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IP/10/1639 Brussels, 1 December 2010 More rights for passengers travelling by bus and coach The Commission welcomes today's agreement reached by the European Parliament and Council, after a successful conciliation procedure, on the rights of passengers travelling by bus and coach. A set of basic rights including non-discrimination, adequate information to passengers, in particular those with reduced mobility will apply to all passengers. Additional rights (assistance, accommodation, compensation, etc.) will be granted to passengers travelling long distances (more than 250 km). Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: "These new passenger rights for bus and coaches will drive up quality service and allow people to travel with much greater peace of mind. This deal also puts in place the last piece of the jigsaw. Now there is a safety net of passenger rights in place for all transport modes, to protect citizens wherever and however they travel. These new rights are good news for passengers and good news for quality service providers across the EU". The Regulation was proposed by the Commission in December 2008, together with the Regulation on the rights of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterways recently signed in November. With the adoption of this new regulation, passengers will be protected by specific and sector-adapted rights when travelling by air, on water and on land, both on rail and on road. Hence, passengers travelling by bus and by coach will enjoy the same rights wherever they travel in the European Union. In particular, people with a disability or reduced mobility will be protected when travelling by bus or coach. The new rules are also expected to increase the quality and competitiveness of the EU transport industry by creating a level playing field for operators in the bus and coach sector. The passenger rights The new rights applicable to long distance services (i.e. of more than 250 km) include amongst others:
Additionally, the following rights will be applicable to all services (beyond or below 250 km):
Next steps Conciliation procedures take place when the European Parliament and the Council have been unable to reach full agreement after two readings on a Commission legislative proposal. The agreement reached by the conciliation committee will now need to be endorsed by a plenary session of the Parliament (in February) and by the Council. More information : To find out more about passenger rights in all modes of transport, visit |
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