In the case of decentralised authorities public transport plays an important part in the matter of transport policy. What is particularly important is the contribution made by public transport to the social-economic process. However, at the same time authorities want to retain the social function of public transport. It is often a difficult task to achieve the set policy goals while still remaining within the budgetary guidelines (the cost-covering limit demands). At present public transport is chiefly financed by sales revenue (the zone ticket) and state subsidies. The idea was that public transport authorities would receive supplementary financial resources to help them to fulfil their public transport policies. This article explores the possibilities of generating extra funds for public transport above and beyond the existing ticket sales and state funding resources. The extra revenue must be sought among individuals or organisations that stand to benefit from public transport. The article aims to make the direct and indirect economic effects of public transport transparent and to make an inventory of the possible instruments that public transport authorities can use to profit from the benefits of public transport. (Author/publisher)
Abstract