In Drenthe, Overijssel, North Brabant and Limburg, the PvdA has asked questions about what the sale of Arriva means for transport in the province. The PVV asked questions in Groningen. Questions have also been submitted in North Brabant and Limburg.
The parties are concerned about the quality of bus and train transport by Arriva if it is taken over by the American investor I Squared Capital.
The questions were asked before it emerged on Thursday that Deutsche Bahn is really selling Arriva.
The parties want to know what the sale to an investment company means for public transport and for Arriva’s employees. There are also concerns among PvdA and SP that I Squared Capital mainly wants to make a profit, while the PvdA mainly sees public transport as a public facility. The parties want to know whether the province has had contact with Deutsche Bahn, the selling party, and whether there is contact with the other provinces.
The German state railway company has long wanted to get rid of these foreign activities in order to free up money for investments in its own home market. Of the public transport company’s total of 35,500 employees, approximately 5,500 work in the Netherlands.
Guarantees and requirements
The PVV in Groningen wants to know whether guarantees and requirements are imposed on the new owner of Arriva and whether the company has any knowledge of trains at all.
Arriva operates buses and trains in ten of the twelve Dutch provinces. According to their own map, they just don’t drive in Utrecht and Zeeland. In provinces such as Flevoland and South Holland, the carrier has a bus concession for part of the province.