The contract for operation in the West area ends next year, the current management prefers to take over the services by the regional carrier.
From next December, ČSAD Liberec should completely take over the operation of bus transport in the Českolipsko region in the so-called West area. The carrier controlled by the Liberec region is to deploy new modern cars in the area and replace ČSAD Česká Lípa without competition.
The outgoing management of the region withdrew from the plan to buy one hundred percent of ČSAD Česká Lípa shares. From December next year, the region will deal with the operation either by competition or by placing an order directly with ČSAD Liberec, which is the so-called internal carrier. The contract for operation is until next December. “The decision will be up to the new council. If we continue, we certainly want to go the way of the internal carrier,“Said the governor of the Liberec region Martin Půta (Mayors for the Liberec region). According to him, it is necessary to decide by the end of November.
The region originally considered buying ČSAD Česká Lípa shares, but ended the negotiations. The reason is the price and age of the vehicle fleet. “Firstly, 120 million crowns is brutal nonsense and secondly, they have nothing to offer us,” Valdemar Linek from the auditing company Nexia, which provides consulting services for LK Buses in this regard, told reporters today. LK buses belong to the region, through this company the region is controlled by ČSAD Liberec.
According to Linek, ČSAD Česká Lípa has an outdated vehicle fleet that could no longer be used. The average age of deployed buses is 12.3 years. He wants to cooperate with the company only, for example, when renting space for facilities.
The Liberec region is one of the regions that has decided to follow the path of an internal carrier. The main reason was long-term disputes with companies from the BusLine group, which provides operations in the eastern part of the region.
According to Linek, it is time to prepare for the expansion of ČSAD Liberec over a year. It will be the purchase of about 70 buses, the carrier wants use the existing contract for Iveco Crossway vehicles. The investment is estimated at about 300 million crowns, part of which is to cover the loan.
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