Proposal for a regulation on the rights of a passenger in bus and coach transport.

Summary of "Political Agreement" text finalised at transport council on 17.12.2009

CPT comments are in italics.

Sources: Text prepared for the meeting and report by UITP of changes agreed.

Note that this is a summary of the main provisions, not a complete text.

Note on scope: Member States may exempt urban, suburban and regional regular services (even if they are cross border services) from all the provisions, except where I have noted that no exemption is available.  There is, intentionally, no definition of urban, suburban or regional services, giving member states considerable flexibility.

Chapter I - General Provisions

Article 1            - Subject Matter

Article 2            - Scope

Covers passengers on regular services within, from or into the EU.

Does not apply to special regular services (i.e. those not open to the public).

Chapters I and II apply additionally to occasional services.

As well as the enduring power to exempt urban, suburban and regional services (see above) member states may exempt other domestic regular services  - even long distance ones - for a period of up to five years, which may be renewed twice (in other words, for fifteen years).

It is explicitly stated that the Regulation does not require operators or terminal managers to modify or replace buses, coaches or infrastructure.

Article 3            - Definitions

Most of these are familiar.  Note that 'terminal' means a manned terminal where a regular service is scheduled to stop, equipped with facilities such as a check-in counter, waiting room or ticket office.  When the staff go home it is not a terminal.  'Ticket' means a valid document or other evidence of a transport contract.

Article 4            - Transport contract

Carriers must issue tickets, but these can be electronic.  Carriers must not discriminate between customers of different nationalities[1].  Contracting carriers are liable for the acts and omissions of subcontractors.

Article 5            - Exclusion of waiver

Obligations to passengers arising from the Regulation cannot be waived in the transport contract.

Chapter II - Compensation and assistance in the event of accidents

This chapter formerly dealt directly with liability, but no longer does.

Article 7

Deleted

Article 8            - Immediate practical needs of passengers

There appears to be a mismatch between what this article means and what it says.  In the recitals (the clauses that precede the Regulation itself, explaining its rationale) there is mention of first aid, accommodation, food and clothes.

In the event of an accident, the carrier shall provide reasonable assistance with regard to the passengers' immediate practical needs.

Calling an ambulance might satisfy this obligation.

Article 9

Deleted

Chapter III - Rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility

The definitions of these groups are wide, and include people whose mobility is reduced simply because they are old.

Article 10          - Right to transport[2]

Carriers may not refuse to sell tickets to people, or to let them on the bus/coach, on the grounds that they are disabled or have the mobility reduced in some other way.

Carriers may not make extra charges for reservations or tickets for disabled people.

Despite the name of the article, these are non-discrimination clauses and do not create an absolute right to transport. The Commission has stated that this article does not create an obligation for operators to set up a reservation system for disabled travellers where there is no reservation system in place for passengers in general.

Article 11          - Derogations and special conditions

Could more accurately be called "exceptions to article 10".

Carriers can refuse reservations from disabled people in order to meet safety requirements established by law, or by competent authorities, and where the design of the vehicle or the infrastructure (including bus stops and terminals) makes it physically impossible to carry the person in a safe and operationally feasible manner.  They must give their reasons to the traveller.[3]

We could not ask for a more practical text.

Carriers who have refused to accept a reservation, or issue a ticket, on these grounds must make reasonable efforts to inform the person concerned about alternative services that they operate.  If any.

If a disabled person already has a ticket or a reservation, and has given two working days' notice that they need assistance, but is still denied the opportunity to travel, they (and a person accompanying them at the behest of the carrier) must be offered the choice of a) reimbursement and transport back to the start point of their journey under the contract or b) continuation of their journey by reasonable alternative transport services.

If they have a ticket or a reservation but have not given notice that they need assistance, and are denied the opportunity to travel, they are entitled to their money back.

Carriers may require that a disabled person be accompanied by an assistant, where this is strictly necessary.  The assistant must be carried free of charge and, where feasible, seated next to the disabled person.

Note that this does not introduce an obligation to carry, free, accompanying persons brought at the disabled traveller's instigation.

Article 12          - Accessibility and information

Operators and terminal managers must work with bodies representing disabled people to draw up non-discriminatory access conditions, which must be made publicly available.

Carriers, travel agents and tour operators[4] must ensure that "all relevant general information concerning the journey and the conditions of carriage is available in appropriate and accessible formats for disabled persons [ ] including, where applicable, online booking and information."

Article 13

Deleted 

Article 14          - Designation of terminals

Member states shall designate terminals where assistance for disabled persons shall be provided.  They must inform the Commission and publish the list on the internet.

There is no longer a presumption of how many there should be (apart from the literal requirement that there must be at least two per member state).  Note that terminals are, by definition, staffed.  The text is silent on who has the duty to provide the terminals designated by member states.

Article 15          - Right to assistance at designated terminals and on board buses and

 coaches

Carriers and terminal managing bodies are obliged to offer - free - assistance to disabled people as follows:-

At terminals:  to enable them to communicate their arrival and request assistance, move to the check-in counter etc., get on and off the vehicle (including a duty to provide lifts and wheelchairs as appropriate), load and unload their luggage, get to their seat and bring their assistance dog[5].

On board: to receive essential information in accessible formats (on request), to get on or off during pauses in the journey (if there are personnel other than the driver on board).

Article 16          - Conditions under which assistance is provided

In order to be sure of assistance from carriers and terminal managing bodies, disabled people need to:-

Arrange for notification of their need at least two working days in advance (they can notify their requirements themselves or get someone else to do it for them).[6] 

Present themselves at the designated point at the time specified by the carrier (which can be no more than an hour before the scheduled departure of the bus or coach).  If no time is stipulated, they must turn up 30 minutes in advance.

If they have specific needs in relation to seating, they should say so when they book.

Carriers and terminal managing bodies must make it easy to notify the need for assistance, including at the terminal, and at points of sale (including telephone and web sales).

Article 17          - Transmission of information to a third party

This covers the duties of travel agents and tour operators who receive notification of disabled travellers' need for assistance.

Article 18          - Training

Training requirements for disability awareness and assistance are laid down (in terms that will be familiar to all British operators) in an annex.  Drivers have a shorter list of obligatory training than other staff engaged directly in assisting disabled people.  Member states may postpone the requirement for drivers to be trained for up to two years.

Training for all customer-facing staff (including drivers): disability awareness, the role and needs of assistance dogs, relevant interpersonal skills, how to handle wheelchairs and other mobility aids.

Additional training for assistance staff: how to help people transfer in and out of  a wheelchair; assistance skills, specific techniques for escorting blind and partially sighted people; more detailed training on embarkation assistance equipment; first aid.

Article 19          - Compensation in respect of wheelchairs and mobility equipment

Carriers and terminal operators have a duty to repair or replace mobility equipment that they damage while providing assistance, including the rapid provision of replacement devices.

Article 19a         - Exemptions

Member states may exempt domestic regular services from the whole of Chapter III provided national rules give protection for disabled people that is at least as good.

Chapter IV - Rights in the event of cancellation or delay

Article 20          - Continuation, re-routing and reimbursement

Where a carrier reasonably expects a regular service to be cancelled or delayed in departure from a terminal for more than two hours, the passenger shall immediately be offered the choice between a) continuing or re-routing to the final destination in their contract at the earliest possibility and b) a refund and (if relevant) transport by bus or coach back to the starting point of their journey under their contract.

Where a service is cancelled or delayed in departure from a bus stop for more than two hours, a passenger shall be entitled to continuing, re-routing or reimbursement.  But not to transport back to their starting point.

In any case involving reimbursement, that operator has to make the payment within 14 days of offering it, or it being requested.  The text allows for pro-rata refunds of season tickets.

The wording of this article, taken literally, is demanding in some respects.  Any cancellation gives rise to an entitlement to a refund should the passenger choose it, even if the delay is short. 

Article 21          - Information

Somebody (either the operator or the terminal manager) must inform passengers waiting at a terminal if a service is cancelled or delayed.  There are further detailed requirements.

Article 21a         - Assistance

If a journey that is due to take more than three hours is cancelled, or delayed for more than two hours, the carrier must offer free snacks, meals or refreshments (if they are available) and assistance to find a hotel room or other accommodation if an overnight stay is necessary.

Article 22          - Further claims

Passengers can make whatever additional claims national laws allow.

Article 23

Deleted

Chapter V - Information for passengers and handling of complaints

Article 24          - Right to travel information

Carriers and terminal managing bodies shall provide passengers with adequate information throughout their travel.  In accessible formats (on request) where feasible.

Article 25          - Information on passenger rights

There are detailed provisions on the duties of carriers and terminal managing bodies to make passengers aware of their rights.  The European Commission will prepare a summary in all the official languages of the Union.

Article 26          - Complaints

Carriers must have a complaint handling system covering most of the key provisions of the Regulation.

Article 26a         - Submission of complaints

Passengers have three months to lodge complaints, carriers have one month to acknowledge the complaint and three months to give a final reply.

Chapter VI - Enforcement

Article 27          - National enforcement bodies

Member states must designate a body or bodies to enforce the Regulation as regards regular services.  The body may take on an appeal role in relation to complaints made to carriers.   

This will affect terminal managers, who may be PTEs or local authorities, as well as carriers.  Members will note that no body is designated to enforce the Regulation in relation to occasional services.

Article 28          - Report on enforcement

Creates a duty on enforcement bodies to report on their activities every two years.

Article 29          - Co-operation between enforcement bodies

Article 30          - Penalties

Member states must lay down rules on penalties for infringing the Regulation that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

This will involve investigation into and (potentially) punishment for matters which have previously been a civil legal issue between passengers and operators.

Chapter VII - Final Provisions

Article 31          - Report

The Commission must report within three years on the effects of the Regulation and make proposals for changes if necessary.

Article 32

An amendment to the Consumer Protection, Enforcement and Co-operation Regulation.

Article 33          - Entry into force

The familiar twenty days (into force) plus two years (becomes applicable) formulation

SJS

6.1.10

[1] No exemption for urban, suburban or regional services

[2] No exemption for urban, suburban or regional services

[3] This exception applies is also available for urban, suburban and regional services

[4] The reference to tour operators is only relevant where tickets on regular services are included in package tours.

[5] It will be a challenge to reconcile this with other obligations on journeys across the UK's borders.

[6] In the absence of advance notice, carriers, terminal managing bodies, travel agents and tour operators must make every reasonable effort to provide assistance in boarding, alighting and changing services.