A European perspective on public service obligations for island transport services

The European Union policy on territorial cohesion requires strong cooperation among stakeholders at various levels and the island transport policy dictates a need for technical consultation among all interested parties, encompassing all specific aspects (equal opportunities, insularity, geographical isolation, low population density, insufficiency of local markets potential and so on) of the economic and social cohesion. In order to achieve a consensus with regard to the transport services provided for every island in terms of quantity, quality and cost, a maximum level of transparency and objectivity must be ensured. To that effect, stakeholders should be involved in the selection and adaptation of the qualitative and quantitative specifications to be included in any given transport service agreement. This article aims at interrelating the island insularity issue to public service obligations (PSOs) by discussing a ‘contracting process’ implementation for the development of public service contracts. Moreover, transport service specifications for island regions are also discussed in the light of their deployment in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), Private Financing Initiatives (PFIs) and Local Authority Ventures for the realization of PSOs.