The initial judicial decision annulled several technical specifications of the tender document that governed the competition. Both parties, Alicante City Council and GTV, will file appeals with conflicting interests: the council to defend the correctness of its requirements, and GTV to seek a broader ruling that considers all its grounds for challenge.
The judicial resolution states that at least two fundamental requirements in the tender's terms excessively limited business participation, acting as a barrier. The ruling primarily refers to the demand that any interested bidder must have provided a public transport service similar to Alicante's in the three years prior to the tender and possess a fleet of at least 71 vehicles. It also annulled the limitation on the sum of solvency requirements for proposals submitted by allied companies in a Temporary Business Union (UTE).
The local government, from the Popular Party (PP), has announced its intention to appeal to the regional high court, believing the ruling is based on an assessment or interpretation that does not align with the position of the municipal Mobility service. A spokesperson for the local executive stated that the solvency clauses included in the tender were correct, as the aim was to attract the best companies to provide the service that the city deserved.
“"The ruling says we should not have been so demanding in terms of solvency, and that is an assessment with which we disagree, since the tenth largest city in Spain should have been sufficiently demanding to ensure the solvency of companies to provide a quality service."
For its part, the appealing entity, GTV, has also announced its intention to appeal to the TSJCV, seeking a ruling that extends the annulment to other specifications in the tender document. According to GTV, the clause just annulled by the court reduced the pool of potential bidders to just four operators nationwide, including the outgoing concessionaire.
“"From GTV, we denounce that the tender as a whole configured a system in which the successful bidder could not lose under any imaginable scenario. A large part of the automatic criteria (additional kilometers, screens, technological improvements) became decorative points that did not differentiate between offers."
The association insists that the ruling, despite being favorable, falls short and does not annul all the alleged flaws. They will request the Valencia Chamber to fully annul the tender documents and declare the procedure null and void due to a structural violation of the principles of equality, non-discrimination, transparency, and proportionality. They urge the City Council to accept the consequences of the ruling, reformulate the tender documents in compliance with the judgment, and abandon administrative practices that protect the status quo at the expense of competition and citizens' right to a service awarded under free market conditions.
