Warsaw, 16 June 2025 — Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has brought charges against 11 public transport companies for allegedly colluding in a major public procurement tender for bus services in the Silesian agglomeration. The companies now face potential fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover.
The case concerns a 1.3 billion PLN (€300 million) tender issued by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ZTM) to provide bus transport services across Upper Silesia and Zagłębie between 2022 and 2029. According to UOKiK, evidence gathered during office searches and from internal correspondence suggests the companies may have entered into an illegal agreement to divide service areas and coordinate tender submissions.
“Instead of competing for the contract, the companies may have agreed on who would serve which areas,” said UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny. “Such collusion, if confirmed, would have caused serious financial harm to the public sector, and ultimately to taxpayers and the wider economy.”
While forming consortia to participate in public tenders is legal, the competition authority notes that it becomes unlawful when the composition of consortia and the winners of different parts of the contract are prearranged among bidders. UOKiK believes that the companies may have created such arrangements to ensure they retained control over areas they previously served, avoiding real competition.
The companies under investigation are:
- IREX-1, IREX-2, and Ireneusz Kozieł IREX (Świętochłowice)
- Meteor (Katowice)
- Transgór (Mysłowice)
- Kłosok (Żory)
- Benedykt Nowak Nowak Transport (Świerklaniec)
- A21 (Żory)
- Krzysztof Pawelec Transport Services (Biechów)
- PKS Południe (Świerklaniec)
- LZ Apolinary Lazar and Marcin Lazar (Zdenka)
If the charges are upheld, each firm could face fines of up to 10% of its annual turnover. UOKiK emphasizes that while it investigates competition-restricting arrangements between bidders, other institutions—such as the Public Procurement Office, ABW, CBA, or the prosecutor’s office—may address other types of irregularities in public tenders.
Source: https://uokik.gov.pl/autobusy-miejskie-w-aglomeracji-slaskiej-zarzuty-zawarcia-zmowy-przetargowej
