Deregulation of road passenger transport in Europe.

Summary By deregulating road passenger transport, the commission of the european communities wishes to find the best possible transport system for the citizens and industry of the 15 member states. What will be the future structure of this sector of activity? what strategies will transport operators adopt? the experience of total deregulation in the United Kingdom has not stemmed the decline in the use of public transport, and monopoly structures have been re-established. Therefore, based on the logic of the European Treaty, but also on the desire to exploit the stimulating power of competition, the Commission is pressing for the opening up of those parts of the public transport market which can be described as public contracts. However, if the contract concerns only an exclusive right that does not involve significant public financing, it considers an authorization procedure that has the advantage of being more lenient. The theory of contracts and the analysis of the auction mechanism allow us to compare these options and to highlight the strategy of the different parties. These theories also allow us to understand why the Commission has come closer to the contractualization option despite the problems that the application of the Community rules will raise in terms of public procurement.