The procurement of service trips includes travel service trips, sickness trips, special school transfers and certain school transfers in the municipality of Eskilstuna. Now the new procurement is complete and Region Sörmland gives the assignment to three transport companies, two of which have agreements with the region today.

The new agreements are for four years and start to apply for 2021. 134 vehicles are covered and the procurement is worth approximately SEK 470 million. The focus is on the drivers' response, which can give the transport companies a bonus of up to SEK 6 million.

- We want to raise the status of travelers and show more clearly how important the traveler is to us, says Hanna Bergström, Head of Operations for Service Travel and Service Center in Region Sörmland.

Will reach three goals

According to her, the new agreements are in line with the cost of the current agreements, despite the new bonus system.

The bonus, which is part of a driver certification, is based on three goals linked to travelers' perceptions of travel; attentiveness, security and contentment.

- This is where the transport companies have the opportunity to make the biggest change, says Hanna Bergström.

It is unclear if the drivers will receive the bonus

Based on a nationwide measurement of public transport, the region can see monthly how well the companies are achieving their goals. One per cent extra in remuneration per target and another two per cent if all targets are achieved is what the companies can get. In total, this is about SEK 6 million during the procurement period.

Why is this bonus system needed, was not the driver's response sufficiently satisfactory before?

- We looked at it. It is in decent line nationally. Some months it is a high outcome, but we not only want to settle for what it is now but we want to improve the quality further.

Whether the drivers themselves receive part of the bonus is unclear.

- There is nothing that we have set as a requirement. But if the companies are to achieve the goals, we assume that it requires more from them and thus the drivers should be part of this, ”says Hanna Bergström.