Study on Special Purpose Vehicle

1. SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE
Sonakshi Gupta
Intern,CPPR

2. BACKGROUND:
Presently cities and towns contribute to more than
60%, approximately two third of the total‘gross
domestic product’ of India. By 2030, this figure is
estimated to grow to about 70%. Inadequate
infrastructure was recognised in the Eleventh Plan as a
major constraint on rapid growth. The Plan had,
therefore, emphasized the need for massive expansion
in investment in urban infrastructure based on a
combination of public and private investment, the
latter through various forms of public-private
partnerships.

3. Therefore the total investment in infrastructure which
includes roads, railways, ports, airports, electricity,
telecommunications, oil gas pipelines and irrigation has
increased from
5.7% of the gdp
in the base year
of the 11th five
year plan
8% of the gdp in
the last year of
the plan
8.37% of the gdp
in the base year
of the 12th plan

4. ROADS AND ROADWAYS:
• Rapid growth needs to be supported by an efficient,
reliable and safe transport system.
• Requirements of transport services are likely to grow
significantly faster than overall GDP growth. Road
traffic volumes, as measured by the consumption of
automotive fuel, have grown by about the same rate as
overall GDP.
• The expansion of urban centres has triggered an
enormous demand for dependable urban mass transit.
From 28% population in urban areas in 2001, it is
projected that by 2031 about 40% population i.e. about
600 million people would be living in urban areas. To
meet these expanding demands large investments was
needed in roads and roadways.

5. 12th Five Year Plan
• According to the recommendations of the working
group of the 12th Five year plan, the investment
expenditure on buses will be RS. 13759 cr. And on bus
infrastructure will be 8760 cr.
FUNDING:
• Buses 50% by GoI, 30% by State
Govt./ULB/Parastatal, 20% by private investment
• Bus Infrastructure (Depots, Terminals,
Workshops)50% by State Govt. and 50% by PPP

6. JNNURM
GoI, on 03.01.2009 announced that as part of the second
stimulus package, funding for buses for urban
transport would be given under the JnNURM as an
incentive to cities and states across the country to
implement bus based public transport systems. Under
this:
City Total fleet
sanctioned
900/850
mm buses
650 mm
buses
400 mm
buses
Mini/ midi
KOCHI 200 120 - 50 30
THIRUVANT
HAPURAM
150 - 120 30 -

7. PROPOSED REFORMS UNDER JNNURM:
State level:
i. Setting up of a city-level Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority
(UMTA) for all one million plus cities, duly backed by a legislation to
facilitate coordinated planning and implementation of projects
relating to urban transport and their integrated management.
ii. Setting up of a Dedicated Urban Transport Fund at the State level
iii. Change in bye-laws and Master Plan of cities to integrate land-use
and transport by densification along with the MRTs corridors and
areas around the stations.
iv. Nominating a single department at the State level to deal with all
urban transport issues as against different departments at present.
v. Setting up of a regulatory/ institutional mechanism to periodically
revise fares of all public and intermediate public transport systems.
vi. The State government and ULB waiving off / reimbursing its taxes
on urban buses & city bus service/BRTs.

8. City level:
• i. Setting up of a Dedicated Urban Transport Fund at the city-level.
• ii. An advertisement policy which taps advertisement revenue on
public transport, intermediate public transport and public utilities
for public purposes subject to relevant legislations.
• iii. Parking policy wherein parking fee represents the true value of
land of the land occupied which is used to make public transport
more attractive banning of parking on arterial/ring roads, multi-
level parking centres in the city centre with park-and-ride facility
etc.
• iv. A well organized and efficient city bus system by using ITS
through city specific SPV preferably on PPP, under well structured
contracts.
• v. Multimodal integration including urban railways (by involving
MoR) to provide network-connectivity in the region and single
ticketing to provide seamless travel.
• vi. Setting up of a Traffic Information Management Control Centre
for effective monitoring and enforcement of traffic as well as data
generation and data-collection for future planning.

9. SPVS:
Wherever the bus services are introduced on public
private partnership basis, it should be in the form of
setting up of professional umbrella public bodies that
have the capacity to make scientific assessment of the
demand on various routes and contract services that
can be properly monitored. These umbrella public
bodies should also manage common facilities like bus
stations, bus depots, terminals, Central office and
control center etc. and provide for the maintenance
facilities which the private players can use on
payment basis. Such umbrella bodies should have
representation from all the major operators and stake
holders including traffic police.

10. Examples:
• Indore took the lead of setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle, for city bus
operations, encompassing the Municipal Corporation, Development
Authority and franchising bus operations to private partners.. A unique
partnership thus emerged which ensured good quality, high efficiency and
sustained public services. Other cities like Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ujjain and
Raipur also followed the Indore model by setting up city specific SPVs for
operating bus services in each of the cities.
• Billed as India's first privately run metro service, the DELHI METRO was
built under a public private partnership scheme by a special purpose
vehicle (SPV) known as DAMEPL.
The SPV consists of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and a
consortium of Reliance Infrastructure (95%) and Spain-based train
manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. The project cost
was shared equally between DMRC and the consortium.

11. SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE:
A Special Purpose Vehicle may be necessary to oversee the
planning and operation of city bus and BRT services. This should
represent all stakeholders (transport related). The SPV may be
headed by the City Mayor and could have the following as
members:
• Collector (Vice Chairman)
• Chief Executive of the City Development/Planning Authority.
• Commissioner of the City Corporation.
• Representative of the Police.
• Representative of Commuters’/Citizens’ Associations.
• Transportation Planning Expert.
• Representative of a Government Transport Organisation.
• Chief Executive of the SPV.
Initially, the SPV can be set up with an Executive Order, but when it
enters into contracts it should be given a corporate status. This
could be done by registering it as a Government Company. The
function of the SPV would be to assess the public transport
requirement in the city, to plan the transport system and to contract
with bus operators for services. It would have to be authorized for
this purpose by the State Government. The bus operators could be
private entities or a government company.

12. Should the proposed SPV be entirely govt. funded or on a
PPP basis?
Expansion and improvement of bus fleets or services can
be done in a number of ways depending on the role of
the public sector and the potential of private sector
involvement in the current environment. The
government could procure and operate buses directly, or
let the private sector introduce or expand all of the city
bus services. There are several intermediate options.

13. INDORE
• Contracting Authority: Indore City Transport Services
Limited (ICTSL) which is an SPV : formed between
Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) and Indore
Development Authority (IDA)
• The SPV manages 3 sets of private operators:
1. Bus Operators: Dayajeet Nimay Logistics Private
Limited, Rama Jyoti Travels, Anam Travels,
Priyadarshani Transport Service - each operating on
designated routes
2. Pass Issuing Agency: R Square Systems and Solutions
3. Advertising Agency: Giriraj Advertising and Marketing
Services

14. Indore City Transport Services Limited (ICTSL) was
constituted in 2005 as an SPV with equal contributions
from IMC and IDA. Management was entrusted to a
Board of Directors, with the District Collector as the
Executive Director. The SPV was a thinly capitalized
entity - expected to lead private operators under a unified
bus system for the city.

15. Key features of the proposed reforms:
Key features of the proposed system
were:
1. Standardized and colour coded ultra modern buses
plying along select high traffic routes of the city
2. Improved compliance with schedules due to real time
tracking of vehicles, through a Global Positioning
System (GPS) based On Line Bus Tracking System
(OLBTS) managed from a central control point
3. Computerized ticketing and Pass Vending (allowing
user unlimited travel on any route for a month)
4. GPS based Passenger Information System for
displaying arrival times and other information
through LED displays installed at bus stops

16. Implementation
1.Background studies included analysis of financial
feasibility, and surveys to finalize bus routes which
would provide maximum passenger traffic. 18 routes
were finalized in consultation with the Road and
Transport Authority (RTA)
2. A movement system was designed as a hub-spoke
pattern to cover both personal and workplace
commuting requirements. Bus routes and buses were
to be colour coded for ease of identification.
3. Ultramodern low-floor TATA buses were selected as
the standard model to be procured by operators.

17. Procurement Procedure
1. Competitive bidding process for selection of bus operators
was held in December 2005 for each of the bus routes. The
following companies: Dayajeet Nimay Logistics Private
Limited, Rama Jyoti Travels, Anam Travels, Priyadarshani
Transport Service were selected for operating on
designated routes, based on the quotes for highest
monthly premium to be paid to ICTSL.
2. Competitive bidding process for pass issuance agency was
held in January 2005. Square Systems and Solutions was
selected on the basis of their quote for cost per pass.
3. Competitive bidding process for advertising agency was
held in January 2005. Giriraj Advertising and Marketing
Services was selected on the basis of its quote for highest
revenue offered per bus per month.

18. Obligations of ICTSL
1. Act as a regulator for the entire system, administer tariff
fixation/revision, monitor quality and standard of
services, and undertake planning and route
management
2. Provide and maintain allied infrastructure such as bus
stops (through IMC), GPS based passenger information
system and common ticketing facilities
3. Manage the revenue sharing arrangement between
operators

19. Regulatory and monitoring
arrangements
Regulation was through the SPV and the powers vested in
it through executive orders of the Government.

20. Project Financials
1) All investments towards procurement and operation of buses, setting up of pass
vending systems and advertising media were to be made by the respective private
parties.
2) Investments for allied infrastructure (except bus stops developed by the IMC) were
made by ICTSL
3) The following revenue streams and revenue-sharing mechanisms were envisioned as
part of the project:
a) Revenue from fare-box collections: accrued entirely to Bus Operators for the
specified bus routes
b) Revenue from passes: was shared on 80-20 basis between Bus Operators and
ICTSL. ICTSL would retain 12.2% of its share in case of a new pass and 17% in case
of a renewed pass and the remaining was given back to the pass issuance agency
c) Revenue from in-bus advertisement: accrued to the advertising agency and a
fixed sum of Rs.25,000 was to be paid to ICTSL per bus per month. 60% of such
advertisement revenue was shared by ICTSL with the Bus Operators
d) Revenue from advertisement at bus stops: and through ICTSL installed LEDs for
displaying public information was shared between ICTSL and IMC
e) A monthly premium (bid amount) was paid by bus operators to ICTSL

21. Project Risks and allocation
The operators bore the investment and revenue risk since travel
demand is variable and the Concessioning Authority did not
guarantee fixed minimum payment to any of the Concessionaires.
The risk was mitigated in part for the bus operators through the
revenue sharing arrangements

22. Project outcomes:
1. The SPV operates 110 ultramodern buses through private operators
in Indore. Success of the bus initiative has prompted ICTSL to
expand into new systems such as a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System
and a network of CNG call cabs.
2. Users have benefitted through direct benefits such as better facilities,
increased reliability and ease of accessibility. The project has also
brought in allied benefits such as time and cost savings (for people
using private transport previously) and improvement in quality of
services offered by competing mini buses and auto rickshaws
3. The project has generated high and steady revenues for ICTSL with
minimal asset holding in the system
4. Bus operators have also gained advantages since there is no
competition on the routes they operate.
5. The model has been replicated in all major cities in the State such as
Bhopal, Gwalior and Ujjain as well as in other cities/States such as
Raipur and Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) and Ludhiana and Jalandhar
(Punjab).

23. Project shortcomings:
1. The contract did not prescribe any particular formula
(indexing or otherwise) for calculating periodic increases
in bus fares. Decisions on fare revisions are the mandate
of the ICTSL Board of Directors and its acceptance is
subject to mutual understanding between the two
parties.
2. The existing bus system is focused on high capacity
arterial routes of the city. The system does not service all
areas of the city and expansion through the same model
may be difficult due to smaller roads, problems of
congestion and possible lack of enthusiasm from private
parties due to lesser profits.

24. Lessons learnt:
1. The current case illustrates that PPP arrangements can be employed even in sectors
such as city bus transport, which are typically seen as loss-making public services.
2. Robust institutional structuring and risk distribution has been the key to the success
of the Indore Bus Concessions. ICTSL as an overall regulatory body assesses
demands, plans routes, regulates tariffs, and monitors daily performance through a
permanent team appointed for the purpose. This has allowed the system to achieve
optimum functional distribution and run efficiently, despite the presence of a
number of different private operators within the arrangement.
3. The project is also an excellent illustration of the manner in which all possible
revenue streams (bus operation, advertising etc.) have been tapped and captured
under a single system, with a revenue sharing mechanism that allows all private
operators to get adequate returns.
4. Indore city started with a ‘clean slate’ since a State Transport Corporation was not
already operational. In cities where such corporations do exist, extensive financial
and manpower investment is already ‘sunk in’ and such an arrangement may be
infeasible. Many such corporations are also hampered by not having the freedom
to fix fares. Only those corporations, such as Bangalore Metropolitan Transport
Corporation (BMTC) at Bengaluru, which have a reasonably better fare regime,
manage to show profits in operations. As such replicability of the model in other
cities may largely depend upon availability of such enabling preconditions.

25. How are urban buses generally organized in Indian cities?
Are there any good examples?
There are many cities where there is NO urban bus
service, although there are inter-city buses
regulated/operated by the state governments in some of
these cities. These buses, however, primarily serve inter-
city travelers and their routes, stops, terminals and
schedules are not suitable for inner-city traffic.
Experience with urban buses is mixed, but there are
good examples, such as Bangalore (public sector) and
Indore (SPV and private sector).

26. Questions that need to be addressed by SPV
• Our city does not have any urban buses, what can be
done to develop new bus services?
In a city where services are not available, the planning
process requires additional steps, such as changing the
regulatory framework, establishing a regulatory body
and public or private bus operators.

27. What types of fare structure are available and how can we select
the most appropriate option?
Choice of fare structure is a very important part of bus
planning. It directly influences operators’ revenue. Options
such as flat fare, distance-based fare, zone-based fare etc.,
together with guidelines on their advantages and
disadvantages. SPVs could investigate the potential to reduce
administrative costs and to increase revenue by examining the
options in detail.
However, in India fare structure is set at state government
level and this aspect needs to be taken into consideration.
Fares should also be reviewed annually, so that variations in
costs of bus operation are reflected. Fares should address
social objectives :
1)Disadvantaged groups are not excluded from public transport.
2) Giving incentive to the middle class and upper middle class to
take up public transport than using private vehicles.

28. Existing bus services are not performing well. Is there
any way to improve services?
Recommended to analyze the existing situation carefully,
set goals and objectives for improvement, examine
available options, select most appropriate measures, and
implement them carefully. As the decisions may affect
the interest of a variety of stakeholders, it is particularly
important to involve them at appropriate stages in the
planning process.

29. What are the options to involve the private sector in
providing urban bus services?
It is widely recognized that the private sector is suited to
the operation of transport services, but there is always a
possibility that the private sector is unable to optimize
services from the user/community points of view alone.
The public sector can in such a case function as regulator
and licensor or franchise the provision of bus services,
by route or by area, but infrastructure such as bus
terminals and maintenance depots may have to be
provided by the public sector in Indian cities. Merits and
demerits of various options and the process of involving
the private sector are to be explored.

30. What can we do to increase non-fare revenue from urban
bus operations?
Although the main source of revenue for public transport
organizations is from trip fares, there are other sources
that can be explored: from property development and
advertising, land monetization etc