The Act on Transport Services will bring together legislation on transport markets and create preconditions for digitalisation and new business models in transport. Its key aim is provision of customer-oriented transport services. The Government submitted the bill on transport services for approval on 24 May.
Most parts of the Act will enter into force on 1 July 2018. The provisions on the interoperability of data and information systems will enter into force already on 1 January 2018 and the provisions relating to the introduction of intelligent transport systems linked to the ITS Directive will enter into force on 1 October 2017.
The Act will bring changes to the current state of the transport market that is strictly regulated and guided by public measures. It will promote fairness of competition in the passenger transport market and competitiveness of the service providers of both passenger and goods transport.
The Act on Transport Services will significantly enhance the implementation of new technology, digitalisation and new business concepts. It will enable seamless, multimodal travel chains.
Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner is pleased that the first phase of the Act on Transport Services has been completed.
"The Act on Transport Services is, to a very high extent, about preparing for the future. Our legislation has to be flexible so that all parts of the transport system will work together. This Act will give us a genuine opportunity to make mobility a comprehensive service for customers. Finland is a pioneer in this work, which gives us a competitive edge," Minister Berner says.
"It is also very important that the Act on Transport Services will help us respond to the challenges of the climate change. Emission reduction targets for the transport sector are significant and several measures are needed to achieve them. The Act on Transport Services is one of them", Berner says.
