Work towards the Single European Sky is currently proceeding with the recent nomination of Eurocontrol as the Network Manager, the implementation of the FABs to be completed by the end of this year, performance objectives for RP1 to be met, and work towards RP2 ones launched in June 2011.

Performance-based regulation is new to the air sector. Actors have to work in a new environment joining efforts to meet FAB or network level targets, while also looking at their own ones.  This requires coordination among multiple stakeholders -who sometimes have conflicting interests- as well as the will and the institutional arrangements for stakeholders to work together. For example, actors need to set up ways to complement each other in meeting performance targets.

The achievement of the objectives of the Single European Sky requires stakeholders to work together and attain their own objectives as well as network–wide targets. And targets are expected for more key performance areas. A shift in approach is required with operators working along with the Network Manager, designated as Eurocontrol, to accomplish network objectives.

Air transport is undergoing important changes with ever increasing flows, new emerging actors and new frameworks for operations and capacity management being established.

As the process to develop a Single European Sky and to improve capacity and safety of all elements involved moves forward, new regulatory challenges become topical.

Bringing stakeholders together to discuss such changes and challenges is the first step to establish a forum contributing and benefitting from the practical approach to regulation research taken by the Florence School of Regulation.

Rail and air passenger transportation provide both competitive and complementary services. In Europe, there are many medium distance corridors where rail and air services compete. However, this situation is now changing because of the new low cost air carriers offering even lower rates. Can high-speed rail continue to expand if low-cost airlines are taking over as the alternative also on short routes? Should this competition rather be seen in the perspective of integrated transport policy?

Continue reading “2nd Florence Intermodal Forum. High speed rail vs. low-cost air: competing or complementary modes?”

This is the first Forum on intermodality and we want to start out by focusing it on urban public transport. In the urban context, numerous modes of transport are active, namely buses, metros, trams, trains, and even taxis. Current regulation of public urban transport is scattered among various actors depending on transport modes and ownership.

Continue reading “1st Florence Intermodal Forum. Urban Mobility Systems: Regulation Across Modes”

The 8th Florence Rail Forum will address the complex relationship between regulation, asset renewal and investments in both railway infrastructures and rolling stock. More concretely, the question is whether regulation is favouring or impeding such asset renewal and investments and how exactly these complex relationships play out in practice.

Continue reading “8th Florence Rail Forum. Rail Infrastructure and Rolling Stock: investments, asset renewal and regulation”

The purpose of this 7^th Florence Rail Forum is to crystallise the different national regulatory rail «philosophies», which are unavoidable elements that have to be taken into consideration when it comes to the implementation of all the European directives.

Continue reading “7th Florence Rail Forum. Current Challenges of Rail Regulation in Europe: The European Regulators’ View”

The 4^th Railway Package is another step towards the European Commission’s vision of a Single European Railway Area and as such will contribute to reshaping the European railway sector. The 6^th Florence Rail Forum will analyse and discuss one of the 4^th Railway Package’s pillars, namely the technical pillar.

Continue reading “6th Florence Rail Forum. The Technical Pillar of the 4th Railway Package: Challenges for Standardisation and Interoperability”

Following previous discussion events on rail transport, we continue debating railway liberalisation in Europe. The current developments on the European level trigger the question how liberalization will evolve. Especially, they want to know which form competition will take: will competition be about access as was the original idea of the European Commission or will it rather evolve into tendering of various bits and pieces of the railway system?
Continue reading “5th Florence Rail Forum. Further Steps in Railway Liberalization: Market Opening and Tendering”

Following previous discussion events on rail transport, we are now debating if the logic of liberalization followed by the European Commission fits the sector and whether it can be pursued unchanged or needs reconsideration.

Continue reading “4th Florence Rail Forum. 20 Years of Rail Liberalization in Europe: Key Lessons and Future Prospects”