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According to the report, according to the president of the Lithuanian Passenger Transport Association, Gintaras Nakutis, in the first quarter of next year, legal and valid agreements with 42 companies engaged in intercity bus transport may end.
“As a result of the pandemic, compared to last year, carriers face more than double the passenger flows, tens of millions of lost revenue, millions of losses and uncertainty about future prospects. This uncertainty is only aggravated by the impending obligation of the Competition Council ”, says G. Nakutis.
As reported, in July, the Competition Council allocated 43 thousand. fines to the Lithuanian Transport Security Administration which oversees the market and forced it to terminate existing contracts with carriers within 8 months. In the Board’s view, the extension of contracts with carriers in 2018 restricted competition and prevented new market entrants from entering the market, making it necessary to re-select them.
The Lithuanian Transport Security Administration, the Lithuanian Association of Passenger Carriers, the National Association of Linava Road Carriers and the individual carriers appealed this decision to the Vilnius Regional Administrative Court. The court hearing is scheduled for November 16.
It notes that the rules under which the contracts were extended are not in conflict with competition law and European Union law, and carriers are concerned that they will be terminated without waiting for a court decision.
“There is a real risk that passengers will not receive services. In addition, there are threats to national security. After the termination of the contracts, only one or a few large companies with foreign capital, not necessarily friends of Lithuania, could appear in the market and dominate all routes ”, says G. Nakutis.
According to him, carriers lack the state’s efforts to protect the domestic market. According to the carriers, the imminent concentration of services would not only eliminate the competition that already exists in the market, but also worsen the resources of mobilization and evacuation of the state in case of war or accident at the Astrava nuclear power plant.
Linas Skardžiukas, CEO of the passenger transport company Kautra, says that since the reestablishment of independence, the carriers themselves have shaped the market, invested in new buses, renovated stations and organized routes according to the needs of passengers , which currently cover the entire territory of Lithuania.
“So why is it useful to redesign a well-functioning system that doesn’t cost the state and meets the needs of the passengers? After all, there are more than 40 bus and train carriers operating in the market, and the quality and the price of services actively compete with each other. During the pandemic, these decisions are similar to those of the war with carriers during the plague, “says L. Skardžiukas.
According to Arūnas Indrašius, Managing Director of the Long Distance Passenger Transport Company (TOKS), the impression is that the carriers who have been creating the market for decades, after a single decision, have become unwanted and operate illegally.
“The routes were not formed by the state, but by the carriers themselves with their own efforts and operating under the conditions of market competition. Therefore, the forced termination of contracts raises many questions about the investments already made by companies for the renewal of vehicle fleets and bus stations, and for the preparation of drivers, ”says A. Indrašius.
Rimantas Pabrėža, director of the Skuodo autobusai company, affirms that the Competition Council has created such a situation with its decision, which requires a new legal regulation.
“There is a lot of discussion and controversy, but we lack a clear and transparent strategic State policy on this issue. It is necessary to avoid the threat of regional exclusion ”, says R. Pabrėža.
The president of the LKVA, G. Nakutis, affirms that the association has already appealed to the Presidency, the Government, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the members of the Seimas to address the issues of the long-term legal regulation of transport long distance.
“We hope to receive more attention to the issue from the newly elected members of the Seimas and the future government. It is necessary to preserve the intercity bus market that has been created for decades and look out for the interests of passengers,” says G. Nakutis.
Around 8.5 million tons of intercity buses are transported in Lithuania every year. passengers and more than 40 carriers compete in the market. Since 2017, carriers have invested more than 30 million in long-distance transport. euros.
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