Public Transport Contracts
Each year funding is provided for socially necessary but financially unviable public transport services in Ireland. In 2010, €276 million was allocated to Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann to provide these services known as Public Service Obligation (PSO) services.
The funding of PSO services is governed by Public Transport Contracts between the Authority and these three companies. The current contracts are for 5 years, to 2014, in the case of bus services and 10 years, to 2019, in the case of rail.
The contents of the contracts and the basis for maintaining them may be reviewed at any time by the Authority in consultation with the relevant company, however, a full review of the contract must occur at the end of the 5 or 10 year period (as appropriate). In carrying out the review at the end of the period, the Authority must engage in a public consultation process and report on the operation of the services to which the contract relates stating the reasons for amending the contract or entering into a subsequent direct award contract.
The contracts meet the current criteria set down in EU law, setting strict standards of operational performance and customer service and contain penalties for non-performance.
The National Transport Authority monitors the contracted performance of each PSO operator on a quarterly basis, and publishes the results here.
Contract between NTA and Dublin Bus December 2009
Revised Schedule B 2011 (Performance Obligations) January 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2010
- Q1 2010 Performance Report Q2 2010 Performance Report
- Q3 2010 Performance Report Q4 2010 Performance Report
Contract between NTA and Irish Rail December 2009
Revised Schedule B 2011 (Performance Obligations) January 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2010 plus other material
- Q1 2010 Performance Report Q2 2010 Performance Report
- Q3 2010 Performance Report Q4 2010 Performance Report
Rosslare–Waterford Decision
In September 2010, the National Transport Authority approved proposals by Irish Rail to suspend its passenger rail service on the Rosslare to Waterford line in favour of a replacement bus service.
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Contract between NTA and Bus Éireann December 2009
Revised Schedule B 2011 (Performance Obligations) January 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2010
- Q1 2010 Performance Report Q2 2010 Performance Report
- Q3 2010 Performance Report Q4 2010 Performance Report
Luas, Metro and the Railway Procurement Agency
In addition to the contractual arrangements set out above, the National Transport Authority also has powers to secure the provision of metro and light railway passenger services in the Greater Dublin Area (Section 48 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008). The Authority has assigned these functions to the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA), under the terms allowed by the Act, and publishes the RPA’s quarterly performance reports here:
Quarterly Performance Reports 2011
Quarterly Performance Reports 2010
- Q1 2010 Performance Report Q2 2010 Performance Report
- Q3 2010 Performance Report Q4 2010 Performance Report
Legal basis for Public Transport Contracts
In 2007 EC Regulation 1370/2007 – on public passenger transport services by rail and by road was adopted. 1370/2007 creates a framework regulating how Member States award exclusive rights and pay compensation for services deemed to be PSO.
The purpose of the new Regulation (1370/07) is to ensure transparency in the award of subvention for public transport services by requiring all PSO transport services to be subject to contracts. It replaces Regulations 1191/69 and 1107/70, which regulated the payment of State Aid to public transport operators.
In preparation for EC Regulation 1370/2007 Ireland progressed legislation in two stages, the first involving the enactment of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and the second involving the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009.
Social Impact Estimation Methodology
The National Transport Authority has a statutory responsibility to obtain maximum social benefit from the funding provided to the CIE Group companies with which it holds direct award contracts for the discharge of public service obligations (PSO). We have therefore sought to establish a framework for the evaluation of social benefits to be used where resources need to be prioritised.
The Methodology calculates a social impact score for PSO services, which can be used to compare against scores for other PSO services to help inform the Authority’s thinking.
As this is a first of its kind for public transport in Ireland, we will pilot this Methodology for a period, and, where necessary, will adapt it based on the experience gained.