Bologna, 25 May 2024 – Critical issues for the People Mover: the control service of Court of Auditors of theEmilia Romagna requested the intervention of Municipality of Bologna regarding the elevated shuttle that connects the station and the airport.
For the plant, which last month remained closed for ten days for some maintenance work, the main difficulty reported in examining the statement for thefinancial year 2022 he was born in budget estimate 2023-2025 of the administration by the accounting judges, in relation to the transport work, is one significant inclination in favor of the private sector of the interest structure defined in the concession and in the related economic-financial plan.
Criticalities
Also in the exam, considerations are made regarding the timely verification (in the final balance) by the Municipality of the lost revenues in favor of the concessionaire, without conventional flat-rate variations and not supported by specific criteria linked to the public interest.
In particular, the Court recommended that the Municipality investigate further the issue of continuing compliance with the public interest, also understood as maintaining the right economic-financial balance of the concession and the three-year extension of the concession itself; all this, taking into account the management performance of the Marconi Express Company and, more generally, of the overall structure of interests that regulates the management of the infrastructure.
Given what has been ascertained, it therefore appears essential, the Court maintains, that possible critical issues emerge in advance, in relation not only to the People Mover but to every operation with high financial complexity, such as for example other public-private partnership operations.
For the rest, the investigation into the statement reveals a positive picture, with substantial maintenance of the most significant budget balances. The organisation, the judges underline, appears financially very solid.
The new rates
At the beginning of the year, the service had adjusted the ratesthanks to a limited increase in relation to the increases in the price of energy and two new features in favor of users: integration with the local public transport and the introduction of a new experimentation of road service.
