20. 10. 81 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 268/11 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 on action by 
Member States concerning the obligations inherent in the concept of a public service in 
transport by rail, road and inland waterway 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 20 January 1981) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Articles 75 and 94 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas it is necessary to adapt Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 1191/69 of 26 June 1969 (l); whereas, in 
the context of existing links between transport and 
other economic and social sectors, such adaptation 
must, in particular, take account of the obligations 
inherent in the concept of a public service to which 
railway undertakings could be subject, as set out in 
Article 15 (2) of Council Decision 75/327/EEC of 20 
May 1975 on the improvement of the situation of 
railway undertakings and the harmonization of rules 
governing financial relations between such under­
takings and States (2); 
Whereas, to this end, the scope of Article 3 of the 
said Regulation must be clearly defined by adopting 
criteria under which the competent authorities or the Member States, in their decisions maintaining, in 
whole or in part, a public service obligation, must 
assess whether there is more than one way of 
ensuring the provision of adequate transport services 
and, if this is so, which involves the least cost to the 
general public, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
Regulation (EEC) No 1191/69 is hereby amended as 
follows: 
1. Article 3 (2) is replaced by the following: 
'2. In making the decisions referred to in 
paragraph 1, the competent authorities of the 
Member States, taking account of the criteria set 
out in the Annex, shall zssess whether there is 
more than one way of ensuring, under similar 
conditions, the provision of adequate transport 
services and shall choose the public service 
obligation involving the least cost to the general 
public' 
2. The Annex to the present Regulation is added 
thereto. 
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 July 1981. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
(') OJ No L 156, 28. 6. 1969, p. 1. 
(2) OJNoL152, 12.6. 1975, p. 3. 
No C 268/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 10.81 
ANNEX 
Criteria for assessing whether there is more than one way of ensuring, under similar conditions, the 
provision of adequate transport services and for choosing a public service obligation involving the 
least cost to the general public 
Initially, the competent authority of the Member State shall assess, having regard to the case in 
question, the level of adequacy of the transport services and shall subsequently choose from among 
the forms of transport which meet this standard the one which involves the least cost to the general 
public. 
I. PROVISION OF ADEQUATE TRANSPORT SERVICES 
The adequacy of transport services shall be assessed in the light of: 
— the public interest, 
— the possibility of having recourse to other forms of transport and the ability of such forms to 
meet the transport needs under consideration, 
— the transport rates and conditions which can be quoted to users. 
1. The public interest 
This assessment must take account of the following factors, which are the main components of 
public interest: 
1.1. Public interest from the user's point of view: mainly, average speed, reliability, safety and 
comfort. 
1.2. Public interest from the viewpoint of the public at large shall be assessed in particular in 
terms of regional policy, employment, energy and the environment. Where applicable, the 
following factors shall be examined in these fields: 
Energy 
— total energy consumption in relation to the efficiency of the forms of transport under 
consideration, 
— the suitability of all the types of energy considered whatever forms of transport are 
used, 
— the effect of the use of a specific type of energy on the balance of payments, 
— the degree of energy dependence. 
Regional policy 
— regional planning (including town planning), 
— impact on regional growth (including the promotion of rural tourism), 
— effect on regional employment (including seasonal employment), 
— influence on the siting of industrial or commercial activities, 
— links with other economic centres, 
— depopulation. 
Employment 
Relation between the provision of adequate transport services and the level of employment 
in specific economic activities and areas. 
20. 10.81 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 268/13 
Environment 
— consumption of space, 
— pollution, 
— nuisances, 
— ecological changes, 
— congestion (including waiting time at crossings), 
— safety of non-users. 
2. Possibilities of using other forms of transport 
The possibility of using other forms of transport and the ability of such forms to meet the 
transport needs under consideration must be examined in the light of the following factors: 
— existence of forms of transport already in operation, and the expense of obtaining provision 
of adequate transport services; 
— availability, where the forms of transport have not yet been set up: 
— of undertakings willing to provide the services, 
— of appropriate transport infrastructure, 
— of appropriate equipment, 
— of qualified staff; 
— rate of car ownership of the population concerned; 
— social and demographic structure of the population concerned. 
3. Transport rates and conditions 
The transport rates and conditions which must be taken into account in the assessment are the 
rates and conditions offered to the user and laid down on the basis of operating conditions and 
the market situation, taking no account of any compensation for public service obligations. 
II. THE LEAST COST TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC 
1. The form of transport chosen must, while providing adequate transport services, be the 
least costly and the most advantageous for the general public. 
2. To assess with maximum accuracy the least cost and the greatest benefit to the general 
public, an analysis will have to be made of the costs and advantages of each form of transport 
considered. The choice of the method of analysis (cost/benefit analysis, multi-criteria analysis) 
shall be left to the competent authority of the Member State and determined by the nature of 
the study to be carried out. 
3. The cost/benefit analysis shall take account of national transport plans. The costs and 
benefits shall be classified as 'transport', i.e. coming under the management of the undertakings 
in question, and 'non-transport', i.e. falling within the competence of the public authorities. 
These factors may be quantifiable (in terms of money or not) or non-quantifiable. 
4. The analysis should be divided into two phases: an accounting phase which would include 
an analysis of all the factors which can be expressed in terms of money and an economic 
analysis which would include the factors which cannot be quantified or which can be quantified 
and the factors which cannot be expressed in terms of money. Equal importance shall be given 
to both phases. 
5. The following outline shows the factors to be taken into account in the cost/benefit 
analysis of the alternatives, namely: 
— maintenance of the form of transport considered, 
— setting up of a new form of transport, 
— maintenance of the form of transport considered with adaptations, 
— termination of the form of transport in question without replacement. 
No C 268/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 20. 10.81 
OUTLINE FOR COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS FOR EACH FORM OF TRANSPORT 
CONSIDERED 
COSTS BENEFITS 
Internal 
(transport) 
Operating costs 
— movement costs (l), 
— equipment costs ('), 
— running and infrastructure costs (')• 
Capital costs 
— investment costs (setting up or adaptation 
of the form of transport in question), 
— investment costs in the light of the future 
use of resources now committed (adap­
tation or termination of alternatives). Specific to the traffic in question 
— financial yield, 
— speed, 
— frequency and adherence to timetable, 
— comfort, 
— safety, 
— accessibility, 
— rate offered to the user. 
Specific to the network 
— influence of the maintenance of the form 
of transport in question on running costs 
and the traffic of the network as a whole. 
External 
(non-transport) 
Consideration of factors relating to: 
— regional policy, 
— energy, 
— employment, 
— environment. 
(') Including amortization and renewal.