Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic"
Date: 2000-12-13
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: bus, commercial vehicle, common transport policy, inland transport, international transport, weight and size

16.5.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 144/15

if

that

thinks

28.
the strategic objectives are to be
accomplished, effective coordination is necessary, particularly
via the interdepartmental working party at the Commission,
whose permanent resources within the secretariat general need
to be strengthened;

advocates the introduction, by both EU and regional
29.
institutions, of a communication strategy for informing public

Brussels, 13 December 2000.

opinion in the EU of the issues affecting the outermost regions
and of the special EU dimension represented by these —
hitherto little known — regions;

30.
encourages the outermost regions to continue to coop-
erate in all possible areas, and urges the Commission to
support them in this venture in order to meet the challenges
posed by their development within the EU and the challenges
of globalisation.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Proposal for a Directive of the European
Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road
vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and
international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic’

(2001/C 144/05)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the
maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised
weights in international traffic (COM(2000) 137 final — 2000/0060 (COD);

having regard to the decision of the European Council of 8 May 2000 to consult the Committee, in
accordance with Article 265.1 and Article 71 of the Treaty establishing the European Community;

having regard to the decision of the President of the Committee of the Regions on 23 June 2000 to
instruct Commission 3 for Trans-European Networks, Transport and the Information Society to draw up
the opinion;

having regard to the draft opinion adopted by Commission 3 on 8 November 2000 (CdR 259/2000
rev. 1) (rapporteur: Dr Walsh, Member of West Sussex County Council, UK/ELDR),

adopted the following opinion unanimously at its 36th plenary session on 13 and 14 December 2000
(meeting of 13 December 2000).

The Committee of the Regions

directive and requests that Member States be allowed
until 31 December 2015 to implement the Directive;

1.

urges the Commission to have regard to the implications
on local and regional authorities on the impact of the
introduction and enforcement of the proposed amended

2.

points out

that not all

local authorities are able

C 144/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

16.5.2001

to restrict the operation of inappropriate length vehicles
on highways, nor to enforce such restrictions;

3. welcomes the Commission’s proposals to increase the
maximum length of three-axle buses to 15 metres to
ensure that the longer rigid buses will cause no greater
damage to road infrastructure and bridges than 12 m
buses. The Committee also hopes that, as is already the
case in many countries, a maximum length of 13,5 metres
will be allowed for two-axle buses;

4. welcomes the main benefits of harmonised rules on bus
length which are expected to bring more competition
both in the provisions of bus transport and in the
manufacture of buses, thus ensuring the possibility of
cabotage without national hindrance;

5.

points out that using 15 m buses may reduce the number
of buses needed on long and congested routes, having a
positive impact on the environment and making oper-
ations more economic. The impact is not so great on
short journeys within cities where the effects will be
negligible;

6.

points out that a second door is required in 15 m buses
to reduce loading delays and for passengers convenience

Brussels, 13 December 2000.

which causes a problem of alighting safely from the
second door because of the difficulty of aligning a long
bus up close and parallel to the kerb and sometimes
because some bus stop kerbs cannot be made long
enough which will fail to meet the access requirements of
disabled people and those with reduced mobility;

points out that on some routes, in big cities, medium
sized old towns and in small villages the use of 15 m
rigid buses creates problems for some passengers and can
add to traffic congestion because of the slowness of
manoeuvring the buses in tight situations;

points out
that a great many bridges have weight
restrictions with the result that 15 m buses could not be
used on those sections of road;

points out that, in many cases, the present length of bus
bays and bus parking spaces on motorways, as well as
the required minimum radiuses of roundabouts and
mountain roads, are not adequate for longer buses.
Modifying these bus bays, parking spaces, roundabouts
and mountain roads would be difficult or impossible due
to lack of space, especially in urban areas.

7.

8.

9.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT