Superincentive public transport contracting in the greater Amsterdam area

All suburban/regional bus services around Amsterdam City have been submitted to competitive tendering. This is done under a very innovative form of revenue-based contract that can be classified as a ‘super incentive’ contract. Payments to operators (‘subsidies’) are based on realised passenger revenues and no longer on the costs of supplying public transport. Because of the fact that fare increases are regulated by the authority, increase in revenues can only be achieved by an increase in ridership, which is one of the main long term goals of the authority. At the same time, and to provide for a well-balanced contract, operators are also allowed to re-design services within some strict boundaries set by the authority (such as a detailed minimal level of supply). The awarding procedure was designed such as to lead to a high level of self-regulation, preventing bidders to exaggerate their revenue growth forecasts at tendering in order to win the contract. This paper presents the contractual features and the design of the competitive tendering process that has led to the calibration of the superincentives given to the operators. It also presents the results achieved in terms of passenger growth.Multi Actor SystemsTechnology, Policy and Managemen