Good practice:

A public bus operator as a piloting and monitoring platform for Public Transport Authority

Turku Region Public Transport Föli procures operation from several private bus operators by competitive bidding. In addition to this, the publicly-owned Turku Urban Traffic Ltd operates as an operator that does not participate in the tenders. It used to be the transport department of Turku but was incorporated in 2009. As a part of the operating contact then drawn up, the company committed to supporting the development of Föli public transport by sharing operational information and by participating in the piloting of new technologies and operating practices.

As a public in-house company, Turku Urban Traffic can’t participate in tenders and instead operates only on lines assigned to it. Not being part of the competitive environment makes it an ideal partner for experience sharing and it is able and willing to share more detailed information than its private counterparts. Piloting new technologies usually involves risks. A public company can carry higher risks and participate in pilots where there are no direct financial benefits available.

While piloting is also possible with private partners, this partnership makes it more agile and affordable. A good example of benefits is the e-bus line pilot started in 2016, which would have been more difficult and expensive as none of the private operators were eager to pilot e-buses at the time. Piloting with a public company benefits the whole region as the experiences, data on costs, and other results are publicly available.

The practice is part of the operating contract between Föli and Turku Urban Traffic Ltd and the operation payment defined in it covers experience sharing and smaller pilots. When investments are made (i.e. e-bus pilot) one-off payments are made and/or external funding is applied.

The practice has enabled agile piloting, which provides results faster and makes it possible to scale new practices or technologies at a higher pace. Most of these pilots have been then established as common practices.
Examples of results:
- Fully electric bus line (6 buses, 2 opportunity chargers)
- Data acquisition (hybrid buses, e—buses)
- Gathering road weather information from buses
- Driver & staff training pilot
- 5G WiFi for passengers pilot
- New fare collection system pilot

The practice is transferable to any area where traffic is procured by competitive bidding. Incorporating publicly owned public transport has been a trend in many parts of Europe. Preserving a portion of public transportation in public ownership should be considered. Assigning a representative portion to a publicly owned bus operator enables agile piloting of new technologies and practices and monitoring the real cost of operation. The existence of a publicly owned operator may also have a dampening effect on price levels, especially if there is insufficient competition in the region.