16. 3. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 68/7 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive on minimum requirements to improve the mobility and the 
safe transport to work of workers with reduced mobility 
(91/C 68/08) 
COM(90) 588 final — SYN 327 
(Submitted by the Commission on 11 February 1991) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 118a 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
drawn up after consulting the Advisory Committee on 
Safety, Hygiene and Health Protection at Work, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 118a of the EEC Treaty provides that 
the Council shall adopt, by means of directives, 
minimum requirements to encourage improvements, 
especially in the working environment, as regards the 
health and safety of workers; 
Whereas, pursuant to the above Article, such Directives 
must avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal 
constraints in a way which would hold back the creation 
and development of small and medium-sized under­
takings ; 
Whereas, under the terms of point 26 of Title I of the 
Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of 
Workers, all disabled persons, whatever the origin and 
nature of their disablement, must be entitled to 
additional concrete measures aimed at improving their 
social and professional integration; whereas these measures must concern, in particular, according to the 
capacities of the beneficiaries, accessibility, mobility and 
means of transport; 
Whereas it is appropriate to supplement existing or 
future Community legislation on the safety and health of 
workers with reduced mobility at the workplace, by 
provisions that will assist them in gaining access to 
employment and thus reduce the hazards specifically 
affecting them during travel to work; 
Whereas it is clear that modes of transport which do not 
take account of the needs of workers with reduced 
mobility give rise to hazards to the health and safety of 
these persons; 
Whereas it must be possible for workers with reduced 
mobility to use transport to travel to and from work 
without running any more risks than other workers; 
whereas the safety and health in the working envi­
ronment of workers with reduced mobility must be 
assured by adopting the requisite measures to enable 
them to travel safely to and from work. 
Whereas the measures to improve mobility and transport 
concern workers with reduced mobility, regardless of 
whether their handicap is of a physical — including 
sensory — or mental origin; 
Whereas the choice should be left to the Member States 
as regards, on the one hand, the options of giving 
workers with reduced mobility access to public transport, 
No C 68/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 16. 3. 91 
transport organized by the employer or special transport 
services for the disabled, and on the other hand, creating 
incentives to assist transport of the disabled on condition 
that such measures have an equivalent effect; 
Whereas it is therefore appropriate to lay down 
minimum requirements to ensure that workers with 
reduced mobility can avail themselves of sufficient means 
of transport adapted to their special needs; whereas such 
needs include access to transport, the accessibility of the 
means of transport, facilities enabling workers with 
reduced mobility to travel safely, and signs identifying 
such means of transport; 
Whereas to take into account the cost of converting 
means of transport to make them accessible to workers 
with reduced mobility, it is appropriate to provide for 
alternative measures which, while guaranteeing safe 
travel, offer the necessary flexibility for finding solutions 
adapted to the particular circumstances; 
Whereas, where the employer provides the transport to 
work for his workers, he must be obliged to bear in mind 
the specific needs of those of his workers, apprentices 
and trainees with reduced mobility; 
Whereas in a large majority of Member States there are 
special transport services intended for disabled persons, 
laid on by public and private bodies; whereas for reasons 
of economic cost and in keeping with the Commission's 
overall and consistent policy of economic and social inte­
gration of the disabled, priority must be given to the 
most severely disabled for the use of such special 
transport services; 
Whereas special attention needs to be given to the 
problem of training and informing workers with reduced 
mobility to enable them to make optimum use of the 
means of transport at their disposal; whereas, in this 
respect, appropriate training should be provided for the 
staff of transport available to workers with reduced 
mobility to help reduce or eliminate the risk inherent in 
travel for such persons; 
Whereas providing means of transport adapted to the 
needs of workers with reduced mobility should not engender any additional financial burden for transport 
for such workers; whereas this should likewise apply to 
workers with reduced mobility who, because of their 
handicap, need to be accompanied by another person or 
a guide dog if they are to make use of transport; 
Whereas this Directive makes a contribution to the 
implementation of the aims set out in the European 
Parliament resolution of 16 September 1987 on the 
transport of handicapped and elderly persons (*), which 
stressed the importance of mobility as being essential in 
finding and retaining a suitable job; 
Whereas it would be advisable, in order to meet the 
specific requirements of workers with reduced mobility, 
for schemes receiving financial assistance from the 
Structural Funds to take account of the aims of this 
Directive, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
The purpose of this Directive is to facilitate the safe 
travel of workers with reduced mobility in order to assist 
them in gaining access to the place of employment. 
Article 2 
For the purposes of this Directive, 
(a) 'worker with reduced mobility'shall mean any worker 
who has special difficulty in using public transport 
owing to a serious handicap of a physical or mental 
origin. 
(b) 'means of transport'shall mean: 
— public transport, 
— transport provided by the employer, 
— special transport services for the disabled. 
C) OJ No C 281, 19. 10. 1987, p. 85. 
16. 3. 91 Official Journal of 
Article 3 
In order to fulfil the aims set out in Article 1, Member 
States shall take: 
(a) the requisite measures to ensure that means of 
transport are provided and are accessible, allowing 
for the interchangeability of means of transport; or 
(b) all measures to facilitate the transport of workers 
with reduced mobility, on condition that these have 
an effect equivalent to the measures mentioned 
in (a). 
The means of transport provided for workers with 
reduced mobility must meet the minimum requirements 
laid down in the Annex. 
Article 4 
The Member States shall take measures to promote: 
(a) training schemes to help workers with reduced 
mobility travel in safety; 
(b) the requisite training for the staff of public transport 
companies to help workers with reduced mobility use 
the transport provided for them; 
(c) information and advice for workers with reduced 
mobility. 
Article 5 
When workers with reduced mobility cannot travel 
without the help of an accompanying person or some 
other form of assistance, Member States shall take 
measures to ensure that such assistance does not give rise 
to additional transport costs for the workers in question. European Communities No C 68/9 
Article 6 
The Commission shall draw up every two years a report 
on the implementation by the Member States of 
measures covered by Articles 3, 4 and 5 and shall 
transmit this to the European Parliament, Council and 
Economic and Social Committee. 
Article 7 
This Directive shall not prejudice any existing or future 
national or Community provisions which are more 
favourable to the safe travel of workers with reduced 
mobility. 
Article 8 
The Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions required to conform 
with this Directive: 
(a) no later than 31 December 1992 by presenting a 
timetable for the implementation of the measures 
referred to in Articles 3 and 4 by 31 December 1999; 
(b) no later than 31 December 1992 for the measures 
referred to in Article 5 to enable the said measures to 
be implemented no later than 31 December 1994. 
They shall inform the Commission directly of their 
implementation. 
When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall 
contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accom­
panied by such reference at the time of their official 
publication. The procedure for such reference shall be 
adopted by Member States. 
Article 9 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
^oCo^BtO C^ffici^iJourri^ofuieEuror^^nCor^r^uniu^ to^^t 
^t^^^A^ 
^Article ^a^ 
The obligauons laid down in this Annex are applicable whenever the characteristics of the public transport 
facilities or their infrastructure so require. 
1 Access to tra^ort 
Transportmustbemadeavailabletoworkers with reduced mobility in suchawayastomeet their 
special transport needs.This means asufficientnumber and frequency of services and appropriate 
transport schedules. 
ti Acce^^tyof^e^^of^^^^^v^tedfo^^ 
The minimum requirements set out below concern the measures adopted to give application to points 
above. 
^ ^afe access to and from transport facilities (^entranceBexit^ for workers with reduced mobility 
should be provided in one of three possible ways^ 
— either by builtin technical aids such as lowered floors^ lifting platforms^ etc.^ or 
— by technical aids external to the transport vehicles for example at the stop or platforms such as 
mobile ramps^lowdift elevating platform trucks^ folding platforms etc.^ or 
— by personal assistance from specially trained transport company staff. 
^^t least oneentranceBexit must be designed toallow workers with reducedmobilitytoboardB 
alight from the mode of transport safely. 
^ Accessibihty implies compatibilitybetweenthemeansof transport and the correspondinginfra^ 
structure to ensure that the worker withreducedmobilityhassafeaccesstothesaid meansof 
transport. 
1U ^ac^t^estobe^r^v^^^d^e^e^^oft^^^^fo^worke^w^d^^ed^ced^ob^^y 
The interior of the means of transport must provide the following for workers with reduced mobility^ 
in accordance with the specific requirements of different types of handicaps 
— reserved seats in sufficient number and in appropriate positions^ 
— corridors^ 
— toilet and washing facilities. 
tV.^^s 
^igns for the use of the means of transport for workers with reduced mobility^together with the access 
facilities to the associated infrastructure^must accord withthe special needs of the various types of 
workers with reduced mobility.