House of Commons - Documents considered by the Committee on 28 January 2009

Documents considered by the Committee on 28 January 2009 - European Scrutiny Committee Contents

4 Rights of passengers

(a)

(30255)

16933/08

+ ADDs 1-2

COM(08) 817

(b)

(30264)

11990/08

+ ADDs 1-2

COM(08) 816

Draft Regulation on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws

Draft Regulation concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway and amending Regulation (EC) No. 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws

Legal base Article 71(1) EC; co-decision; QMV

Documents originated 4 December 2008

Deposited in Parliament (a) 10 December 2008
(b) 15 December 2008

Department Transport

Basis of consideration EMs of 13 and 20 of January 2009

Previous Committee Report None

To be discussed in Council Not known

Committee's assessment Politically important

Committee's decision Do not clear either document; further information awaited

Background

4.1 In its 2001 White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide" the Commission listed one of its objectives as establishing passenger rights in all modes of transport.[18] Legislation has already been enacted for the aviation sector, covering passenger rights generally and the rights of passengers with reduced mobility in two separate Regulations.[19]

The documents

4.2 The draft Regulation, document (a), is intended to establish a set of rights for passengers using bus and coach services on both domestic and international routes. The aims of this proposal are to:

make bus and coach transport more attractive;
achieve a level playing field, both between operators in different Member States and between different modes of transport; and
remove potential barriers to disabled people and people with reduced mobility using buses and coaches by addressing issues around accessibility and the provision of assistance.

4.3 The draft Regulation has provisions to:

prevent discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of residence with regard to conditions and prices offered to passengers by operators;
establish standard rules on liability in the event of death or injury of passengers and loss of or damage to their luggage and to harmonise these with other modes of transport;
prevent discrimination on the grounds of disability or reduced mobility with regard to booking a journey or boarding a vehicle (unless safety regulations or the size of the vehicle makes such access impossible);
give disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility the right to assistance during their travel, free of charge;
oblige companies to provide all passengers with adequate information throughout their journey, particularly where services are cancelled or subject to long delays, and with information about their rights; and
ensure operators have a complaint handling mechanism, with each Member State designating a body responsible for the enforcement of the Regulation.

4.4 The draft Regulation's first chapter covers general provisions, including:

application of the legislation to regular bus and coach services on both domestic and international routes;
an exemption by Member States of urban, suburban and regional transport operated under a public service contract, provided that such contracts ensure a level of passenger rights that are comparable to those required by the Regulation;
application of provisions on liability and compensation in the event of accidents resulting in death or injury to passengers, or loss or damage to their luggage, to "occasional services" — services that carry groups of preassembled passengers, which would include, for example, holiday tours;
a requirement on bus and coach operators to issue passengers with one or more tickets as proof of conclusion of the transport contract, entitling them to the rights in the Regulation; and
a requirement that, without prejudice to social tariffs provided under public service contracts, contract conditions and tariffs applied by bus and coach operators or ticket vendors be offered to the general public without any discrimination based on the nationality or the place of residence of the final customer or the place of establishment of the company within the Community.

4.5 The second chapter of the draft Regulation, on liability where an accident causes death or injury or loss or damage to luggage, has provisions:

for rules on companies' liability for passengers and their luggage, in order to establish harmonised standards on liability;
making operators liable for loss or damage resulting from the death, personal injury or mental harm to passengers caused by an accident whilst the passengers were on, entering, or leaving the vehicle. This liability would not be subject to any maximum financial limit, under certain conditions the operator would not be able to contest damages up to €220,000 (£209,550), for larger claims an operator would not be liable where the accident was caused by circumstances unconnected with the operation of the service and which the operator could not have avoided or prevented, in all instances operators would not be liable if the accident was the passenger's fault or caused by their negligence, the operator might be the only party liable to pay damages, and operators could seek redress from others in accordance with national law;
requiring operators to address financial difficulties that passengers or their families might face as a consequence of death or injury with an advance payment of damages, no less than €21,000 ( £20,002.50) per passenger in the event of death, within 15 days of establishing who is entitled to compensation. This would not constitute liability and would be offset against further payments, but would not be returnable, unless the accident was due to the passenger's fault or negligence; and
making operators liable for the loss or damage of luggage placed under their responsibility and for loss or damage to passengers' personal effects or hand luggage, as a result of an accident, with maximum levels of compensation of €1,800 (£1,714.50) in the former case and €1,300 (£1,238.25) in the latter case. There would be unlimited compensation where wheelchairs or other mobility equipment is lost or damaged and, if necessary a fast replacement. If an operator can prove that the loss or damage was caused or contributed to by the fault or negligence of the passenger then the operator would be wholly or partly exonerated from liability.

4.6 The next chapter of the draft Regulation, on assistance for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility, has provisions to ensure that such people are not prevented from travelling by bus or coach, which would:

prohibit operators, their ticket vendors and tour operators, from refusing to accept a reservation, issue a ticket, or board a passenger on the grounds of disability or reduced mobility, unless safety regulations or the size of the vehicle made this impossible;
require passengers, in such circumstances, to be informed of the reasons and companies to make reasonable effort to propose an acceptable alternative;
allow the operator or ticket vendor to insist, if strictly necessary in order to meet safety requirements, that the passenger be accompanied by another person to provide necessary assistance;
require that, where a passenger is not allowed to board a vehicle, they be offered a reimbursement and reasonable alternative transport services to the destination;
require bus and coach operators to produce non-discriminatory access rules that apply to the transport of disabled persons and people with reduced mobility, covering all access conditions to the service in question (such as accessibility of the vehicle and the facilities on board). These should be developed in partnership with organisations that represent such people and with the national enforcement bodies to be set up by Member States and be made publicly available, including at the time of reservation;
require operators to make available all relevant information concerning the journey, such as the conditions of carriage and the accessibility of services, in appropriate and accessible formats for disabled people and persons with reduced mobility, including when booking online;
give to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility the right to assistance during their travel free of charge (on board and at designated terminals), on condition that the passenger has provided at least 48 hours prior notification of the need for assistance and arrives at the terminal at a predetermined time (no more than 60 minutes) prior to the scheduled departure. If prior notification is not received the operator and terminal manager should make every reasonable effort to ensure assistance is provided. The assistance is to cover boarding and exiting a vehicle, loading and retrieving luggage, in movement to toilet facilities, allowing a passenger to carry a recognised assistance dog, and providing essential journey information in an accessible format;
require operators to ensure staff can offer this assistance by giving appropriate training;
make operators and managers of designated terminals responsible for providing assistance, but allow them to contract this out to a third party, with adequate arrangements in place to ensure the subcontractor is informed when assistance is needed; and
require Member States to designate a geographical spread of bus and coach terminals at which assistance would be provided within six months of the proposed Regulation coming into force.

4.7 The fourth chapter, on operator obligations in the event of interrupted travel, aims to ensure that all passengers are provided with assistance to make alternative travel arrangements where services are cancelled and receive compensation when services are cancelled or subject to long delays. It provides:

for operators to be liable for cancellations and, where the scheduled duration of the trip exceeds three hours, for delays at departure of more than two hours;
that, in such circumstances, passengers should be offered alternative transport services or, if this is not practical, be informed of alternative transport services provided by other operators, receive reimbursement of the ticket price, unless they accept alternative transport and have the right to compensation (100% of the ticket price) if the operator fails to provide alternative services or information about another transport operator's services;
that, if there is a delay to a service, passengers should be informed of the estimated departure and arrival times as soon as the information is available;
that where passengers miss a connection due to delay, operators should make reasonable efforts to inform them of alternative connections; and
operators should cooperate at a national or Community level to improve care for passengers, especially in the event of cancellation or long delays.

4.8 The fifth chapter deals with information for passengers and handling of complaints. On the first matter terminal managers and operators would be required to provide passengers with adequate information throughout their travel, as well as with easily understandable information regarding their rights under the Regulation, including details of the enforcement body. Secondly, operators would be required to set up a complaints handling system for rights covered by the Regulation, with provisions that:

complaints should be considered, if received within one month from the day on which the journey was taken;
the operator respond in full within 20 working days, or, if justified, inform the passenger by what date a reply is to be expected, although this should be no later than two months after receipt of the complaint; and
if no reply is received within the specified period, the complaint shall be deemed to be accepted.

4.9 The sixth chapter requires that:

Member States establish an enforcement body or bodies to deal with infringements of the Regulation;
the body would have to be independent of operators in terms of its organisation, funding decisions, legal structure and decision making;
any passenger would be able to complain to the body about an infringement of the Regulations;
enforcement bodies would have to publish a report on 1 June each year on their activity in the previous year and exchange information on their work and decision-making principles and practices with other designated enforcement bodies; and
Member States introduce penalties for infringements of the Regulation.

4.10 The second draft Regulation, document (b), is intended to establish a set of rights for passengers travelling by sea and inland waterways. The aim of this proposal is to:

remove potential barriers to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by sea and inland waterways, by addressing issues around the lack of accessibility and the provision of assistance for their needs; and
ensure an enhanced level of consumer protection for commercial maritime and inland waterway passengers who experience delays or disruption to their journeys.

The design of vessels to make them accessible to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility is not within the scope of this proposal.[20]

4.11 The draft Regulation's first chapter covers general provisions, including:

application of the legislation to commercial passengers on maritime and inland waterway services, including cruises within the Community;
exemption by Member States of services covered by public service contracts, provided that such contracts ensure a level of passenger rights that are comparable to those required by the Regulation; and
requiring carriers to issue tickets to their passengers with non-discriminatory conditions and to offer tariffs which are non-discriminatory.

4.12 The second chapter of the draft Regulation, on assistance for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility, has provisions which would:

prohibit carriers, their ticket vendors and tour operators, from refusing to accept a reservation or issue a ticket and from making an additional charge on the grounds of disability or reduced mobility
allow a carrier to derogate from the preceding provisions for justified safety reasons established by law;
require passengers, in such circumstances, to be informed of the reasons and require companies to make a reasonable effort to propose an acceptable alternative;
allow the carrier to insist, if strictly necessary in order to meet safety requirements, that the passenger be accompanied by another person to provide necessary assistance;
require that, where a passenger is not allowed to board a vehicle, they be offered reimbursement and reasonable alternative transport services to the destination;
require carriers and tour operators to produce non-discriminatory access rules that apply to the transport of disabled persons and people with reduced mobility, covering all access conditions to the service in question (such as accessibility of the port and the facilities on board the ship). These should be developed in partnership with organisations that represent such people and with the national enforcement bodies to be set up by Member States and be made publicly available, including at the time of reservation;
require operators to make available all relevant information concerning the journey, such as the conditions of carriage and the accessibility of services, in appropriate and accessible formats for disabled people and persons with reduced mobility;
give to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility the right to assistance at ports, at embarkation or disembarkation points where no port exists and onboard ships free of charge, on condition that the passenger has provided at least 48 hours prior notification of the need for assistance and arrives at the port at a predetermined time (no more than 60 minutes) prior to the scheduled departure. If prior notification is not received the carrier and port operator should make every reasonable effort to ensure assistance is provided. The assistance is to cover communicating arrival at the port, moving through the port, boarding and disembarking, loading and retrieving luggage, movement to toilet facilities, allowing a passenger to travel with a recognised assistance dog and two items of mobility equipment and providing essential journey information in an accessible format;
require carriers and tour operators to ensure staff can offer this assistance by giving appropriate training;
make carriers responsible for providing assistance, but allow them to contract this out to a third party, with adequate arrangements in place to ensure the subcontractor is informed when assistance is needed; and
establish the right to compensation for lost or damaged wheelchairs and other mobility equipment when they are being handled at ports or onboard ships.

4.13 The third chapter sets out obligations to be imposed on carriers in the event of interrupted travel by:

establishing an obligation to provide passengers with information in the event of interrupted travel, such as a delay to the commencement of the journey, or if a connecting service is missed because of a delay;
establishing the right to assistance to passengers in the event of delay or cancellation, with, if the delay is expected to be more than 60 minutes, an offer of free meals and refreshments (provision and extent to be dependent on their availability and the expected waiting time) or, if passengers are expected to be delayed overnight, provision of free accommodation, meals and transport to and from the port. If subsequently the journey cannot take place, the passenger should be provided with an alternative means of transport;
creating a right for passengers to be rerouted or reimbursed when there has been a delay of over two hours or there has been a cancellation of services;
laying down the right to compensation in the event of travel being interrupted, with a refund of 25% of the ticket price for delays of between 60 and 119 minutes, 50% for delays over two hours and 100% if the carrier fails to provide rerouting after a two hour delay. These compensation payments would not apply to passengers on cruise ships and for delay or cancellation caused by "exceptional circumstances" which could not be avoided even if all "reasonable measures had been taken";
establishing a right for a passenger to seek further compensation in respect of the delay to their journey in national courts; and
encouraging carriers to cooperate better during periods of disruption to travel.

4.14 The fourth chapter deals with information for passengers and handling of complaints. On the first matter carriers would be required to provide passengers with travel information and to make publicly available information regarding passenger rights onboard ships and at ports. Secondly, operators would be required to set up a complaints handling system for rights covered by the Regulation, with provisions that:

complaints should be considered, if received within one month of the journey;
the operator respond in full within 20 working days, or, if justified, inform the passenger by what date a reply is to be expected, although this should be no later than two months after receipt of the complaint; and
if no reply is received within the specified period, the complaint shall be deemed to be accepted.

4.15 The fifth chapter requires that:

Member States establish an enforcement body or bodies to deal with infringements of the Regulation;
the body would have to be independent of carriers;
any passenger would be able to complain to the body about an infringement of the Regulations;
enforcement bodies would have to publish a report on 1 June each year on their activity in the previous year and exchange information on their work and decision-making principles and practices with other designated enforcement bodies; and
Member States introduce penalties for infringements of the Regulation.

4.16 The Commission annexes a full and summarised impact assessment to each of the draft Regulations.

The Government's view

4.17 In his Explanatory Memorandum the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Paul Clark), sets out the Government's preliminary views on the draft Regulation on bus and coach passenger rights, document (a), but comments that they will be developed further following a public consultation later this year and that its view on certain aspects of the proposal will be affected by how the draft Regulation is shaped during negotiations with other Member States. He also tells us that the Government has sought early informal views from key stakeholders, including from the devolved administrations.

4.18 The Minister first says that, whilst the Government supports creating a level playing field for international bus and coach services and introducing passenger rights for all modes of transport, it is important for the proposed Regulation to reflect:

the differences between international and local bus services;
that the bus and coach industry consists of a significant number of small operators; and
that the bus and coach industry has much less control over the infrastructure on which its vehicles run, compared to the aviation and rail industries.

4.19 Turning to the general provisions in the first chapter of the draft Regulation the Minister says that:

a significant factor in determining the Government's position on the proposal will be whether local bus services are included. Whilst the intention seems to be to allow Member States to exempt urban, suburban and regional services, that is, local bus services, this is only on the basis that they are covered by public service contracts which provide a comparable level of passenger rights — this exemption would be of limited use in the UK, where the majority of local bus services are provided on a commercial basis;
as currently drafted the proposal does not fully reflect the different nature of local bus services in comparison to international services. The Commission's impact assessment only considers international services and long distance domestic services, the impact on short distance domestic services, local bus services, is not considered;
the Government will need to consider the impact on such services as part of its own impact assessment and, also the impact on local bus services in Northern Ireland that run to and from the Republic of Ireland — although these are authorised as international bus and coach operations, many are essentially local bus services, are socially necessary and provide a vital link to those living in rural areas;
the Government is concerned about whether the proposed requirement to prevent discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of residence might have implications for provision of concessionary travel to specific social groups and whether this would have to be provided to visitors from other Member States; and
the Government is concerned about whether the proposed requirement for issue of "one or more tickets" as proof of conclusion of the transport contract could have implications for use of smart cards.

4.20 In relation to the second chapter of the draft Regulation, on liability where an accident causes death or injury, or loss or damage to luggage, the Minister says that the Government agrees that there is some merit in having harmonised liability arrangements for international services. But he comments that:

the industry has already expressed concern about the proposed liability provisions, particularly in relation to the impact on local bus services;
the provisions would mean a change to the current UK practices on liability, particularly in respect of the provisions preventing an operator from contesting damages up to €220,000 (£209,550), unless the passenger was at fault, and requiring advance payments of damages prior to liability being established; and
the draft Regulation does not take into account the actions of third parties using the same infrastructure as bus and coach operators.

4.21 Turning to the chapter on the rights of disabled people or people with reduced mobility the Minister says that the Government supports the aim of ensuring that such people are not discriminated against or prevented from travelling by bus or coach. But he comments that:

much of what is being proposed is already provided for in the UK — for example, there is already legislation to ensure that disabled people can get on and off a regulated public service vehicle in safety and without unreasonable difficulty, to ensure that disabled people are carried in safety and reasonable comfort and providing for disabled access to vehicles. A significant number of buses and coaches are now accessible to wheelchair and other disabled users and, as the end dates for implementation approach, the number of accessible vehicles will increase before the draft Regulation would take effect;
this part of the proposal only applies to regular passenger services — if during negotiations an extension to tour and spot hire buses were proposed there could be implications for UK operators;
the proposal does not make clear whether it gives passengers the right to travel in a wheelchair, and this would need clarification as it could potentially conflict with the end dates in UK accessibility legislation, by when all buses and coaches have to meet accessibility standards; and
the Government's priority will be to ensure equitable treatment for disabled people and people with reduced mobility, without imposing unreasonable requirements on the industry.

4.22 On the chapter imposing obligations on carriers in the event of interrupted travel the Minister says that:

the Government welcomes in principle the requirement for passengers to be informed of delays and provided with assistance to identify alternative routes and for compensation to be paid where services are cancelled or subject to long delays;
the proposed level of compensation appears to be proportionate as it would be no more than the price of the ticket;
the proposal, however, makes no distinction between factors within an operator's control (such as breakdowns or driver shortages) and those outside their control (such as border control and disruption to cross-channel ferry services); and
further discussions with stakeholders will be needed on the detail of the provisions of this chapter.

4.23 On the fifth chapter, dealing with information for passengers and handling of complaints the Minister says that:

the Government supports in principle the right of passengers to have access to information on their journey and about their rights under the proposed Regulation;
however, such requirements need to be proportionate and take into account the practicalities of providing information on local bus services where passengers may only be on the vehicle for a very short period; and
the Government agrees that it is appropriate for bus and coach operators to have, as a matter of good practice, a complaints handling mechanism.

4.24 On the chapter on enforcement the Minister says that:

the Government is considering the benefits of the requirement for designation of a body or bodies to enforce the proposed Regulation and the requirement to introduce penalties for infringements;
whilst it seems appropriate for passengers to have the right to make a complaint to an independent body about an alleged infringement of the proposed Regulation, it is not clear whether actively enforcing and imposing penalties in respect of all aspects of the Regulation would be beneficial; and
the Government will develop its position in the light of consultation with stakeholders and the views of other Member States.

4.25 Turning to the financial implications of the draft Regulation the Minister, noting that the Government will be producing an impact assessment shortly, bases his comments on the Commission's impact assessment (whilst remarking again that this does not cover the impact on short distance scheduled services). He says that:

the Commission recognises that there will be moderate additional costs in respect of the provisions on liability, with significant additional costs in respect of the provision on advance payments for death or injury of passengers;
it believes that these should be easily affordable by means of insurance or guarantee systems;
initial industry reaction is that, as currently drafted, these provisions could have a significant impact, particularly on the viability of local bus services, so this will need to be explored further;
the Commission recognises that where operators have to make their vehicles more accessible for people with disabilities or reduced mobility there will be increased costs to the operator;
the total cost depends on whether operators have to make vehicles fully accessible, including wheelchair access — it is not clear whether this would be required, although it is alluded to in the recitals. If wheelchair access was not provided other accessibility measures would be cheaper;
if the Regulation applied to international and long-distance domestic services the Commission says that the total additional cost would be €297.60 million (£283.50 million), if it was just applied to international services it would be €44.90 million (£42.80 million). The existence of accessibility regulations in the UK may lower the cost to UK operators;
the Commission says that costs would be offset by additional revenue due to increase in travel by disabled people and people with reduced mobility by €55.70 million (£53.10 million) and €8.10 million (£7.70 million) respectively. However, this would not be the case in the UK, where concessionary travel is often provided to people with disabilities or reduced mobility;
the Commission identifies that there would be increased costs associated with providing assistance to disabled people and people with reduced mobility, and with training staff to provide such assistance;
there would be some costs to terminal managers in providing assistance to disabled passengers or passengers with reduced mobility, but the Commission has not been able to estimate these;
in the UK most of the provisions on improved accessibility are already required under domestic legislation, so the actual cost may not be as significant as the Commission estimates, although further examination is required;
the Commission identifies that operators would have increased costs for compensating passengers who have experienced delays or cancellation of a service and for providing information about delays when they occur, although this is not quantified. However, passengers would benefit from better customer service and compensation;
there would be increased costs to operators from the requirement to provide information and to put in place systems to deal with complaints, but the Commission estimates that these would only be low or moderate costs and there would be customer service benefits to passengers;
introducing new legal obligations on operators would mean that there would be enforcement costs, although this is not covered in the Commission's impact assessment;
there would be a burden on the designated enforcement body, with associated resource implications, depending on how the proposed Regulation is to be enforced; and
there is always the risk that the cost of compliance to operators is likely to be passed on to passengers in the form of higher fares.

4.26 In his Explanatory Memorandum the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick), says, in relation to the draft Regulation on rights for passenger travelling by sea and inland waterways, that the Government:

welcomes the benefits the proposal is designed to offer to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility and passengers in general;
noting that the proposal is based on the legislation applying to aviation and that this is contained in two separate Regulations, considers that a similar arrangement may be more appropriate for the maritime sector;
notes that the proposal applies a "one size fits all" approach to an industry which is very diverse and considers that this is not proportionate; and
has, consequently, a number of concerns with the proposal which it will raise with other Member States and the Commission during the forthcoming negotiations.

4.27 Turning to some of the details the Minister first comments on the general provisions of the draft Regulation, saying that:

one of the key problems with the proposal is that its scope is too wide and takes no account of the varying size of ports or the diverse nature of carriers providing services on inland waterways, ferry routes or cruises;
the Regulation will affect all passenger ports and carriers using ships with more than 12 passengers equally;
the proposal extends to inland waterways, which exacerbates the difficulties on scope because most inland waterway carriers and inland ports are comparatively small;
it is not realistic to include such a wide scope;
the Government, in consultation with stakeholders, will therefore consider how to minimise the scope of the proposal — one option might be to exclude inland waterways from the proposal, another option might be to establish minimum requirements on the tonnage of ship and/or number of passengers using the port;
the Government will also consider, with stakeholders and the other Member States, whether the proposal should be split into two separate proposals, as with the legislation in the aviation sector;
several definitions, such as "ship", are not compatible with international and other Community legislation. The Government will consider all the definitions carefully to ensure that they are consistent as much as possible with other maritime legislation.

4.28 On the chapter on the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility the Minister says that:

in the UK the Disability Discrimination Act does not extend to services provided on board ships, only to port facilities and disability stakeholders have been calling for this protection to be extended to ships;
the Government's long-standing policy has been that it is more appropriate for such regulation of a predominantly international mode of transport to be made at the international level;
it therefore welcomes the proposals to establish rights for disabled people and persons with reduced mobility in respect of travel on ships and to ensure reliable provision of assistance, which is free at the point of use, from arrival at a port to embarkation onto the ship;
this is a view which is broadly supported by the industry, although differences exist as to how this should be achieved. In particular, carriers have previously expressed reservations about responsibility for ensuring provision of assistance resting with them, notwithstanding that they in turn would be able to recover their costs from the port authorities (who currently have responsibility for this in the UK);
some major scheduled carriers and small ferry operators have expressed concern that the proposed arrangements might have an impact on their ability to control service standards and costs; and
the Government will be exploring with stakeholders how to address these concerns in the text of the draft Regulation.

4.29 On the proposals for obligations of carriers in the event of interrupted travel the Minister says that:

the Government agrees that passengers should be given sufficient and timely information when a delay is deemed likely to the journey — this is simply good practice and many carriers and ports provide this information at present;
in relation to the provision requiring that passengers delayed for more than an hour should receive meals free of charge and refreshments in relation to the length of time they have been kept waiting by the delay or disruption, it is understood that the Commission has used the aviation model as the basis for this requirement;
the Government does not think, however, that it is appropriate to simply copy across one system available in one mode of transport to another quite different mode of travel. Passenger airports within the Community tend to be quite large, with numerous catering and other facilities which often have long opening hours. By contrast, even the largest ports may only have a small cafe with limited opening hours whilst many smaller ports have no catering facilities available;
consequently, the requirement will be difficult for many operators and the Government will be seeking further clarity on what is meant by meals and refreshments which "can be reasonably supplied" in relation to the smaller ports;
the provision requiring accommodation in hotels for passengers delayed overnight "where and when physically possible" is again very similar to the situation in aviation. The Government recognises that there may be circumstances where it is appropriate for a carrier to provide overnight accommodation for their passengers who are stranded abroad or many miles from home, but such occasions are rare;
in most circumstances, the passenger may be only a few miles from home and it is unrealistic to require the carrier to pay for hotel accommodation in such cases. The Government will seek to ensure that the requirement to provide overnight accommodation is realistic and proportionate;
the requirement to provide passengers delayed for more than two hours with alternative travel arrangements is also likely to be difficult for many carriers to fulfil or even attempt;
the ability of a carrier to provide this service will depend on the location and type of service they offer and whether the passenger has their own transport with them. For example, the alternative to a ferry service across a river might be for the passenger with their own motor vehicle to simply get back in it and travel a few miles to a bridge with only limited disruption to their journey;
by contrast, passengers expecting to travel by sea with their own motor vehicles across the Irish Sea, for example, would not be able to do so unless another ferry was available;
the Government will be considering how carriers should be required to reroute their passengers without creating an unrealistic expectation of what help passengers can expect when they are delayed;
one of the key provisions in the draft Regulation is on the need for carriers to provide compensation for delays in excess of one hour;
the Government recognises that the proposal is similar to that set out in the aviation and rail passenger rights legislation. However, the proposal makes no distinction on length, location or cost of the delayed or disrupted journey and is thus not proportionate. The Government will make this point when the text is being negotiated;
the compensatory mechanism for aviation was introduced partly to minimise the problem of denied boarding due to overbooking of available seating capacity as practiced by a number of airlines. Ferry operators, however, do not overbook their services so there is no issue of denied boarding in the maritime sector;
many ferry operators, moreover operate a number of ferry trips in an hour so the passenger effectively turns up, waits their turn and boards the ferry. In such circumstances, it is likely to be difficult to determine whether the passenger actually experienced any delay and, if so, by how much; and
the Government will be seeking clarification on how such journeys are to be assessed and on what is meant by "exceptional circumstances" in the provision. In the interest of safety, carriers are often forced to delay or cancel ferry journeys, due to bad weather. The Government will be making it clear in the negotiations that "all reasonable measures" must include bad weather as otherwise there may be a temptation for a ship to go to sea in bad weather in order to avoid paying compensation for delays, with potentially disastrous consequences.

4.30 In relation to the fourth chapter, on information for passengers and handling complaints, the Minister says that the Government agrees that it is appropriate for passengers to be provided with travel information and information on their rights and that carriers should have a complaints handling mechanism. He adds that many carriers already provide such services and the Government does not expect that carriers will object strongly to these requirements.

4.31 On enforcement the Minister says that:

the Government is considering whether there is a need to designate a specific body or bodies to be responsible for the enforcement of the Regulation;
it is not yet entirely clear whether such a body or bodies would add any useful value, though there may be a stronger case for the enforcement of the rights of disabled people and persons with reduced mobility for whom the proposal contains no automatic right to compensation;
the Government's view on this aspect of the proposal will be determined by how the rest of the Regulation is finally shaped during negotiations and the views of other Member States; and
the Government has yet to form a view on whether it is necessary to introduce penalties for infringements of the Regulation and will consider this point further as the negotiations on the proposal progress.

4.32 The Minister tells us finally, in relation to the policy implications of this draft Regulation, that the Government will assess when it is appropriate for the Regulation to enter into force once the text of the proposal has matured.

4.33 Turning to the financial implications the Minister says that:

the requirement for Member States to designate a body responsible for the enforcement of the Regulation would impose a burden on that body, with some modest resource implications;
the majority of carriers already provide assistance to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility and accordingly additional costs are likely to be limited;
a carrier's costs in providing the necessary assistance to disabled people and persons with reduced mobility, will be recovered through a levy on all carriers using the port in proportion to the total number of passengers carried. The main effect of this will be to redistribute existing costs to all passengers travelling from the port. The Government's impact assessment will include a fuller analysis of the cost implications of the provision;
a factor that will impact on the costs burden will be the standard of service to be provided at each port. Depending on the final shape of the Regulation, this could put a significant burden on small operators (some privately owned) who could have to make modifications; and
quality standards are not specified in the draft Regulation and are to be agreed between the ports authorities, carriers and the disabled people and persons with reduced mobility representatives. It could be expected that, over time, broadly similar service standards will develop across the industry.

4.34 On consultation the Minister says that this has already begun with stakeholders. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, the Government's statutory advisors on transport disability matters, has seen and welcomed the proposed Regulation. However, from these initial discussions, it is clear that stakeholders, including the devolved administrations, have a number of concerns on the proposal which the Government will be exploring with them in the coming weeks. Additionally, the Government will carry out an impact assessment on the proposal shortly.

Conclusion

4.35 The aims of these two draft Regulations are clearly laudable. However it is equally clear that there is much to be resolved before the proposals can be brought to a conclusion. So before considering them further we should like to:

hear about significant progress in the negotiations, particularly in relation to the position of local bus and coach services and the scope of the proposal for the maritime sector;
have an account of the outcome of the Government's consultations on the proposals; and
see the Government's impact assessments.

(We will be content to receive this information piecemeal and separately for each of the proposals, as availability dictates.)

4.36 Meanwhile both the documents remain under scrutiny.

18 (22660) 11932/01: see HC 152-xv (2001-02), chapter 2 (30 January 2002) and Stg Co Debs, European Standing Committee A, 13 March 2002, cols. 3-28. Back

19 Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, on "establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the even of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights" and Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006, on "concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air". Back

20 This is covered by Directive 2003/24/EC, which amends Council Directive 98/18/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger ships engaged on domestic voyages, and includes specific requirements for disabled people and persons with reduced mobility, in particular access to the ship, signs, message relay systems, alarms and additional requirements, designed to ensure mobility on board ship. Accessibility to new ships for international services has been regulated by the International Maritime Organisation's Recommendation on the Design and Operation of Passenger Ships to Respond to Elderly and Disabled Persons' Needs, IMO MSC /Circ.735. Back



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