Fragmented contracts for passenger transport drive up costs

Finland’s publicly supported passenger transport system is split among several booking channels and contracts, a model that creates duplicate trips, uneven demand and unnecessary costs, argues Tuomo Halminen, chief executive of Menevä, in a Helsingin Sanomat reader opinion piece.

Halminen calls for the services supported by Kela and the wellbeing services counties to be combined into regional, fixed-price contracts. A single booking channel could make it easier to combine journeys, improve vehicle utilization and help the counties plan their finances.

Preliminary calculations cited in the opinion piece put the potential savings at €100 million a year. Halminen argues that the opportunity is too significant to leave unexplored, especially when public finances are under pressure.

He says the proposal would not mean cutting transport services. Any reform, he writes, should preserve or improve availability, quality and customer satisfaction. The tendering process should also account for small transport companies by allowing them to participate independently, in consortiums or as subcontractors.

The central argument is that authorities should fix inefficient structures before cutting services or support for people. The opinion piece says public funds should not continue financing overlapping work when the same or better service could be delivered more efficiently.