In
the short span of time that elapsed, an important
development took place - on Feb. 26 for the first time in
Russia a union of transport operators was created.
Mission of the union - to lobby the interests of
transport operators at all levels of government.
The workshop in
Moscow was attended by a representative from the RF
Ministry of Transport, by officials from four pilot
associations - Krasnodar, Moscow, Ryazan, Smolensk, by TACIS
experts and the editor of Russky Yamshik, a journal of
transport operators. All in all, there were 24
participants (see full list in the Annex).
The purpose of the
meeting was to:
- follow-up the discussion of
public transport problems faced by members of
Associations and approaches to addressing these
problems
- discuss professional concerns
that Russian and western participants have in
common
- a comment on the Public
Transport Reform Project proposed by RMOT and
make suggestions for changes and amendments
- develop a draft report of the
meeting results and forward copies to the Russian
Road Transport Union (RRTU),
RF MOF and the City Administration (Moscow and
all pilot local administrations).
2 MAIN RESULTS
The meeting of
Project participants was aimed at achieving practical
results and was conducted in the form of a workshop.
Problem issues were discussed in 3 work groups; this was
followed by presentation and discussion of results at a
plenary session. All the discussions were held in an
interactive form, and each participant had a chance to
speak and be heard. The workshop consisted of 3 steps:
- analyse possible ways of
facilitating the implementation of measures
identified and discussed at the meeting in Ryazan
on Feb 15determine the priorities in each of the
three problem areas
- for each of the items on the
list of priorities, develop an action plan and
determine the role of the Association.
Details of each of
these steps are presented below.
Step 1:
Identify measures that are beyond our control (in other
words, things that we cannot directly affect)
Of the 48 measures
(see Summary Table from the Ryazan’s workshop) aimed
at improving public transportation services, 45 were
identified as being beyond the direct control of either
transport operators or the Association.
Only three measures
were unanimously recognised as being within the scope of
control of transport companies:
- to increase the companies'
rate of return (cost coverage)
- optimise the network of routes
and vehicle usage
- develop proposals for cutting
down maintenance and repair costs
The discussion of
the role and the position of the Association had led to
the following major conclusions:
Possibilities
for taking direct action to improve the situation are
limited. Authority is lacking. The role of Association
and that of its members is seen primarily in initiating
steps aimed at resolving these problems, in lobbying the
interests of carriers at all levels of government both
through its regional branches and through the Russian
Union of Transport Operators (RRTU).
Step 2: Determine
priorities in each group of problems
Discussions in the
three work groups identified the following priorities:
- The first set of priorities
included the following three measures that the
participants suggested to treat as one priority
because of the presence of cause-and-effect
relations:
- Establish a system of
‘addressable subsidies’; all trips
should be payable via the purchase of tickets
- Increase the company's rate of
return
- Legislatively establish that
the fare (ticket price) should be computed in
such a way as to provide for a rate of return of
30%.
The first measure
was seen as the cause, and the other two as effects.
- The second priority identified
was formulated as “Develop and implement a
methodology for computing transport
fares/tariffs”
- The third priority was
identified as “Ensure equal starting
conditions for all carriers”
Step 3: For
each of the priorities above, develop a list of measures
to implement the priorities and identify the role of the
Association.
Discussions in work
groups resulted in the following proposals that were
supported and agreed upon by all the participants:
Priority 1: Subsidise customers; all trips
should be payable via ticket purchases
Subsidise
customers, all trips should be payable via ticket
purchases
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Required steps
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Actors
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1.
Defend the rights of carriers at court
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1.1 Do a legal
analysis of current legislation from the point of
view of internal consistency of laws, and
consistency between laws and the Civil Code and
the Constitution
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RRTU*:
provide legal assistance in the form of
legislative documents and a team of qualified
lawyers
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1.2 Taking
parallel action in several regions of Russia,
create judicial precedents in courts of first and
second instance
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Regional
associations: initiate, consult and co-ordinate
the process at the regional level and co-ordinate
the efforts of regions
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1.3 In cases
when previous instances delivered negative
verdict, apply to the Supreme Court
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RRTU:
co-ordinate appeals to the Supreme Court.
A work
group formed by regions shall present all the
documents and provide partial financing of the
process
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1.4 If the
verdict of the Supreme Court is negative, go to
the Constitutional Court
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RRTU
shall co-ordinate the appeal to the
Constitutional Court and inform the mass media.
A regional
work group shall provide all the required
documents and partial financing of the process.
The group shall be responsible for PR in the
regions
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2.
Initiate the law that sets the rules for granting
benefits and purchasing tickets
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2.1 Organise
the participation of the Association in elections
to legislative bodies of all levels to create a
transport lobby
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Regional
associations develop a common strategy and action
plan, reach an agreement on the mechanism of
financing the campaign.
RRTU
performs general co-ordination.
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2.2 Develop
and approve draft Law "On the procedure for
granting transport fare benefits”
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RRTU
prepares the Draft Law and organises broad
discussion of it at all levels of government with
the ultimate aim to pass the law. It organises
contacts with the press, and participates in
editing an finalising the draft.
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* RRTU =
Russian Road Transport Union of Operators
Priority
2: Develop and implement a methodology
for determining transports fares/tariffs
Develop and
implement a methodology for determining
transports fares/tariffs
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Required steps
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Actors
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| 1. Do an analysis of the current
legislative framework of the transport fare
policy |
RRTU
provides legal support and general co-ordination
of efforts
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| 2. Do an analysis of the of existing
methodologies for calculating fares |
Regional
associations and RRTU select consultants and
consulting institutions and develop TOR.
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3. Determine
the main aspects that should be accounted for in
developing the methodology (rate of return, etc.)
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RRTU
implements control, co-ordination and organises
discussion of proposals
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4. Propose a
mechanism for financing the development of such a
methodology
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Pilot regional
associations do the work that can be financed
under the TACIS Road Transport
Development Project
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5. Prepare
pilot guidelines for calculating transport
tariffs
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RRTU
assigns an organisation or institute (for
instance, NIIAT) with a task to develop the
methodology
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6. Field test
the proposed methodology in a pilot region (for
instance, in Ryazan)
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A regional
association (for instance, Ryazan) fully
co-ordinates pilot testing
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7. Based on
the results of the field test, make the
appropriate changes in the methodology
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RF MOT, RRTU,
and regional associations jointly with the
organisation/institute in charge of developing
the methodology finalise the guidelines (taking
into account the comments and suggestions for
improvement that resulted from pilot testing)
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8. Ensure that
the government approves the proposed methodology
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With the
support of RF MOT, RRTU initiates a legislative
motion at the federal level
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9. Implement
the methodology
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RRTU
with the assistance of RF MOT and other agencies
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Priority 3:
Implement equal starting conditions for all carriers
Implement equal
starting conditions for all carriers
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Required steps
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Actors
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| 1. Implement joint administration by
all carriers based on contracts between public
authorities and carriers |
Associations
(regional and RRTU) defend and lobby the
interests of carriers, negotiate with public
authorities, provide legal support and advice
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| 2. Make a transition to the
competitive system of awarding contracts to
public carriers using the criteria of the rate of
return (cost coverage) and quality of services |
Associations
participate in development of bidding rules and
in the work performed by the screening committee
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3.Assist in
determining the layout of combined routing
networks and in competitive award of service
contracts to public carriers
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The
Association shall participate in optimising the
composition of the network of public transport
routes, in conducting surveys of passenger flows,
in setting the bidding rules, and in selecting
the winning bids
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Legislatively
mandate that all passenger trips shall be payable
via ticket purchases
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RRTU
and regional associations fully participate in
drafting the law on public transport benefits
(see Priority 1)
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Mandating full
compensation of costs to the carrier in cases
when public authority of any level legislates the
right of any target group to free or subsidised
rides
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Associations
shall defend the interests of carriers and
oversee the timeliness of compensatory payments
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Implement a
common taxing regime for all public carriers
(federal, regional, local)
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RRTU
and regional associations assist in development
of proposals and lobby the interests of public
transport carriers with al public agencies
dealing with taxation
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A
proposal was made to develop a TASIC-sponsored/supported
demonstration project in Moscow Oblast.
Priority 4: Develop a mechanism and
procedure for supporting the increasing the income
raising capacity of the regional transport associations.
The following components were suggested:
- Transport/haulage operations
- Instrumental control
- Vehicle checks and
certification
- Issuance of
transport/commodity documents
- Training (professional
qualification and driving safety)
- Conducting pre-qualification
testing of operators
Priority
5: Develop guidelines for purchasing buses
via leasing
via subsidised credits
develop a mechanism for
granting tax concessions
Study and analyse
the experience of others (for instance, of Byelorussia)
and develop recommendations for the Russian market. This
assignment can be given to the Krasnodar regional
association.
3 RECOMENDATIONS
- Since the workshop was
attended mostly by regional transport
associations, without adequate participation of
federal officials, in order to make the results
of the Moscow workshop known to a wider audience
it is necessary to organise a meeting between
pilot associations and representatives of the
following key actors:
- RF MOT: deputy minister Mr
Nasonov and acting head of Road Transport
Department Mr Pinion
- RRTU:
Mr. Nikolayev, President
It would be
preferable to conduct this meeting before the end of
April 1999. The issues to be covered at the meeting
include:
(à) report on the
results of discussions of public transport (bus
transport) problems, identified by Association members,
- discuss proposals of pilot
associations on reforming public transport,
(c) on the basis of
these proposals develop an action plan to be implemented
under the guidance of RRTU; for each item of the plan
indicate the party responsible and the deadl
Þ In order to
carry out and co-ordinate the implementation of top
priority tasks, set up 3 work groups under the auspices
of RRTU
and with financial support of the TACIS Russian Road
Transport Development Project .
Each work group
shall include 2-3 permanent staff members who shall
co-ordinate all efforts. If needed, services of
individual experts and organisations shall be recruited.
Priority
1: Subsidise
customers, make all trips payable via ticket purchases - V.M Chrepovsky , President of
Smolensk Association, shall be the team leader
Priority
2: Develop and
implement a methodology for computing transports
fares/tariffs - team
leader Yu. I. Pochtarev, President of Ryazan Road
Transport Association.
Priority
3: Ensure equal starting
conditions for all carriers - team leader Yu. K. Logvinenko,
vice-president of ASMOR.
- Recommend to set up a team of
lawyers specialising on transport issues under
the auspices of RRTU to provide advice and
protect the interest of transport association
members
- Recommend to intensify
exchange of experience among Russian transport
agencies on various issues and among various
regions. In order to do so, appropriate, under TACIS
project and upon review by work teams, a special
budget for short-term business trips, for
instance:
- to learn the experience of
carrying out instrumental control
(Khanty-Mansyjsk, Chita)
- to learn the experience of
issuing commodity/transport documentation
(Chelyabinsk)
- to learn the experience of
obtaining subsidised loans for purchasing
transport vehicles (Chelyabinsk, Krasnodar)
- Recommend to develop, with the
support of the TACIS project, a demonstration
project for ensuring equal starting conditions
for all carriers in the territory of the Moscow
Oblast (ASMOR).
ASMOR
association /Y. Logvinenko/
Krasnodar Transport association / V. Shemchilo/
Ryazan Transport association / Y.
Pochtarev/
Smolensk Transport association /V.
Cherepovsky/
Tacis
Road Transport Development project manager /K.
Broersma/
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