OV-bureau Groningen Drenthe

OV-bureau Groningen Drenthe is a joint organisation set up in 2004 by the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe and the municipality of Groningen, so that the three authorities could order bus transport together instead of separately. It describes its own role as that of a director: it guards public goals such as availability, reachability and accessibility, works inside an agreed financial framework, and leaves the actual driving and daily service to the bus company that holds the concession. Its executive board draws up the tender documents for public transport tenders and grants, changes or withdraws concessions. A general board made up of administrators from the two provinces and the city of Groningen sets the strategic policy and approves the budget and the annual accounts each year, and the office reports back to those three authorities. The stated mission is a mobility system that stays accessible and affordable for both travellers and government, and that keeps the cities and the thinly populated parts of the region reachable. The office is in Assen.