A4-0424/98

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive relating to special provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC (COM(97)0276 - C4-0545/97 - 97/0176(COD))

This proposal was approved with the following amendments:

(Amendment 1)

Title

>Original text>

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive relating to special provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC

>Text following EP vote>

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive relating to special provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passengers

with a capacity of more than eight passengers, in seats or in wheelchairs, in addition to the driver and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC

(Amendment 2)

Recital 4

>Original text>

Whereas, owing to differences in technical prescriptions, these vehicles have been prevented from circulating freely in the Community; whereas the adoption of harmonised requirements by all of the Member States in place of their national regulations will facilitate the proper functioning of the internal market for the vehicles;

>Text following EP vote>

Whereas, owing to differences in technical prescriptions, these vehicles have been prevented from circulating freely in the Community; whereas the adoption of harmonised requirements by all of the Member States in place of their national regulations will facilitate the proper functioning of the internal market for the vehicles;

whereas these requirements ought nevertheless to allow special consumer-oriented public transport services, especially those employing low-floor buses;

(Amendment 3)

Recital 10a (new)

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>Text following EP vote>

Whereas the more detailed implementation of the general objectives of this Directive shall be the responsibility of a technical working party (standing committee) whose work shall take account of the decisions of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE); whereas this working party, which shall lay down the technical specifications for implementation of the guidelines, shall consist of representatives of operators, manufacturers and of associations of engineers, of users and of persons with reduced mobility, together with representatives of European standardisation bodies; whereas this working party shall also be open to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission; whereas the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall at all times be entitled to undertake the detailed implementation themselves under the procedure laid down for the purpose;

(Amendment 4)

Recital 11

>Original text>

Whereas technical progress requires rapid adaptation of the technical requirements set out in the Annexes to this separate Directive; whereas it is appropriate to assign this task to the Commission in order to simplify and speed up the procedure; whereas in all instances where the European Parliament and the Council confer upon the Commission the power to implement rules drawn up in respect of those vehicles, provision should be made for prior consultation between the Commission and the Member States within an Advisory Committee;

>Text following EP vote>

Whereas technical progress requires rapid adaptation of the technical

standards; whereas it is appropriate to assign this task to the technical working party in order to simplify and speed up the procedure; whereas the technical working party shall be bound by the general objectives of the Directive;

(Amendment 5)

Article 1, 3rd indent (new)

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>Text following EP vote>

- 'Passenger with reduced mobility¨ means all people who have a difficulty when using public transport, such as disabled people (including people with sensory and intellectual impairments, and wheelchair users), people with limb impairments, people of small stature, people with heavy luggage, elderly people, pregnant women, people with shopping trolleys, and parents with children (including children seated in push chairs).

The reference wheelchair shall have four wheels and the two front wheels shall be pivotal. It shall meet the requirements set out in the ISO standard ref: 7193-1985 and is taken to include manual and electric wheelchairs.

(Amendment 6)

Article 2

>Original text>

Member States may not refuse EC type-approval or national type-approval for a vehicle, or refuse or prohibit the sale, registration, entry into service or use of a vehicle, on grounds relating to provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, if the requirements of the Annexes are satisfied.

>Text following EP vote>

1. Member States may not refuse EC type-approval or national type-approval for a vehicle, or refuse or prohibit the sale, registration, entry into service or use of a vehicle, on grounds relating to provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passengers with a capacity of more than eight passengers, in seats or in wheelchairs, in addition to the driver, if the vehicle does not contravene the harmonisation requirements pursuant to this Directive.

2. Until harmonisation pursuant to this Directive has been achieved, the Member States may not refuse or prohibit the sale, registration, entry into service or use of vehicles which have been granted EC type-approval or national type-approval.

(Amendment 7)

Article 3

>Original text>

1. Member States may grant EC type-approval to vehicles whose construction characteristics meet the derogations specified in paragraphs 7.6.1.1.bis, 7.6.1.4.bis, 7.7.8.1.bis, 7.7.8.1.1.bis, 7.7.8.4.1.bis of Annex I and 7.6.1.1. bis and 7.6.1.4. bis of Annex VIII for vehicles of Class I, A, and B not exceeding an overall width of 2.3 m and for Class I double -decker vehicles.

>Text following EP vote>

1. The Directive shall include general objectives and technical implementing standards.

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2. Member States may prohibit the sale, the first and all successive registrations and the entry into service of vehicles benefiting from the derogations described in paragraph 1.

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2. The Commission shall be assisted by a permanent technical working party whose remit will be to advise on and monitor the implementation of this Directive and make recommendations for future improvements if necessary. In carrying out its tasks the working party acting as a standing committee shall call on the assistance and expertise of European standardisation bodies.

>Original text>

3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be reviewed, if necessary, by the Commission on the basis of a report to be drawn up by it in 2003.

>Text following EP vote>

3. The working party shall be modelled on the Committee set up pursuant to Article 13(1) of Directive 70/156/EEC, and shall consist of equal numbers of representatives of operators, manufacturers, professional associations of engineers and consumer groups, particularly representatives of national councils of disabled people, and European standardisation bodies.

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3a. The general objectives referred to in paragraph 1 shall be to ensure the safety of users from the time they board until they alight, and accessibility for people with reduced mobility.

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3b. The technical implementing standards referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following provisions governing user safety and accessibility:

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- specifications for the stability and strength of the vehicle;

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- fire protection specifications;

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- dimensions for the configuration and location of exits and emergency exits;

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- dimensions for the accessibility of vehicles and the access to service door(s), including an initial step height for boarding which is no greater than 240mm for at least one of the service doors. Interior steps must be no greater than 240mm;

>Original text>

>Text following EP vote>

- specifications for the vehicle to be equipped with boarding aids suitable for wheelchairs at the most appropriate service door of the vehicle. Boarding aids means devices or systems facilitating access to buses, such as kneeling systems, lifts or ramps. Such boarding aids should not be so steep as to prevent wheelchair users from lighting and alighting independently, in line with the COST 322 report. For a vehicle fitted with a passenger lift, the lift shall be capable of lifting a passenger seated in a wheelchair from the ground to the height of the vehicle floor;

>Original text>

>Text following EP vote>

- dimensions relating to passenger space and the number of passengers, in seats or in wheelchairs. A designated accessible area shall be included in the vehicle mainly for safe, stable and secure wheelchair use, in line with the reference wheelchair. The length of this area should be at least 1200mm in order to allow for wheelchair users who use footrests;

>Original text>

>Text following EP vote>

- specifications relating to door opening devices, handrails, handholds,

grabhandles, communication devices and induction loops. Every control or device for opening a service door, be it from the outside or interior, shall be reachable for people, in line with the definition of a passenger with reduced mobility;

>Original text>

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- specifications for seats for passengers with reduced mobility other than wheelchair users in that part of the bus which is most suitable for boarding;

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- specifications for controls for communication devices, which shall have palm operated buttons no more than 1000 mm from the floor. The button surrounds and the buttons shall be in bright colours which are clearly contrasted from the surface on which they are mounted and with each other;

>Original text>

>Text following EP vote>

- specifications relating to internal fittings, including seating and lighting; the level of illumination of the vehicle shall be such as to be safe for people with visual impairments.

(Amendment 8)

Article 4(1)

>Original text>

1. Vehicles of Class I designed to provide scheduled urban and interurban services shall conform either to the technical provisions laid down in Annex I, Part B, or to those of Annex I, Part C, and to the requirements for at least one of the boarding aids specified in Annex VII.

>Text following EP vote>

1.

Vehicles of Class I and Class II designed to provide scheduled urban and interurban services shall conform with the technical requirements laid down in Article 3.

(Amendment 9)

Article 4(2)

>Original text>

2. Where necessary, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council, on the basis of a full study, a proposal to amend this Directive in order to lay down the technical requirements for Class II vehicles used for scheduled urban and interurban services.

>Text following EP vote>

2.

Where necessary, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council, on the basis of a full study, a proposal to amend this Directive in order to lay down the technical requirements for Class III and A vehicles used for scheduled services.

(Amendment 10)

Article 4a (new)

>Original text>

>Text following EP vote>

Article 4a

Six months following the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall, with the assistance of the committee referred to in Article 7, submit to the European Parliament and the Council a study on the level of safety for the drivers and other occupants of vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, with a capacity of more than eight passengers, in seats or in wheelchairs, in addition to the driver.

(Amendment 11)

Article 4b (new)

>Original text>

>Text following EP vote>

Article 4b

Six months following the entry into force of this Directive, the Commission shall, with the assistance of the committee referred to in Article 7, submit to the European Parliament and the Council a study on the in-use service aspects of vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, with a capacity of more than eight passengers, in seats or in wheelchairs, in addition to the driver.

(Amendment 12)

Annexes I to X

>Original text>

Annexes I to X are deleted

Legislative resolution embodying Parliament's opinion on the proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive relating to special provisions for vehicles used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat and amending Council Directive 70/156/EEC (COM(97)0276 - C4-0545/97 - 97/0176(COD))(Codecision procedure: first reading)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council, COM(97)0276 - 97/0176(COD) ((OJ C 17, 20.1.1998, p. 1.)),

- having regard to Articles 189b(2) and 100a of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C4-0545/97),

- having regard to Rule 58 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A4-0113/98),

- having regard to the second report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A4-0424/98),

1. Approves the Commission proposal, subject to Parliament's amendments;

2. Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 189a(2) of the EC Treaty;

3. Calls on the Council to incorporate Parliament's amendments in the common position that it adopts in accordance with Article 189b(2) of the EC Treaty;

4. Should the Council intend to depart from the text approved by Parliament, calls on the Council to notify Parliament and requests that the conciliation procedure be initiated;

5. Points out that the Commission is required to submit to Parliament any modification it may intend to make to its proposal as amended by Parliament;

6. Instructs its President to forward this opinion to the Council and Commission.