Competitive tendering contracts: Why is Norway

Abstract

The validity period of contracts regulating production of public transport in Scandinavia varies greatly, from one-year agreements to ten years plus options. For contracts of a certain duration there will – in most cases, at one time or another – occur a need to deviate from the original agreed-upon production contract. Many circumstances may cause a need for change in a contract to occur, for example budget changes, changes in political priorities or demographical issues causing traffic streams to change more or less permanently. The key question in this paper is as follows: How is the need for change in a signed contract for production of public transport services handled, in contracts entered into as a result of competitive tenders? Further; 1. What are the most common guidelines for contract amendments in public transport production? 2. What is common practice when a need for a contract amendment rises? 3. What are the usual results of negotiations concerning contract amendments in public transport? In order to answer these questions, we have examined competitive tendering contracts and the handling of contract amendments in 8 Scandinavian cases.