WRITTEN QUESTION E-0689/98

by Amedeo Amadeo (NI) and Salvatore Tatarella (NI) to the Commission

(10 March 1998)

Subject: International carriage of passengers- Council Regulation (EEC) 684/92 of 16 March 1992

Is the Commission aware that Article 2 (1.3) of Regulation (EEC) 684/92(1), which provides for an authorization system for all parallel (or comparable) services serving the same public as regular services, completely contradicts Article 4 of the same regulation?

(1) OJ L 74, 20.3.1992, p. 1.

Joint answer to Written QuestionsE-0579/98, E-0580/98, E-0687/98, E-0688/98 and E-0689/98 given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(12 May 1998)

Council Regulation (EEC) 684/92 of 16 March 1992 on common rules for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus(1) establishes in Article 2 point 1 that regular services are services which provide for the carriage of passengers at specified intervals along specified routes, with passengers being taken up and set down at predetermined stopping points. Regular services shall be open to all, subject, where appropriate, to compulsory reservation. Regular services are subject to authorisation. However Article 7(4) establishes reasons to reject the application which are very strict and authorizing authorities may refuse the application only on the basis of reasons compatible with the regulation.

In addition, Article 2 point 1 establishes that special regular services are those regular services which provide for the carriage of specified categories of passengers to the exclusion of other passengers. Certain of those special regular services are not subject to authorisation if they are covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier. The reason why special regular services are exempted from authorisation as long as covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier is because they are organised for the specific purpose of transporting certain categories of passenger and are not open to the public in general.

The objective of the safeguard clause established in Article 2 point 1(3) is to protect existing regular services, including special regular services, from other types of bus services like occasional and shuttle services which could be organised, in parallel or on a temporary basis, serving the same public as existing regular services. However, this safeguard clause cannot be invoked against special regular services if they are covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier. Nevertheless, in case special regular services do not comply with the conditions established in Article 2 point 1(1) and (2) and, in particular, where they transport all kinds of passengers and not only "specified categories of passenger to the exclusion of other passengers", the service in question should be considered as a regular service and then subject to authorisation.

The Commission is not competent to take measures against the "cowboy services" ("servizi pirata"). Under Article 19 of Regulation (EEC) 684/92, Member States are responsible for implementing and carrying out checks on compliance and for the penalties applicable in case of breaches of the Regulation. This includes all measures to be taken against operators not complying with the obligations established in the Regulation.

(1) Modified by Council Regulation (EC) 11/98 of 11.12.1997 amending Regulation (EEC) 684/92 on common rules for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus, OJ L 4, 8.1.1998.