Flex transport operators with 100-plus penalties win new contracts

Several companies providing flex transport for Sydtrafik have received more than 100 penalties for errors, yet have also won new contracts, DR reports. The penalties include cases involving missed pick-ups and missing first-aid certificates, according to documents obtained by DR covering the current contract period.

Flex transport is a form of public transport in which passengers can book a vehicle in areas with fewer regular bus services. It also includes transport for people with disabilities and journeys to and from hospitals. Sydtrafik runs its tender process every two years in cooperation with FynBus and Midttrafik.

One of the companies, Byens Taxi, has received about 280 penalties from Sydtrafik during the current contract period. It has also won contracts for the next period. A penalty can be 1,000, 2,000 or 10,000 kroner, depending on the offence.

Byens Taxi director Nevzat Karatas said the company takes penalties seriously but that some problems are difficult to prevent. Vehicles can get punctures or break down, he said, and traffic can cause long delays.

Kai Østergaard, who uses flex transport and chairs the Vejen branch of the Danish Association of Disability Organisations, said he can feel vulnerable and unsafe when he depends on the service. He questioned why companies with many penalties can still win contracts, arguing that Sydtrafik focuses too much on cost and not enough on passenger service quality.

Trine Wollenberg, deputy director of industry group Dansk Persontransport, said it was problematic that companies with many recorded errors could continue to win contracts. She said price was a major factor in awarding flex transport tenders and argued that transport authorities should set more requirements for operators to improve service quality.

Kenneth Skov Jensen, head of office at the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, said public transport companies can take past performance into account when awarding contracts. Any exclusion must be properly justified and documented, he said, and cannot be based only on an individual caseworker’s personal assessment. Authorities can also design tenders so quality carries more weight than price.

Sydtrafik director Michael Aagaard said errors were inevitable when providers made thousands of trips. He said operators could be excluded only in cases of serious breach of contract, which he said did not apply here. Sydtrafik sets quality requirements and uses penalties to encourage providers to meet them, he said.