The city regions of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht may themselves determine whether the public transportation contract is made through public or private tender. Thursday 21 June, the Lower House accepted the draft bill drawn up by the PvdA, GroenLinks, D66 and SP. Public tendering will definitely be out of the question if the Passenger Transport Act 2000 is modified. This must be accepted by the Upper House. The expectation is that they will endorse the draft bill before the elections of 12 September.
Bart Schmeink: "This is really great news! Not just for us, but also the City Region of Amsterdam and the municipality have always been of the opinion that private tender is best for Amsterdam. This is how we will ensure public transportation remains reliable and that GVB continues to improve public transportation services. The Amsterdam concession is complex. A transportation company must not only understand how run its buses, trams, and metros, but also has to maintain the tram tracks, metro rails, and vehicles. Furthermore, private tender allows GVB to continue working with the City Region of Amsterdam, the municipality of Amsterdam, and the Metro Department properly operate the Noord-Zuidlijn route."