The NIK has examined the functioning of the system for refunding reduced-fare bus tickets in three regions (voivodeships): Podkarpackie, Śląskie and Świętokrzyskie, in the period from 2007 to the first quarter of 2009. Over this period, the sum spent on refunds on bus tickets stood at PLN 233 million.
Bus-carriers (e.g. PKS) have concluded agreements with local authorities on the basis of which they receive refunds on all tickets sold at reduced prices to passengers who are entitled to such reduced fares. In accordance with the binding regulations, bus carriers apply to local authorities for refunds and provide the number of tickets sold at reduced prices. The authorities are obliged to verify whether the data provided by bus carriers is correct before they give the money back.
The NIK found cases of bus carriers that had applied for refunds despite not having licences for offering transport services on the given route (3 out of 15 bus carriers audited). Moreover, bus carriers sometimes failed to inform the authorities on changes in prices that were the basis for calculating the refunds.
Out of the three local authorities audited by the NIK, only one had a special computer system for verifying refund applications, they, however, did not use it properly. The other two offices did not have such tools at their disposal at all. In all three offices, control and verification systems did not work in an appropriate manner.
The NIK discovered certain irregularities as regards sales of reduced-price tickets to policemen, customs collectors, military policemen and other persons wearing uniforms. They are entitled to a 78% reduction in a bus fare, provided that they are on duty and have a document to prove it. In the audited period, customs services did not issue any documents certifying that their employees used buses while performing their duties, and still more than 2,500 reduced-fare tickets were sold to customs collectors. Therefore, it seems that bus carriers receive undue money or that employees of uniformed services buy cheaper tickets when they should not. This would not be possible if the verification systems of local authorities worked properly.
The NIK suggests a change in legal regulations that would prevent from such irregularities, consisting in resignation from reduced-fare bus tickets for officers and replacing them with reimbursements, like in the case of business trips, as the state budget pays for them anyhow.
