The Government proposes that the current traffic control and management services by the Finnish Transport Agency be incorporated into a limited liability company and the functions be transferred to a new state-owned company with a special assignment. The Government submitted a legislative proposal on the matter to Parliament on 5 April 2018. The proposed act is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2019.
The new special assignment company is to ensure safety and smooth flow of maritime, railway and road traffic and to provide services related to traffic control.
The aim of the new company is to promote the utilisation of traffic control data in support of the development of new digital services. It also aims to promote new business, improve the digital business environment for traffic and boost the growth of the Finnish transport market. The corporatisation will enhance the economic efficiency and effectiveness of the traffic control functions and increase the transparency of pricing and the operations. A further aim is to provide better conditions for customer-oriented operations and ensure improved services tailored to meet the customer needs. The reform will also clarify the contents of the official duties in the transport and communications sectors.
The traffic control company will be especially assigned to provide vessel traffic services and railway and road traffic control services to safety authorities to the extent necessary for the authorities to carry out their statutory duties.
Transport Agency personnel who are working in traffic control and management on 31 December 2018, and their tasks, will be transferred to the new company. This will take place on 1 January 2019, and it will be carried out in accordance with transfer-of-business principles and the personnel will be employed under a contractual employment relationship.
Preparations for the corporatisation have been carried out according to the project decision on the reform of the agencies within the administrative branch of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The preparations have been made in close cooperation with the defence and safety authorities. The views of private operators in the transport sector have also been considered.
On 13 June 2017, the Government’s Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy supported the proposal to corporatise the traffic control functions of the Transport Agency.
What next?
A referral debate on the Government’s proposal submitted to Parliament will be conducted in a Parliament plenary session. Information on the date of the session will be available on Parliament’s web site (plenary session agendas).
After the referral debate, the proposal will be sent to a committee. Once the committee’s report is ready, the matter will be discussed in a plenary session.
(Source: FTA)
