Why and how often do authorities remunicipalise urban public transport? The case of France

For decades, public transport services in most French towns and cities have been provided on a delegated management basis, by subcontracting to private parties, using calls for tender as a selection mechanism. Recently, however, a number of cities, some of them large, have opted for direct management, moving away from the private, competitive model in favour of public management.

Our study answers two questions: What is the scale of this shift? And how can it be interpreted: what are the triggers and motivations behind it? The literature on these questions is sparse, partial and dated. Our database shows that remunicipalisation is no longer an anecdotal phenomenon in France. Our interviews reveal that the motivations are always composite and that political factors are predominant.