Passenger transportation is a public service.
A public service is an activity carried out by a state agency or a private entity under the regulation of the State to satisfy a certain need of the population . Electricity distribution, drinking water supply, waste collection, and transportation are some examples of public services.
The first meaning of the term service mentioned in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) refers to the act and result of serving (the development of an action to satisfy a certain need). The public , for its part, is that linked to the entire community and that, therefore, is usually managed or administered by the State .
Transportation, a public service
In cities we find multiple public services. One of them is transportation , which can include the bus ( bus or collective ), the train , the tram and the metro ( underground ), for example. These means of transportation can be used by anyone through the corresponding tickets or tickets.
The taxi is also considered another public transportation service. The vehicle in question must have the corresponding identification and meet the requirements established by law. It differs from the rest of public transport in that it is a service that is developed in a personalized way for the client, it is a "door to door" alternative.
The State must guarantee that public services, such as the supply of electricity and drinking water , are accessible to all citizens.
The case of state employment in Spain
In Spain there is what has been called the State Public Employment Service ( SEPE ), which is attached to the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and forms the National Employment System together with the relevant organizations that exist in the autonomous communities of the country.
Among its main functions is to carry out studies and analyzes on employment at the state level, promote different measures and initiatives in that same area and undertake all the processing related to unemployment benefits.
The importance of public services
A service is considered public when its purpose is to meet a need of society as a whole. That is why public service is usually provided by the State as the entity that organizes the community's resources. In the event that, for budgetary or other reasons, the public service is offered by a private company , the conditions of said service are subject to the control and regulation of the state authorities.
Those countries with a rich and well-administered State usually have greater breadth and quality of public services. Thus the State can provide public health , education , telephone , energy and telecommunications services for all people. On the other hand, when the State has a reduced scope, public services tend to be deficient or very expensive, making them poorly accessible to the inhabitants.