public service operator and a reasonable profit;’;

the following paragraphs are inserted:

‘4a. In the performance of public service contracts, public service operators shall comply with obligations applicable in the field of social and labour law established by Union law, national law or collective agreements.

4b. Directive 2001/23/EC shall apply to a change of public service operator where such a change constitutes a transfer of undertaking within the meaning of that Directive.’;

paragraph 6 is replaced by the following:

‘6. Where competent authorities, in accordance with national law, require public service operators to comply with certain quality and social standards, or establish social and qualitative criteria, those standards and criteria shall be included in the tender documents and in the public service contracts. While respecting Directive 2001/23/EC, such tender documents and public service contracts shall, where applicable, also contain information on the rights and obligations relating to the transfer of staff taken on by the previous operator.’;

the following paragraph is added:

‘8. Public service contracts shall require the operator to provide the competent authority with the information essential for the award of public service contracts, while ensuring the legitimate protection of confidential business information. Competent authorities shall make available to all interested parties relevant information for the preparation of an offer under a competitive tendering procedure, while ensuring the legitimate protection of confidential business information. This shall include information on passenger demand, fares, costs and revenues related to the public passenger transport covered by the competitive tendering procedure and details of the infrastructure specifications relevant for the operation of the required vehicles or rolling stock to enable interested parties to draft well informed business plans. Rail infrastructure managers shall support competent authorities in providing all relevant infrastructure specifications. Non-compliance with the provisions set out above shall be subject to the legal review provided for in Article 5(7).’;

Article 5 is amended as follows:

in paragraph 2, the introductory wording is replaced by the following:

‘2. Unless prohibited by national law, any competent local authority, whether or not it is an individual authority or a group of authorities providing integrated public passenger transport services may decide to provide public passenger transport services itself or to award public service contracts directly to a legally distinct entity over which the competent local authority, or, in the case of a group of authorities at least one competent local authority, exercises control similar to that exercised over its own departments.

In the case of public passenger transport services by rail, the group of authorities referred to in the first subparagraph may be composed only of local competent authorities whose geographical area of competence is not national. The public passenger transport service or the public service contract referred to in the first subparagraph may only cover the transport needs of urban agglomerations or rural areas, or both.

Where a competent local authority takes such a decision, the following shall apply:’;

paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3. Any competent authority which has recourse to a third party other than an internal operator, shall award public service contracts on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure, except in the cases specified in paragraphs 3a, 4, 4a, 4b, 5 and 6. The procedure adopted for competitive tendering shall be open to all operators, shall be fair and shall observe the principles of transparency and non-discrimination. Following the submission of tenders and any preselection, the procedure may involve negotiations in accordance with these principles in order to determine how best to meet specific or complex requirements.’;

the following paragraphs are inserted:

‘3a. Unless prohibited by national law, as regards public service contracts for public passenger transport services by rail awarded on the basis of a competitive tendering procedure, the competent authority may decide to temporarily award new contracts directly where the competent authority considers that the direct award is justified by exceptional circumstances. Such exceptional circumstances shall include situations where:

there are a number of competitive tendering procedures that are already being run by the competent authority or other competent authorities which could affect the number and quality of bids likely to be received if the contract is the subject of a competitive tendering procedure, or

changes to the scope of one or more public service contracts are required in order to optimise the provision of public services.

The competent authority shall issue a substantiated decision and shall inform the Commission thereof without undue delay.

The duration of contracts awarded pursuant to this paragraph shall be proportionate to the exceptional circumstance concerned and in any case shall not exceed 5 years.

The competent authority shall publish such contracts. In doing so, it shall take into consideration the legitimate protection of confidential business information and commercial interests.

The subsequent contract that concerns the same public service obligations shall not be awarded on the basis of this provision.

3b. In application of paragraph 3, competent authorities may decide to apply the following procedure:

Competent authorities may make public their intentions to award a public service contract for public passenger transport services by rail by publishing an information notice in the Official Journal of the European Union .

That information notice shall contain a detailed description of the services that are the subject of the contract to be awarded, as well as the type and the duration of the contract.

Operators may express their interest within a period fixed by the competent authority which shall not be less than 60 days following the publication of the information notice.

If after the expiration of that period:

only one operator has expressed its interest in participating in the procedure to award the public service contract;

that operator has duly proved that it will in fact be able to provide the transport service complying with the obligations established in the public service contract;

the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing of the parameters of the procurement; and

no reasonable alternative exists;

the competent authorities may start negotiations with this operator in order to award the contract without further publication of an open tendering procedure.’;

paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4. Unless prohibited by national law, the competent authority may decide to award public service contracts directly:

where their average annual value is estimated at less than EUR 1 000 000 or, in the case of a public service contract including public passenger transport services by rail, less than EUR 7 500 000; or

where they concern the annual provision of less than 300 000 kilometres of public passenger transport services or, in the case of a public service contract including public passenger transport services by rail, less than 500 000 kilometres.

In the case of a public service contract directly awarded to a small or medium-sized enterprise operating not more than 23 road vehicles, those thresholds may be increased to either an average annual value estimated at less than EUR 2 000 000 or to an annual provision of less than 600 000 kilometres of public passenger transport services.’;

the following paragraphs are inserted:

‘4a. Unless prohibited by national law, the competent authority may decide to award public service contracts for public passenger transport services by rail directly:

where it considers that the direct award is justified by the relevant structural and geographical characteristics of the market and network concerned, and in particular size, demand characteristics, network complexity, technical and geographical isolation and the services covered by the contract, and

where such a contract would result in an improvement in quality of services or cost-efficiency, or both, compared to the previously awarded public service contract.

On that basis, the competent authority shall publish a substantiated decision and shall inform the Commission thereof within one month of its publication. The competent authority may proceed with the award of the contract.

Member States for which on 24 December 2017 the maximum annual market volume is less than 23 million train-km and which have only one competent authority at national level and one public service contract covering the entire network shall be deemed to fulfil the condition set out in point (a). Where a competent authority of one of those Member States decides to award a public service contract directly, the Member State concerned shall inform the Commission thereof. The United Kingdom may decide to apply this subparagraph to Northern Ireland.

Where the competent authority decides to award a public service contract directly, it shall lay down measurable, transparent and verifiable performance requirements. Such requirements shall be included in the contract.

The performance requirements shall in particular cover punctuality of services, frequency of train operations, quality of rolling stock and transport capacity for passengers.

The contract shall include specific performance indicators enabling the competent authority to carry out periodic assessments. The contract shall also include effective and deterrent measures to be imposed in case the railway undertaking fails to meet the performance requirements.

The competent authority shall periodically assess whether the railway undertaking has achieved its targets for meeting the performance requirements as set in the contract and shall make its findings public. Such periodic assessments shall take place at least every 5 years. The competent authority shall take appropriate and timely measures, including the imposition of effective and deterrent contractual penalties if the required improvements in quality of services or cost-efficiency, or both, are not achieved. The competent authority may at any time wholly or partially suspend or terminate the contract awarded under this provision if the operator fails to meet the performance requirements.

4b. Unless prohibited by national law, the competent authority may decide to award public service contracts for public passenger transport services by rail directly where they concern operating only passenger rail services by an operator which manages simultaneously the entire or the major part of the railway infrastructure on which the services are provided, where that railway infrastructure is excluded from the application of Articles 7, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d, 8, 13 and Chapter IV of Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *1 ) in accordance with Article 2(3)(a) or (b) of that Directive.

By way of derogation from Article 4(3), the duration of directly awarded contracts pursuant to this paragraph and paragraph 4a of this Article shall not exceed 10 years, except where Article 4(4) applies.

Contracts awarded in accordance with this paragraph and paragraph 4a shall be published, while taking into consideration the legitimate protection of confidential business information and commercial interests.

( *1 ) Directive 2012/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway area ( OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 32 ).’;"

paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:

‘5. In the event of a disruption of services or the immediate risk of such a situation, the competent authority may take emergency measures.

The emergency measures shall take the form of a direct award or a formal agreement to extend a public service contract or a requirement to provide certain public service obligations. The public service operator shall have the right to appeal against the decision to impose the provision of certain public service obligations. The period for which a public service contract is awarded, extended or imposed by emergency measures shall not exceed 2 years.’;

the following paragraph is inserted:

‘6a. In order to increase competition between railway undertakings, competent authorities may decide that contracts for public passenger transport services by rail covering parts of the same network or package of routes are to be awarded to different railway undertakings. To this end, the competent authorities may, before launching the competitive tendering procedure, decide to limit the number of contracts to be awarded to the same railway undertaking.’;

in paragraph 7, the following subparagraph is inserted after the first subparagraph:

‘For cases covered by paragraphs 4a and 4b, such measures shall include the possibility to request an assessment of the substantiated decision taken by the competent authority by an independent body designated by the Member State concerned. The outcome of such assessment shall be made publicly available in accordance with national law.’;

the following Article is inserted:

REGULATION (EU) 2016/2338 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 14 December 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 concerning the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail