What happens to railways, motorways and taxis according to the transport authority
Data, considerations and wishes of the transport regulatory authority on motorway concessionaires and beyond
Since April 2023, the Conciliation Service of the Art, Transport Regulatory Authority, has become fully operational, managing over 24 thousand requests received through the ConciliaWeb telematic platform. Of these, 97.6% concerned the aviation sector. To date, the conclusion of the conciliation procedures has made it possible to recognize, overall, more than 2.5 million euros in reimbursement to users, an average of more than 400 euros per passenger. This is what emerges, among other things, from the eleventh annual report to the Art Parliament presented today by the president of the Transport Regulatory Authority, Nicola Zaccheo (in the photo), in the Zuccari Room of the Senate of the Republic.
THE ROLE OF ART
“This report represents a turning point for us because – explains Zaccheo – it is the annual report that falls halfway through our mandate. On the one hand it allows us to make an important assessment and on the other to define the lines for the future. Among the most important aspects that emerge from our report, in a nutshell, is the fact that the critical issues linked to the implementation of the Pnrr, therefore to large investments, have actually allowed the authority to strengthen its functions, its powers , thus managing, in an increasingly decisive manner, to best guarantee the rights of all users, of all passengers, but also the conditions of balance, impartiality and balancing of the markets. We are the youngest authority in the sector, however in these first 4 years we have really managed to overcome many critical issues and many disputes. We are now fully exercising our functions in all areas of transport."
“Never before has there been such a great need for third parties, especially for regulators of public utility services – underlined Zaccheo -. It is necessary to preserve autonomy and impartiality – he added – especially at a time like this with huge investments in infrastructure”.
THE RAILWAY NETWORK REMAINS STATE
According to the president of the Authority, RFI, the railway network controlled by the FS group, must remain public, as it is a strategic asset. “The railway network is strategic – said Zaccheo – and the shareholding must remain public. My personal opinion is that the role of the State must remain important. A minority share to private individuals – he added – only for transport services". And speaking of the sanctioning procedure against RFI for the violation of the limits allowed in the assignment of framework capacity with reference to eleven framework agreements during 2022, Zaccheo added: "I strongly hope that these violations will be concluded quickly to improve efficiency the network. It is absolutely important that the railway infrastructure performs at its best and for us there is still room for efficiency."
TAXI CHAPTER
On the taxi front, greater adaptation of municipal regulations to the guidelines is necessary. “Rome needs an increase to reach two thousand units” said the president of the Art, commenting on the taxi situation, recalling how the authority has released 42 opinions in ordinary procedure, including that of the Municipality of Rome, on the increase of the taxi quota and on the tariff adjustment. In addition to this, Zaccheo recalled, "a greater adaptation of municipal regulations to the Art guidelines is necessary".
THE HIGHWAYS IN THE REPORT ART
Finally, as regards the motorway sector, in the annual report the authority highlights difficulties in transposing the regulatory provisions of Art. In fact, only 6 out of 24 concessions fully apply the Authority's regulation. These critical issues – explains the Art – should also be overcome through the specific provisions contained in the Annual Law for the Market and Competition 2023, completing the objectives of the Pnrr set out in Milestone M1C2-11 – Motorways.
WHAT ZACCHEO SAID TO SOLE 24 ORE ABOUT MOTORWAY DEALERS
«Highways are a hot topic. We have approved specific operational indications on the application of the criteria for the economic regulation of concessions, with the aim of ensuring greater adherence of the proposals for the revision and updating of the PEF to our regulatory model", observed the president of the Art in a conversation with il Sole 24 ore published today: «We carried out a fact-finding investigation, from which an estimate of the investments deemed necessary by the concessionaires emerged, equal to 44 billion euros, of which 36 billion declared by the main manager, Aspi. I express my reservations about whether the adequacy of these figures is verified. There will be an investigative commission set up by the MIT to verify the adequacy."
The investigation also revealed that the debt declared by the dealers amounted to 17 billion in 2020 and increased to 20.2 billion in 2023.
"We have consequently started an update of the tariff system." What is the update? «This update – explains Zaccheo – will above all concern the remuneration of investments. Among other things, we intend to insert a mechanism that makes the return on capital more stable with respect to fluctuations in interest rates, also to give certainty to investors, but always with a view to preserving the end user".
«We are also thinking about additional depreciation rates in relation to the useful life of the work, to make the toll more sustainable for consumers. It is not possible to put everything into a tariff, the tolls would be too high", observes Zaccheo.
Compared to the original concession reform project proposed by Matteo Salvini's MIT, Zaccheo states that the alarm has subsided. «In the first circulated drafts of the bill there were potential risks for the state. Instead, the text approved by the Council of Ministers, thanks also to the fruitful interaction between MIT and Art, will hopefully allow us to better address the problems of the sector. I am very satisfied with the result. There is a strengthening of the enforcement and supervision functions of the Art. One above all: opinions on motorway PEFs become binding."
Not all problems are solved. «On motorways the real problem is defining the sustainability of investments. I have asked Parliament and the government several times to involve the Authority ex-ante in relation to economic-financial sustainability".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/cosa-succede-a-ferrovie-autostrade-e-taxi-secondo-lauthority-dei-trasporti/ on Wed, 18 Sep 2024 14:04:40 +0000.