Case C-186/22, Sad Trasporto Locale: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 19 October 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato — Italy) — Sad Trasporto Locale SpA v Provincia autonoma di Bolzano (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Transport — Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 — Public passenger transport services by rail and by road — Scope — Article 1(2) — Cableway installations — Direct award of a transport public service contract by a competent local authority to an internal operator — Transfer of the operating risk — Public service compensation)
Date: 2023-10-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: State aid, award of contract, carrier, combined transport, control of State aid, provision of services, public transport, service concession, services of general interest








C_202301105EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
Series C













C/2023/1105


4.12.2023





Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 19 October 2023 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato — Italy) — Sad Trasporto Locale SpA v Provincia autonoma di Bolzano
(Case C-186/22, (1) Sad Trasporto Locale)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Transport - Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 - Public passenger transport services by rail and by road - Scope - Article 1(2) - Cableway installations - Direct award of a transport public service contract by a competent local authority to an internal operator - Transfer of the operating risk - Public service compensation)
(C/2023/1105)
Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Consiglio di Stato

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: Sad Trasporto Locale SpA

Defendant: Provincia autonoma di Bolzano

other party: Strutture Trasporto Alto Adige SpA A. G.

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) Nos 1191/69 and 1107/70, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2016/2338 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016,
must be interpreted as meaning that that regulation does not apply to a mixed public service contract for multimodal public passenger transport services, comprising transport by tramway, funicular railway and cableway, even in a context where track-based modes of transport account for the majority of the transport in respect of which management has been awarded.










2.


Article 107(1) TFEU
must be interpreted as meaning that ‘State aid’, within the meaning of that provision, does not include public service compensation paid to an internal operator in the context of a direct award of a public service contract for the transport of passengers by a competent local authority that has been calculated on the basis of operating costs, which are (a) estimated taking into account the historical costs of the service provided by the outgoing operator; and (b) linked to costs or fees also relating to the previous award or, in any event, to the standard market parameters applicable to all operators in the sector concerned, provided that the use of such factors leads to the determination of costs which reflect those that a typical undertaking, well run and adequately provided with the requisite means so as to be able to meet the necessary public service requirements, would have incurred in discharging those obligations.






(1)  
            OJ C 213, 30.5.2022.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/1105/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)