COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 26.02.1997 
COM(97) 73 final 
96/0125 (SYN) 
Amended proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) 
amending Regulation (EEC) No 684/92 
on common rules for the international carriage 
of passengers by coach and bus 
(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 a (2) 
of the EC-Treaty) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
At its plenary session of 27 and 28 November 1996, the European Parliament approved, 
subject to a number of amendments, the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) amending 
Council Regulation (EEC) No 684/92 on common rules for the international carriage of 
passengers by coach and bus.! 
The Commission has accepted the amendments concerning: 
- Recital la (new) on the general principle of the liberalization and phased harmonization 
of the conditions of competition, subject to "Union" being replaced by "Community"; 
- Recital 7 where mention is made of simplifying administrative procedures for the 
issuing of the Community licence; 
- Recital 9a (new) and Article 1(1) on excluding urban and suburban services from the 
scope of the Regulation on international carriage. The exclusion of international 
regional services cannot be accepted, since this would run counter to the objectives 
achieved by the creation of the internal market and would be seen as a regression 
compared with the previous situation established by Regulation 684/92; 
1 OJ No C 203, 13.07.96. 
- Récita! 9b (nev.) concerning the accessibility of transport systems, 
- Article 1(5) and (7) concerning, respectively, the definition of occasional services and 
own-account transport operations; 
- Article 3(1) which supplements the definition of the Community licence; 
- Article 6(5) on using additional vehicles; 
The Commission thus amends its proposal as follows: 
Amended proposal for a 
Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 684/92 
on common rules for the international carriage 
of passengers by coach and bus 
The Gommission proposal in document COM(96) 190 final - SYN 96/01252 is amended 
as follows: 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Recital la (new) 
"Whereas the European Community's 
internal market is an area for the free 
movement of goods, persons, services and 
capital: whereas it is necessary to liberalize 
the international carriage of passengers bv 
coach and bus, in tandem with the phased 
harmonization of the socio-economic, fiscal 
and technical conditions governing road 
passenger transport within the Member 
States and alongside measures to ensure 
non-discriminatory conditions for 
operators;" 
2 OJ No C 203, 13.07.96. 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Recital 7 
"Whereas, in order to facilitate the 
inspection of transport operations, the 
international carriage of passengers by road 
for hire or reward should be subject to a 
Community licence conforming to a 
harmonized model;" "Whereas, in order to facilitate the 
inspection of transport operations, the 
international carriage of passengers by road 
for hire or reward should be subject to a 
Community licence conforming to a 
harmonized model and issued by means of 
administrative procedures which are 
straightforward and do not constitute a 
burden for transport undertakings:" 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Recital 9a (new) 
"Whereas urban carriage in frontier areas 
should, for the present, be excluded from 
the scope of this Regulation, in view of its 
character as a service in the general 
interest:" 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Recital 9b (new) 
"Whereas the accessibility of transport 
systems and in particular the accessibility of 
intercity bus and coach services, especially 
on routes across Europe, is one of the 
objectives of the common transport policy:" 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Article 1(1) 
Article 2 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
A new subparagraph is added to point 1.1: 
"Regular services operated within a 
conurbation situated in two or more 
Member States shall be designated 
"urban carriage in frontier areas"." Article 2 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
A new subparagraph is added to point 1.1: 
"Regular services operated as urban 
and suburban transport services 
between two or more 
Member States shall be designated 
"urban carriage in frontier areas". 
These services shall be excluded 
from the scope of this Regulation" 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Article 1(5) 
Article 2 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
"Point 3 1 is replaced by the following: 
Occasional services are services meeting 
neither the definition of a regular service 
nor the definition of a special regular 
service, and which are characterized above 
all by the fact that they carry groups of 
passengers previously assembled, or that 
they are organized at the request of the 
customer, or comprise accommodation or 
other non-ancillary tourist services in the 
course of the journey or at the place of 
destination, or are organized on the 
occasion of special events, or comprise an 
empty journey in the course of the outward 
or return journey or are organized for the 
purpose of carrying out tours. 
The organization of parallel or temporary 
services comparable to existing regular 
services and serving the same public as the 
latter shall be subject to authorization in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Section II of this Regulation." Article 2 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
"Point 3.1 is replaced by the following: 
Occasional services are services which do 
not meet the definition of a regular service^ 
including special regular services, and which 
are characterized above all by the fact that 
they carry groups of passengers assembled 
at the initiative of the customer or of the 
carrier himself 
The organization of parallel or temporary 
services comparable to existing regular 
services and serving the same public as the 
latter shall be subject to authorization in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in 
Section II of this Regulation." 
Initia! Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Article 1(7) 
Article 2 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
"Point 4 is replaced by the following: 
Own-account transport operations are those 
carried out for non-commercial purposes, 
notably by an undertaking for its own 
employees or by a non-profit-making body 
for the transport of its members in 
connection with its social objective 
provided that: 
- the transport activity is only an ancillary 
activity for the undertaking or body, 
- the vehicles used are the property of that 
undertaking or body or have been 
obtained on deferred terms by them or 
have been the subject of a long-term 
leasing contract and are driven by a 
member of the staff of the undertaking or 
body." Article 2 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
"Point 4 is replaced by the following: 
Own-account transport operations are 
services carried out for non-profit-making 
and non-commercial purposes by a natural 
or legal person, provided that: 
- the transport activity is only an ancillary 
activity for the natural or legal person. 
- the vehicles used are the property of that 
natural or legal person or have been 
obtained on deferred terms by them 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 bv the natural person 
himself." 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposal 
Article 3(1) 
Regulation 684/92 is supplemented by a 
new Article 3a: 
"1. Any carrier meeting the criteria laid 
down in Article 3(1) must hold a 
Community licence issued by the competent 
authorities of the State of establishment in 
accordance with the model in the Annex to 
this Regulation." Regulation 684/92 is supplemented by a 
new Article 3a: 
"1. With a view to the international 
carriage of passengers by coach or bus, any 
carrier meeting the criteria laid down in 
Article 3(1) must hold a Community licence 
issued by the competent authorities of the 
State of establishment in accordance with 
the model in the Annex to this Regulation." 
Initial Commission proposal Amended proposai 
Article 6(5) 
Article 5 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows: 
"6. In the case of additional vehicles being 
used for existing regular services, a copy of 
the corresponding contract or document 
between the operator of the regular service 
and the carrier providing the additional 
vehicles and a copy of the authorization of 
the regular service must be carried on the 
vehicle. 
A carrier providing additional vehicles must 
hold the Community licence provided for in 
Article 3(a). A true copy of the Community 
licence must be carried on the additional 
vehicle." Article 5 of Regulation 684/92 is amended 
as follows. 
"6. The operator of the regular services 
may use additional vehicles to cope with 
temporary or exceptional situations. In this 
case, the carrier must ensure that the 
following documents are carried on the 
vehicle: 
- a copy of the authorization of the regular 
service, 
- a copy of the contract concluded 
between the operator of the regular 
service and the undertaking providing 
the additional vehicles or an equivalent 
document, 
- a true copy of the Community licence 
issued to the operator of the regular 
service. " 
The remainder of the text is unchanged. 
Done at Brussels, For the Council 

ISSN 0254-.-, 75 
COM(97) 73 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 07 06 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-064-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-16203-5 
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