In Portugal ,
the transport sector is dominated by the State, who owns the only infrastructure
railroad company, the only railroad transport company, the major bus companies
operating in the major cities, the metro systems, the boat transport in Lisbon , the major
airline,… Except for TAP (the airline) that has been worked on to be privatised
and that is efficient (far from a good example, but a fair one,
never-the-less), all of them are crippled by strategic indefinition, lack of
sustainable business models, being a pawn in political games, politically based
management teams, unproductive unions, and the list goes on and on… This
perfect storm of indefinition has actually driven these companies to be
numerous and incredibly inefficient, sinking them into heavy debt – that has to
be supported by the State (aka the taxpayers, aka all of us). It is thus urgent
for the State to actually start the redefinition of its presence in the
transport sector, merging companies, terminating others, streamlining its
structures, putting professional and capable managers running them,
liberalising prices. And, actually, understanding what role it wants to play in
the transport area – which for me, seems quite clear: the State should not own
any operator, but should consider staying in the infrastructure area. Those are
my 2 cents on the State as a transport tycoon in Portugal .
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"This is where I want to seriously comment on the news that are coming on the press, about the World, but primarily about Portugal. Don’t doubt, this will be about politics, economics and society. And, especially, about my personal views on those."
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