‘ANNEX 7

INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS BY COACH AND BUS

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions shall apply:

1. Scheduled services

1.1. Regular services are services which provide for the carriage of passengers at specified intervals along specified routes, passengers being taken up and set down at predetermined stopping points. Regular services shall be open to all, subject, where appropriate, to compulsory reservation.

The regular nature of the service is not affected by any adjustment to the service operating conditions.

1.2. Services, by whomsoever organised, which provide for the carriage of specified categories of passengers to the exclusion of other passengers, in so far as such services are operated under the conditions specified in point 1.1, shall be deemed to be regular services. Such services are hereinafter called “special regular services”.

Special regular services shall include:

(a) the carriage of workers between home and work;

(b) carriage to and from the educational institution for school pupils and students.

The fact that a special service may be varied according to the needs of users shall not affect its classification as a regular service.

1.3. The organisation of parallel or temporary services, serving the same public as existing regular services, the non-serving of certain stops and the serving of additional stops on existing regular services shall be governed by the same rules as existing regular services.

2. Occasional services

2.1. Occasional services are services which do not meet the definition of regular services, including special regular services, and which are characterised above all by the fact that they carry groups of passengers assembled at the initiative of the customer or of the carrier himself.

The organisation of parallel or temporary services comparable to existing regular services and serving the same public as the latter shall be subject to authorisation in accordance with the procedure laid down in section I.

2.2. The services referred to in point 2 shall not cease to be occasional services solely because they are provided at certain intervals.

2.3. Occasional services may be provided by a group of carriers acting on behalf of the same contractor.

The names of such carriers and, where appropriate, the connection points en route shall be communicated to the competent authorities of the EU Member States concerned and of Switzerland, in accordance with procedures to be determined by the Joint Committee.

3. Carriage on own account

Own-account transport operations means operations carried out for non-commercial and non-profit-making purposes by a natural or legal person, whereby:

— the transport activity is only an ancillary activity for that natural or legal person,

— the vehicles used are the property of that natural or legal person or have been obtained by that person on deferred terms or have been the subject of a long-term leasing contract and are driven by a member of the staff of the natural or legal person or by the natural person himself or by personnel employed by, or put at the disposal of, the undertaking under a contractual obligation.

Section I

REGULAR SERVICES SUBJECT TO AUTHORISATION

Article 2

Type of authorisation

1. Authorisations shall be issued in the name of the transport undertaking; they may not be transferred by the latter to third parties. However, the carrier who has received the authorisation may, with the consent of the authority referred to in Article 3(1) of this Annex, operate the service through a subcontractor. In this case, the name of the latter undertaking and its role as subcontractor shall be indicated in the authorisation. The subcontractor must fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 17 of the Agreement.

In the case of undertakings associated for the purpose of operating a regular service, the authorisation shall be issued in the names of all the undertakings. It shall be given to the undertaking that manages the operation and copies shall be given to the others. The authorisation shall state the names of all the operators.

2. The maximum period of validity of the authorisation is five years.

3. Authorisations shall specify the following:

(a) the type of service;

(b) the route of the service, giving in particular the point of departure and the point of arrival;

(c) the period of validity of the authorisation;

(d) the stops and the timetable.

4. Authorisations shall conform to the model set out in Commission Regulation (EU) No 361/2014 (1).

5. Authorisations shall entitle their holder(s) to operate regular services in the territories of the Contracting Parties.

6. The operator of a regular service may use additional vehicles to deal with temporary and exceptional situations.

In this event, the carrier must ensure that the following documents are on board the vehicle:

— a copy of the authorisation of the regular service;

— a copy of the contract between the operator of the regular service and the undertaking providing the additional vehicles or an equivalent document;

— a certified copy of the Community licence in the case of EU carriers, or of a similar Swiss licence in the case of Swiss carriers, issued to the operator providing the additional vehicles for the service.

Article 3

Submission of application for authorisation

1. EU operators applying for authorisation shall submit their applications in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), and Swiss operators applying for authorisation shall submit their applications in accordance with chapter 3 of the Ordinance of 4 November 2009 on the carriage of passengers (Ordonnonce sur le transport de voyageurs — OTV) (3). In the case of services exempt from authorisation in Switzerland but subject to authorisation in the European Union, Swiss operators applying for authorisation shall submit their applications to the competent Swiss authorities if the place of departure of such services is in Switzerland.

2. Applications shall conform to the model set out in Regulation (EU) No 361/2014.

3. Persons applying for authorisation shall provide any additional information they consider relevant or which is requested by the issuing authority. In particular, applicants should provide a driving schedule which makes it possible to check whether the service complies with legislation on driving and rest periods. EU carriers should also submit a copy of the Community licence for the international carriage of passengers by road for hire or reward, and Swiss carriers a copy of a similar Swiss licence, issued to the operator of the regular service.

Article 4

Authorisation procedure

1. Authorisations shall be issued in agreement with the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties on whose territories passengers are picked up or set down. The authorising authority shall forward to such authorities, as well as to the competent authorities of EU Member States whose territories are crossed without passengers being picked up or set down, a copy of the application, together with copies of any other relevant documentation, and its assessment.

2. The competent authorities of Switzerland and of the EU Member States whose agreement has been requested shall notify the issuing authority of their decision within two months. This time limit shall be calculated from the date of receipt of the request for agreement which is shown in the acknowledgement of receipt. If, within this period, the issuing authority has received no reply, the authorities consulted shall be deemed to have given their agreement, and the issuing authority shall issue the authorisation. If the decision received from the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties whose agreement has been requested is negative, it shall contain a proper statement of reasons.

3. Subject to paragraphs 7 and 8, the issuing authority shall take a decision within four months of the date on which the carrier submits the application.

4. Authorisation shall be granted unless:

(a) the applicant is unable to provide the service which is the subject of the application with equipment directly available to him;

(b) in the past, the applicant has failed to comply with national or international legislation on road transport, and in particular the conditions and requirements relating to authorisations for international road passenger services, or has committed serious breaches of legislation in regard to road haulage, in particular the rules applicable to vehicles and driving and rest periods for drivers;

(c) in the case of an application for renewal of authorisation, the conditions of authorisation have not been complied with;

(d) the competent authority of a Contracting Party decides on the basis of a detailed analysis that the service concerned would seriously affect the viability of a comparable service covered by one or more public service contracts conforming to the Contracting Party's applicable law on the direct sections concerned. In such a case, the competent authority shall set up criteria, on a non-discriminatory basis, for determining whether the service applied for would seriously affect the viability of the abovementioned comparable service and shall communicate them to the Joint Committee, upon its request.

(e) the competent authority of a Contracting Party decides on the basis of a detailed analysis that the principal purpose of the service is not to carry passengers between stops located in the Contracting Parties.

In the event that an existing international coach and bus service is seriously affecting the viability of a comparable service covered by one or more public service contracts conforming to a Contracting Party's applicable law on the direct sections concerned, due to exceptional reasons which could not have been foreseen at the time of granting the authorisation, the competent authority of a Contracting Party may, with the agreement of the Joint Committee, suspend or withdraw the authorisation to run the international coach and bus service after having given 6 months' notice to the carrier.

The fact that a carrier offers lower prices than are offered by other road carriers, or that the route in question is already being operated by other road carriers, may not in itself constitute justification for refusing the application.

5. The issuing authority may refuse applications only for reasons compatible with this Agreement.

6. If the procedure for reaching the agreement referred to in paragraph 1 does not result in an agreement being reached, the matter may be referred to the Joint Committee.

7. The Joint Committee shall, as swiftly as possible, take a decision which shall take effect within 30 days of its being notified to Switzerland and the EU Member States concerned.

8. Once the procedure laid down in this Article has been completed, the issuing authority shall inform all the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 and shall, where appropriate, send them a copy of the authorisation.

Article 5

Issuing and renewing authorisations

1. Once the procedure laid down in Article 4 has been completed, the issuing authority shall either grant the authorisation or shall formally refuse the application.

2. A decision refusing an application must state the reasons for that refusal. The Contracting Parties shall ensure that carriers have the opportunity to invoke their rights if their application is refused.

3. Article 4 of this Annex shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to applications for the renewal of authorisations or for alteration of the conditions under which the services subject to authorisation must be operated.

In the event of a minor alteration to the operating conditions, in particular the adjustment of fares or timetables, the issuing authority need only inform the competent authorities of the other Contracting Party of the changes in question.

Article 6

Lapse of an authorisation

The procedure to be followed in respect of the lapse of an authorisation shall be as laid down in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 and in Article 46 of the OTV.

Article 7

Obligations of carriers

1. Save in the event of force majeure, the operator of a regular service shall, until the authorisation expires, take all measures to guarantee a transport service that meets the required standards of continuity, regularity and capacity and complies with the other conditions laid down by the competent authority in accordance with Article 2(3) of this Annex.

2. The carrier shall display the route of the service, the bus stops, the timetable, the fares and the conditions of carriage in such a way as to ensure that such information is readily available to all users.

3. It shall be possible for Switzerland and the EU Member States concerned, by common agreement and in agreement with the holder of the authorisation, to make changes to the operating conditions governing a regular service.

Section II

OCCASIONAL SERVICES AND OTHER SERVICES EXEMPT FROM AUTHORISATION

Article 8

Control document

1. The services referred to in Article 18(1) of the Agreement shall be carried out under cover of a control document (journey form).

2. A carrier operating occasional services must fill out a journey form before each journey.

3. The books of journey forms shall be supplied by the competent authorities of Switzerland or the EU Member State where the carrier is established or by bodies appointed by those authorities.

4. The model for the control document and the way in which it is to be used shall be as laid down in Regulation (EU) No 361/2014.

5. In the case of the services covered by Article 18(2) of the Agreement, the contract or a certified true copy of it shall serve as a control document.

Article 9

Certification

The certificate referred to in Article 18(6) of the Agreement shall be issued by the competent authority of Switzerland or the EU Member State where the vehicle is registered.

It shall conform to the model set out in Regulation (EU) No 361/2014.

Section III

CONTROLS AND PENALTIES

Article 10

Transport tickets

1. Carriers operating a regular service, excluding special regular services, shall issue either individual or collective transport tickets indicating:

— the points of departure and arrival and, where appropriate, the return journey;

— the period of validity of the ticket,

— the fare of transport.

2. The transport ticket provided for in paragraph 1 shall be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

Article 11

Inspections on the road and in undertakings

1. In the case of carriage for hire or reward, the following documents must be carried on board the vehicle and must be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer: a certified true copy of the Community licence for EU carriers or of the similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers and, depending on the type of service, either the authorisation (or a certified copy thereof) or the journey form.

In the case of own-account transport operations, the certificate (or a certified copy thereof) must be carried on board the vehicle and must be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

2. Carriers operating international carriage of passengers by coach and bus shall allow all inspections intended to ensure that operations are being conducted correctly, in particular as regards driving and rest periods.

Article 12

Mutual assistance and penalties

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall assist one another in ensuring the application and monitoring of the provisions laid down in this Annex. They shall exchange information via the national contact points established pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 (4).

2. The competent authorities of the Contracting Party in which the carrier is established shall withdraw the Community licence for EU carriers or the similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers if the holder:

(a) no longer meets the conditions laid down in Article 17(1) of the Agreement; or

(b) has provided inaccurate information on the data needed for issuing the Community licence for EU carriers or the similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers.

3. The issuing authority shall withdraw an authorisation if the holder no longer meets the conditions for issuing that authorisation under this Agreement, in particular if the competent authorities of the Contracting Party in which the carrier is established request such withdrawal. The issuing authority shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the other Contracting Party.

4. If a carrier commits a serious breach of transport regulations and road safety rules, in particular with regard to the rules applicable to vehicles, driving and rest periods for drivers and the unauthorised operation of the parallel or temporary services referred to in Article 1(2.1), the competent authorities of the Contracting Party in which that carrier is established may, in particular, withdraw their Community licence for EU carriers or the similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers, or may temporarily and/or partially withdraw the certified copies of their Community licence for EU carriers or similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers.

These penalties shall be determined according to the seriousness of the offence committed by the holder of the Community licence for EU carriers or the similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers, and according to the total number of certified copies of the licence they possess in connection with their international transport operations.

The competent authorities of the Contracting Party of establishment shall communicate to the competent authorities of the Contracting Party in which the infringements were ascertained, as soon as possible and at the latest within six weeks of their final decision on the matter, which, if any, of the penalties provided for above have been imposed. If such penalties are not imposed, the competent authorities of the Contracting Party of establishment shall state the reasons therefor.

5. Where the competent authorities of a Contracting Party are aware of a serious infringement of this Annex or of road transport legislation attributable to a non-resident carrier, the Contracting Party within the territory of which the infringement is ascertained shall transmit to the competent authorities of the carrier's Contracting Party of establishment, as soon as possible and at the latest within six weeks of their final decision, the following information:

(a) a description of the infringement and the date and time when it was committed;

(b) the category, type and seriousness of the infringement; and

(c) the penalties imposed and the penalties executed.

The competent authorities of the host Contracting Party may request that the competent authorities of the Contracting Party of establishment impose administrative penalties in accordance with paragraph 4.

6. The Contracting Parties shall ensure that carriers have the right to appeal against any administrative penalty imposed on them pursuant to this Article.

Article 13

Entry in the national electronic registers

The Contracting Parties shall ensure that serious infringements of road transport legislation attributable to carriers established in their territory, which have led to the imposition of a penalty by the competent authorities of a Member State of the European Union or Switzerland, as well as any temporary or permanent withdrawal of the Community licence for EU carriers or the similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers, or of the certified true copy of the Community licence or the similar Swiss licence, are recorded in the national electronic register of road transport undertakings. Entries in the register which concern a temporary or permanent withdrawal of a Community licence for EU carriers or of a similar Swiss licence for Swiss carriers shall remain in the database for at least two years from the time of the expiry of the period of withdrawal, in the case of temporary withdrawal, or from the date of withdrawal, in the case of permanent withdrawal.’