Local public transport in Russia: regulation, ownership and competition

Abstract

This workshop paper is motivated by the evolution of relations between public transport authorities and public transport operators all over the world. So far, however, there has been little discussion about this phenomenon with regard to Russian land passenger transport. This issue only received considerable critical attention in the 1990s in light of the post-soviet transformations. However, developments during the 2000s and 2010s have not been extensively studied. This period is filled with changes in market structure including the rapid growth of the private bus sector while electric transport remained publicly owned and operated. The regulatory policy has also undergone considerable changes in 2015. This workshop paper attempts to understand both positive and negative trends of evolution of organisational practices in Russian land passenger transport. The methodological approach is mixed and based on analysis of changes in legislation, market structure and contracting approaches. Studies of the largest cities, including the recent Moscow ‘new model’, are also performed. The overall structure of the study includes overviews of legislation, the performance of public operators and institutions in the private bus sector. This research offers important insights into the evolution of public transport contracting systems in developing countries.