rec_18

(18) Subject to the relevant provisions of national law, any local authority or, in the absence thereof, any national authority may choose to provide its own public passenger transport services in the area it administers or to entrust them to an internal operator without competitive tendering. However, this self-provision option needs to be strictly controlled to ensure a level playing field. The competent authority or group of authorities providing integrated public passenger transport services, collectively or through its members, should exercise the required control. In addition, a competent authority providing its own transport services or an internal operator should be prohibited from taking part in competitive tendering procedures outside the territory of that authority. The authority controlling the internal operator should also be allowed to prohibit this operator from taking part in competitive tenders organised within its territory. Restrictions on the activities of an internal operator do not interfere with the possibility of directly awarding public service contracts where they concern transport by rail, with the exception of other track-based modes such as metro or tramways. Furthermore, the direct award of public service contracts for heavy rail does not preclude the possibility for competent authorities to award public service contracts for public passenger transport services on other track-based modes, such as metro and tramway, to an internal operator.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-03 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.