Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Duporge, François-Xavier (François-Xavier Pierre Henri), 1964-
Other Authors: Nigel H.M. Wilson.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65714
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author Duporge, François-Xavier (François-Xavier Pierre Henri), 1964-
author2 Nigel H.M. Wilson.
author_facet Nigel H.M. Wilson.
Duporge, François-Xavier (François-Xavier Pierre Henri), 1964-
author_sort Duporge, François-Xavier (François-Xavier Pierre Henri), 1964-
collection MIT
description Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999.
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spelling mit-1721.1/657142019-04-12T14:54:28Z Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France Duporge, François-Xavier (François-Xavier Pierre Henri), 1964- Nigel H.M. Wilson. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-89). The French tendering system for urban public transport services, introduced by the Sapin law in 1993, has often been criticized for its lack of competition. In order to check the relevance of this criticism, this thesis examines the degree of competition in the French market, using two surveys of the outcomes of tenders in the urban public transport networks outside the Paris region. The first one was conducted by the CER TU ( Centre d'Etudes sur les Reseaux, les Transports, l'Urbanisme Et les Constructions Publiques) in 1996. The second survey, undertaken in 1999 as part of this thesis research, focused on networks serving a population over 200,000 inhabitants and is based on the official minutes of the organizing authorities on the deliberation of the delegation of urban public transport services, and interviews conducted with organizing authorities, operators, and several organizations involved in urban public transport in France. Based on these two surveys, it is established that there is a small number of participants in most French tenders and that the operators in general lack competitive behavior. From this evidence, the thesis identifies five reasons for the lack of competition in the French tendering system. One obstacle is regulatory: labor law L122.12, which imposes the renewal of employment contracts on the new incumbent. The other four obstacles are: asymmetries among bidders, high tendering costs, high operation risks, and the OA' s perceived failure to conduct a fair selection. A literature review of the relevant theories on competition, industry concentration and tendering, is conducted in order to support the analysis of obstacles to competition in French tendering with the necessary theoretical background. It is then shown that all the five factors are barriers to entry, and that they should be removed, or at least reduced, in order to stimulate the entry of new competitors and therefore true competition. The thesis concludes with a presentation of a set of three strategies to improve the competition in the French market, that could be implemented within the current regulatory framework, that is to say, without modifying labor law L122-12. For each strategy, the tradeoffs between increased competition and effectiveness and quality of service are discussed. The first strategy consists of the reduction in the bundle size of service to be tendered out. The second strategy proposes a reduction of contract duration, and the third strategy consists in the improvement of the specification and selection process. It is recommended to combine all three strategies together for maximum impact on competition; this impact may however be modest, as a major barrier to entry, labor law L122-12, has not been removed. The modest increase in the number of bidders that could be achieved may still lead to an improvement in competition, and therefore in price. by François-Xavier Duporge. S.M. 2011-09-13T17:41:34Z 2011-09-13T17:41:34Z 1999 1999 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65714 45383144 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 89 leaves application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Duporge, François-Xavier (François-Xavier Pierre Henri), 1964-
Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France
title Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France
title_full Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France
title_fullStr Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France
title_full_unstemmed Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France
title_short Competition in tendering of urban public transport services in France
title_sort competition in tendering of urban public transport services in france
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65714
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