Le forme di gestione del trasporto pubblico locale tra pubblico e privato: esperienze pratiche e indicazioni teoriche

Abstract: The management of public transportation services between the public and private sectors: practical experiences and theoretical implications. This work discusses the regulatory issues connected with privatizations implying the transfer of the management of public transportation services to the private sector. Preliminarily, on the basis of the analysis of the internal and UE legislative framework applicable to public transportation services, the paper tries to define the scope and the objectives of the control by local public authorities of providers of transportation services, suggesting the existence of a mismatch between public interest objectives in the sector and the regulatory framework which provides for the monopolization of the market at a local level. Then the paper examines a number of cases of privatizations which interested the Italian market. Drawing from such practical experiences, an attempt is made uncover the real issues driving the transfer from the public to the private sector of the management of local transportation services.