2 Rights of passengers
| (30255)
16933/08
+ ADDs 1-2
COM(08) 817
| 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
|
| Legal base
| Article 71(1) EC; co-decision; QMV
|
| Department
| Transport
|
| Basis of consideration
| Minister's letter of 8 July 2009
|
| Previous Committee Report
| HC 19-v (2008-09), chapter 4 (28 January 2009)
|
| To be discussed in Council
| Possibly 18-19 December 2009
|
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important
|
| Committee's decision
| Not cleared; further information awaited
|
Background
2.1 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.[5]
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.[6]
In December 2008 the Commission presented a draft Regulation,
which is still under scrutiny, intended to establish a set of
rights for passengers travelling by sea and inland waterways.[7]
2.2 In December 2008 the Commission
also presented this draft Regulation, intended to establish a
set of rights for passengers using bus and coach services on both
domestic and international routes. The aim of this proposal is
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.
2.3 The draft Regulation has provisions
in six chapters 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.
2.4 When we considered this proposal,
in January 2009, we reported that, whilst the Government supported
creating a level playing field for international bus and coach
services and introducing passenger rights for all modes of transport,
it was 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.
We also reported a considerable number
of the Government's more detailed concerns, its preliminary views
on the financial implications of the proposal and its intentions
on consultation and preparing an impact assessment.
2.5 We concluded that the aim of the
draft Regulation was clearly laudable, but that it was equally
clear that there was much to be resolved before the proposal could
be brought to a conclusion. So before considering the document
further we asked to:
· hear about significant progress
in the negotiations, particularly in relation to the position
of local bus services — that is limitation of the scope
for exemption from the new requirements to services operated under
public service contracts;
· have an account of the outcome
of the Government's consultations on the proposals; and
· see the Government's impact
assessment.
Meanwhile the document remained under
scrutiny.[8]
The Minister's letter
2.6 The Minister of State, Department
for Transport (Mr Sadiq Khan) writes now in response to our earlier
report and to tell us also of the European Parliament's first
reading of the proposal. The Minister first tells us that the
Government's consultation on the proposal closed on 14 April 2009
and the responses are helping to inform its position. And he encloses
the Government's initial consultation impact assessment,[9]
which accompanied the consultation document, and which will be
updated in light of the consultation responses and as the negotiations
progress.
2.7 Of the responses to the consultation
the Minister says, in summary, that:
· most respondents felt that
the proposed Regulation did not achieve a reasonable balance between
the rights of passengers and the economics of service provision;
· there was concern from operators
that the proposal was impractical and disproportionate in respect
of local bus services and could make insurance extremely expensive,
assuming cover could be obtained at all;
· passenger representatives
gave qualified support to the concept of passenger rights, but
acknowledged that, as drafted, the proposals could pose practical
difficulties in the provision of some services;
· they suggested that passenger
rights could be delivered through a different mechanism; and
· disability organisations,
however, felt the draft Regulation would provide more consistent
rights for disabled people across the Community.
2.8 On Council consideration of the
draft Regulation the Minister tells us that:
· in Working Group meetings
the scope of the proposal has been the key issue for most Member
States;
· other issues include liability
for death and injury of passengers, advanced payments in cases
of death or personal injuries, possible reasons for refusal of
disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility from transport
services, the right to assistance, especially on board during
the journey, training of all personnel, the responsibility of
transport undertakings in the event of cancellations and long
delays at departure and the date of entry into force of the Regulation;
· at the Transport Council
of 11 June 2009 the Czech Presidency gave a progress report and
held a policy debate, during which Member States were invited
to comment on options for the scope of the draft Regulation
· the Government stressed that
the proposed exemption for urban, suburban and regional transport
operated under public service contracts was discriminatory in
respect of those Member States, such as the UK, whose markets
have moved to open competition beyond public service contracts,
and that such a condition should not be attached to the exemption;
· on that basis, the Government
joined a large number of Member States in calling for the proposed
Regulation's scope to be limited to long-distance and international
journeys;
· the Government also raised
concerns about the liability provisions — the UK has well-established
fault-based principles for determining liability for road traffic
accidents, the introduction of strict liability would cut across
these, effectively creating a separate system in relation to determining
liability and compensation for road traffic accidents involving
one particular type of road user and this would cause confusion
and uncertainty in UK law;
· progress in resolving the
issues discussed at Working Group level has been relatively slow
so far;
· however, the Swedish Presidency
has indicated that it hopes to make good progress, with a view
to a possible political agreement at the Transport Council on
17-18 December 2009; and
· the Government will continue
to work to ensure that the final proposal is proportionate and
practical in its application.
2.9 The Minister also tells us that
the European Parliament adopted an opinion on the draft Regulation
at a first reading on 23 April 2009. It has proposed a number
of amendments, including ones on the scope, liability for death
and injury of passengers, advance payments in cases of death or
personal injuries, possible reasons for refusal of disabled persons
or persons with reduced mobility from transport services, the
right to assistance, responsibilities of undertakings in the event
of cancellations and long delays and the date of entry into force
of the proposed Regulation. The Minister comments that:
· whilst the Government welcomes
the intention behind some of these changes, it does not welcome
the amendment to the scope, which would prevent the exemption
of rural bus services and still retains the public service contract
condition; and
· it is also concerned that
some of the proposed amendments, particularly in respect of the
responsibilities of undertakings in the event of cancellations
and long delays, do not take into account the specific characteristics
of the bus and coach sector, which consists largely of small and
medium enterprises.
Conclusion
2.10 We are grateful for the Minister's
account of where matters stand with the Council's consideration
of this proposal and also of the European Parliament's first reading.
However, we note that there is as yet not much significant progress
in the negotiations. So before considering the document again
we should like to have a further account of the discussions, once
the shape of the possible political agreement becomes more certain.
Additionally we would want to have a fuller account of the outcome
of the Government's consultations on the draft Regulation and
to see the updated impact assessment, particularly with some quantification
of costs and benefits. Meanwhile the document remains under scrutiny.
5 (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
6
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
7
(30264) 11990/08 + ADDs 1-2: see HC 19-xxiii (2008-09), chapter
3 (8 July 2009). Back
8
See headnote. Back
9
See http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/eu-bus/impactassessment.pdf.
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