Workshop 2A report: Public transport governance via contracting, collaboration, and hybrid organisational arrangements

Abstract

A key focus for this workshop was the interaction between authorities, operators and other corporate actors involved in public transport, with particular reference to how long-established contracting practices are surviving. Interorganisational relationships were considered from a broader perspective to provide a theoretical rationale for the scope of renegotiation and contractual flexibility, for example against the background of technical transitions and external shocks like COVID-19. The workshop outcomes are presented along three main headlines: collaboration vs coordination, contractual arrangements in times of transition and uncertainty, and understanding different organisations forms and inter-mediaries. Collectively, they lead to a proposed tentative policy-oriented framework which could be used to structure further discussions at subsequent conferences. Policymakers are recommended to clearly distinguish (and adapt policies) between risks under legally binding agreements and genuinely unforeseen contingencies in incomplete contracts. While risks may be expressed as probabilities (with an attached calculated cost) and can be shared and put in a contract (as long as they are not too costly), uncertainties may instead have to be treated outside the contract. As presented in the framework, this will have governance implications at the strategic, tactical and operational levels in public transport.