Response to interpellation 2023/24:481 on the possibility of inspecting vehicles throughout the country
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the accessibility of vehicle inspections across the country, particularly in rural areas. S argues that deregulation has led to a market failure where private companies prioritize profitable, densely populated areas, making it unreasonable for residents in rural areas to have to drive long distances for inspection 1. S believes that the car is a necessary means of transport and that the government should consider a public mission or re-regulation 1 2. KD argues that accessibility has increased significantly since deregulation and that the market can now compensate for the loss of state mobile units 3 4. KD emphasizes that mobile inspection units from private actors are now increasing accessibility in rural areas 4 5. KD explains the price increase as an efficiency gain since the previously regulated price was too low 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Marianne Fundahn has asked the Minister for Finance if she intends to take any initiatives within her area of responsibility so that the state-owned company AB Svensk Bilprovning can give vehicle owners the opportunity to have their vehicles inspected within a reasonable distance throughout the country and, if so, which ones.
The work within the government is distributed in such a way that it is I who shall answer the interpellation.
Vehicle owners should, of course, have reasonable opportunities to have their vehicles inspected regardless of where one lives in the country. However, the availability of inspection has not shown to be dependent on the state's ownership and management of the company AB Svensk Bilprovning. When the Swedish National Audit Office evaluated the deregulation of the inspection market in 2021, the conclusion was that the availability of inspection had increased significantly overall. In the most sparsely populated parts of the country, the availability remained unchanged compared to the time when the inspection market was a state monopoly.
Marianne Fundahn (S)
Madam Speaker! The Minister says in his response that in the most sparsely populated parts of the country, accessibility remains unchanged compared to when the inspection market was a state monopoly. That is true, but the purpose of the deregulation was indeed to improve accessibility. It was not specified that it only applied to densely populated areas, but the reason was that accessibility and freedom of choice should increase.
The whole country must live. We say this often and point out that the car is an important means of transport in order to be able to live and work in the whole country, especially in those places that do not have a functioning public transport system. Among the motives for lowering the reduction obligation were, among others, the following: "Today, an all too heavy burden is placed on those who are dependent on the car in their everyday lives. In many parts of the country, the car is the only possible means of transport to be able to get to work, drop the children off at football practice, or visit parents at the nursing home. It is neither right nor fair that those who are dependent on the car, through high taxes on fuels, should have to carry the heaviest load."
But when it comes to the possibility of inspecting one's car, there are no discussions about what is right or just. A citizen who owns a car is obliged to have the car inspected. Then it should also be possible to do so within a reasonable distance. One should not have to drive nearly 20 mil to inspect the car. It is not reasonable. It is as if residents of Malmö would drive to Växjö to inspect their car.
When the center-right government deregulated the inspection in 2010, it was promised that accessibility would increase, freedom of choice would become greater, and prices would be lower. That is partly what happened for those of us living in densely populated areas. We have received more actors; I can choose between three different ones where I live. But it has not become cheaper. On the contrary, the price for inspection after the deregulation has increased more than inflation. An explanation given is that there is a lack of competition with only four large actors exploiting their market position. It did not turn out as the center-right government had envisioned. The new actors were primarily out to make money. Stations in rural areas were not of interest.
The vehicle inspection [system] divides Sweden into profitable and unprofitable areas. In the areas where cars are needed most in rural regions, no stations have been added. It is a clear market failure when thousands of car owners cannot have their cars inspected near where they live. One should not have to take a whole day off work to go and have the car inspected. It is unreasonable that private inspection companies can make large profits by picking the cream off the top and primarily conducting inspections in densely populated areas.
AB Svensk Bilprovning has been conducting a commercial activity on a deregulated market since 2013. During 2021, Bilprovningen discontinued the mobile vehicle inspection that has served rural areas for over 15 years. I mean that such an important service for the citizens, which stems from societal requirements for safety and constitutes a government task, must be available throughout the entire country.
We therefore consider that the government should consider whether the company should be given a public mission or whether the inspection activities should be re-regulated. What measures does the minister consider need to be taken to improve things for car owners in rural areas?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I would first like to thank Marianne Fundahn for the question and the commitment! We share the commitment that all of Sweden should function.
I note that the member sees the importance of the car, which I too have noted many times. It is an important means of transport for many in our sparsely populated country with great distances. There, of course, the vehicle inspection is a very important part in order to be able to maintain the functionality that the car represents.
I fully understand the concern that existed when the mobile inspection units, which primarily visited locations in the inland of Norrland, were taken out of service in 2021. The previous government tasked the Transport Agency to investigate the market availability in this regard since 2010 and then assess whether the existing regulatory framework provided the conditions for inspection in rural areas.
The Swedish Transport Agency's conclusions were that the accessibility to vehicle inspection had improved since the deregulation. The average distance to the nearest inspection station had decreased from 14.1 to 10.6 kilometers between 2010 and 2019. The Swedish Transport Agency also highlighted that the improvement in accessibility had reached vehicle owners in rural areas to some extent, although not to as great an extent as for the country as a whole. In the report, which was therefore commissioned by the previous government, the Swedish Transport Agency assessed that there were conditions for the market to be able to compensate for the lack of inspection opportunities that had arisen when Bilprovningen's mobile units were taken out of use.
I can state that the Transport Agency made a correct assessment. During 2023, the company Opus Bilprovning AB put a mobile inspection facility into use that is accredited and approved to inspect vehicles in all counties except Gotland County. During 2023, the mobile facility served Arjeplog, Funäsdalen, Gäddede, Hede, Karesuando, Köping, Särna, Tärnaby, and Överkalix. Three of these locations are in Jämtland County.
Opus mobila besiktningsenhet performed over 6,000 inspections in rural areas during 2023. This can be compared to AB Svensk Bilprovnings mobile inspection stations, which during 2021, i.e., before they were phased out, performed approximately 5,000 inspections. According to the information I have received, Opus plans to expand the operations in 2024, which could alleviate the concern and apprehension that the member sees regarding many having a long way to an inspection station.
In the large scale, the market has caused the availability of inspections to increase significantly across the entire country. Mobile inspection stations where there are long distances could make it closer to a car inspection.
I have perceived that this has been well received. I had the privilege of inaugurating this inspection station on March 7 last year, and already during the first year, it is thus more people who have inspected their vehicles than were done at the state company AB Svensk Bilprovnings mobile inspection stations.
So, the company now assesses that there is a potential to develop. They are planning for it, and of course, other companies are also free to do this. According to the Transport Agency, there were conditions for the market to be able to compensate, and what we see so far indicates that the Transport Agency's investigation was correct.
Marianne Fundahn (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer! It is incredibly positive with the mobile units that make the distances shorter. I saw to my surprise that even parts of Skåne are counted as rural areas, because this was also the case in Tomelilla. I didn't think so, but apparently it is rural area.
This applies to passenger cars. But for those with heavy vehicles or for those who need to have a registration inspection, even longer distances apply if you live in the inland of Norrland. As a driver, you can lose a whole day's income if you need to have your truck inspected, for example. It feels incredible that one should have to lose income just to have the vehicle you depend on for your income inspected.
A study shows that one effect of the competition is that it is easier to get your car approved. At the same time, it has become more expensive, and the freedom of choice actually only exists for those who live in densely populated areas. The same applies to availability. It is not right or fair that the inland of Norrland should be a blank spot on the map. The inhabitants there have exactly the same needs as – or greater needs than – I, who live in a densely populated area and have access to public transport.
So, what is the Minister's proposal to make it more correct and fair, and so that people across the country will have reasonable opportunities to have their cars inspected - not just passenger cars but also heavy vehicles and other vehicles?
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! These are important questions that Marianne Fundahn is asking.
Let me nevertheless repeat that accessibility has increased and that we now see that even in rural areas there is potential to further increase this with mobile stations. I will, of course, continue to follow the issue. Neither the Swedish National Audit Office nor the Transport Agency, which have the mandate to exercise supervision of the inspection market regarding accessibility, have in their evaluations arrived at a recommendation to the government to take any form of initiative of the kind that Marianne Fundahn is calling for.
When it comes to the price increase, it is correct that the price has increased. At the same time, however, the availability has increased significantly. An explanation that has been highlighted by researchers at VTI is that the regulated price for inspection was too low before the deregulation and that this, in turn, led to the number of inspection stations being too small. That is the explanation that researchers at VTI have provided. Based on such an explanation, the price increase can be seen as an efficiency increase: The shortage of inspection stations has been adjusted by setting a higher price, and the market is now functioning better given that there is better availability. But it is, of course, a matter worth following.
As the member was in, this has resulted in increased accessibility and flexibility for many in our country, but it is of course important to see how it works in rural municipalities, which the interpellation is about.
Marianne Fundahn (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank you for the answer. I am very pleased that the Minister takes the question seriously, and I will also follow this.
For many, the car is the only way to get from home to community services, and many elderly people are dependent on their car to be able to shop or visit healthcare. For them, it is impossible to drive perhaps ten miles to get to an inspection station - which is, in other words, necessary in order to be allowed to drive the car.
I thank the Minister for the answer, and I think, as I have said, it is good that the Minister takes the question seriously.
Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)
Madam Speaker! I can only agree, and just as the member sees, for many the car is the only possibility to get to the store or to loved ones. It is the only possibility to visit relatives, to drop children off at perhaps a floorball practice, and to get to work. Therefore, it is very important with a good infrastructure that enables car travel, of course, but also with an infrastructure with inspection stations.
There we now see a development with mobile inspection stations, and we will have to see how this develops during this year. But from what we have seen so far, the accessibility and flexibility have also been able to increase in rural municipalities, which I see as a great opportunity. It remains important that this increases so that we meet the need that the member has highlighted here today. Let us therefore follow this – preferably together!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.