In the Netherlands the Passenger Transport Act 2000 obliges the use of competitive tendering in all urban and regional transport after 2008 and sets immediate objectives for parts of the markets at earlier dates.In 1999, an extensive research programme started in order to evaluate the process of implementation of this Act.Part of this programme is a study on bottlenecks in the process towards more competition and tools to overcome them.At present, tendering of services in rural areas and smaller cities is well under way.However, the integrated bus, tram and metro services is still under discussion.The question here is the choice between one concession for an integrated network of separate concessions by mode.For rail sector a vertical separation between the infrastructure and service operations is a further option.Other elements are the division of roles between operator andauthority, the optimal level of integration, the market imperfection and the quality of services.The study on bottlenecks is partly based on the MARETOPE project (Managing and Assessing Regulatory Evolution in local public Transport Operations in Europe ) which was commissioned by the European Commission and had similar objectives in a broader European context.Using the results of this European study an assessment was made of the situationin the Netherlands.For the covering entry of this conference please see ITRD E132365.
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