Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on action by Member States concerning public service requirements and the award of public service contracts in passenger transport by rail, road and inland waterway"
Date: 2001-04-04
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: carriage of passengers, contract, inland waterway transport, public service, rail transport, road transport

12.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 253/9

Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council on action by Member States concerning public service requirements
and the award of public service contracts in passenger transport by rail, road and inland
waterway’

(2001/C 253/03)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on action
by Member States concerning public service requirements and the award of public service contracts in
passenger transport by rail, road and inland waterway (COM(2000) 7 final — 2000/0212 COD);

having regard to the decision taken by the Council on 20 October 2000, under Article 71 and the first
paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, to consult the Committee
of the Regions on the matter;

having regard to the decision of the bureau of the Committee of the Regions of 2 June 1999 to direct
Commission 3 (Trans-European Networks, Transport and Information Society) to draw up the relevant
opinion;

having regard to the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning
the granting of aid for the co-ordination of transport by rail, road and inland waterway (presented by the
Commission) (COM(2000) 5 final — 2000/0023 COD);

having regard to its opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European
Parliament, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee ‘Developing the
Citizens’ Network: Why good local and regional passenger transport is important, and how the European
Commission is helping to bring it about (COM(98) 431 final — CdR 436/98 fin) (1);

having regard to the draft opinion (CdR 292/2000 rev. 2) adopted by Commission 3 on 7 February 2000
(rapporteur: Mr Suykerbuyk, B/PPE),

adopted the following opinion at its 38th plenary session on 4 and 5 April 2001 (meeting of 4 April).

The Committee of the Regions

1.1.
notes that the aim of the proposal for a regulation is
to modernise Community legislation so as to end up, in a
liberalised market, with a procedure for designating operators
on the basis of ‘controlled competition’ so that public transport
too will join the other areas where the freedom to provide
services has already been implemented;

1.2.
takes the view that transport policy has the task of
structuring the relevant social and legal framework conditions
so that they can meet mobility requirements. In this context
steps to secure and further expand the range of available public
transport services are particularly important;

1.3.
would regard as forward-looking,

is pleased with the aim pursued by the proposal and
the establishment of a

(1) OJ C 198, 14.7.1999, p. 8.

market, on which a number of service providers — while
preserving small business structures — competed with each
other to provide a high-quality service at an appropriate price.
Such an approach would also provide scope for using public
funds more economically. At the same time the Committee
takes the view that market economy structures in the transport
sector may however entail the risk of outright price compe-
tition. This may lead to a decline in quality — to wages — and
social-dumping and — in marginal cases — to the emergence
of new monopolies. Legislation should therefore be drafted to
ensure fair terms of competition, to promote SME-type service
provision structures and to preserve qualitative, environmental
and social standards;

1.4.
notes that a well-organised public service in the field
of passenger transport is an important lever for the policy in
this field pursued by regional and local authorities; notes too
that public transport is a matter of general interest and that
local passenger transport is to be included in the area of public
services: the provision of local passenger transport is a task for
local self-government and must not be left completely to the
free play of market forces;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

12.9.2001

1.4.1.
notes that local public transport service affects the
quality of life. Each region must therefore be able to influence
this for its own area; notes that the draft regulation correctly
covers the entire range of public transport services. This means
that rail transport is also included;

notes that in the cities especially, and in all other
1.4.2.
municipalities, a well developed system of public transport
contributes to greater vitality, above all by reducing bottle-
necks;

1.4.3.
notes that, in rural areas and/or at off-peak times,
‘para-public’ transport modes (collective taxis, on-call buses
etc.) can be an excellent means of securing a minimum degree
of mobility;

1.4.4.
notes that public transport makes for better mobility,
both at regional and local level, but insists that something
really must be done about less-populated regions so that
people living in rural areas may enjoy the same mobility as
others;

1.4.5.
the environment;

notes that this type of mobility is less polluting for

2.
requests the European Commission to take into appro-
priate consideration the subsidiarity concept in its proposal
for a regulation. The proposal rightly does not set any
objectives to be achieved in the field of public service transport,
nor does it provide any further detail on the institutional
structures to be set up by the Member States. The machinery
of public calls for tender is really an appropriate tool enabling
competitive advantages to be achieved in terms of costs
without jeopardising the general interest. The Committee of
the Regions points out that equal opportunity in a market
opened up by competition only occurs if the competitive
conditions are the same for all market participants. For
the competent authorities, an exemption to the tendering
obligation must at least be possible in the case of integrated
to jeopardise established
transport services in order not
composite
exemptions under
scope
Article 7 (1), (2) and (4) should thus be widened to the extent
that the emphasis should be on integration rather than on
operators;

systems. The

for

2.1.
wishes that the European Commission take into con-
sideration the various levels of administrative authority within
the Member States and that the role of regional and local
authorities be noted in the proposal for a regulation, including
its title;

draws the attention of

2.2.
the European Commission
to the fact that local and regional authorities have major
responsibilities in the field of transport in their respective
Member States. Among other things, public passenger trans-
port has to fit in with general land-use planning objectives.
This applies to routes, both old and new, junctions, stops,

platforms, stations, etc. The procedure to be laid down in the
regulation must be prepared in such a way as to guarantee
consultation of local and regional authorities;

3.
wishes that compensatory payments made by Member
States for the allocation of public transport services between
the various regions and for investment costs be based on
objective and transparent criteria;

4.
calls on the European Commission to extend the duration
of public service contracts in order not to discourage operators
to invest in safety;

5.
is pleased that the draft regulation explicitly calls for the
provision of public transport of a certain quality. One can only
be delighted by the attention thus paid to a service of quality.
If one chooses the principle of a minimum of mobility for
each citizen, quality has to be a central concern. The principle
of a minimum of mobility also requires the provision of public
transport services with a minimum frequency. However, to
make it possible to satisfy local/regional requirements, the
criteria for awarding contracts provided for in article 4 should
be indicative and not binding, as in the case of the general
procurement directives;

5.1.
notes that the provision of transport is a service which
has to take account of three main categories of traveller: those
who travel to their work or to return to their home, tourists
and the large group of users who are dependent on public
transport because of a disability, financial circumstances or
their youth or old age;

5.2.
considers that transport services have to form part of
a framework of rights and duties: there is on the one hand the
price paid by the traveller, clearly expressed in a fare, and on
the other the obligation of the operator, which is to achieve a
result;

wishes special account to be taken of certain categories
5.3.
of travellers, such as the elderly or the disabled and handi-
capped;

6.
can only be delighted that the regulation takes workers
into consideration, since the cancellation of a public service
contract may involve a change of operator. One should
nevertheless take into account the difference between main-
taining existing working conditions and terminating a contract.
The regulation must guarantee that the number of employees
is maintained and that only working conditions, both the level
of quality and social rights, are adapted if necessary. Thus, a
legal basis should be established stipulating that criteria relating
to labour and social legislation should also be included in
invitations to tender;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 253/11

wishes Article 4 of the regulation to be modified by the

7.
following proposals:

— Information concerning timetables, connections, must be
clear, free of charge and accessible to all travellers, and
operators must improve their services;

— Travellers must have a safe environment (lighting, assist-
ant staff etc.) not only inside transport services but also
outside, i.e. on station platforms, at bus stops etc.;

— In the event of repeated delays, travellers must be entitled

to refunds;

— The traveller is entitled to reasonable comfort as regards
seats, luggage space and — depending on the distance
covered — health;

8.
Article 2 should be amended so as to make it clear
that the proposed regulation applies to all public passenger
transport (rail and land transport);

9.

wishes Article 3(d) to be reworded as follows:

‘“integrated services” means rail, bus and cable-car services
which form part of a compound system that includes a
timetable, a tariff and a ticket’;

10.

wishes Article 4(1) to be expanded as follows:

‘... by concluding public service contracts in accordance
with Chapter III, by laying down minimum criteria for
public passenger transport operation in accordance with
Chapter IV, by guaranteeing the provision of a high-quality
public passenger transport operation.’;

11.

wishes Article 6(c) to be amended as follows:

‘Contracts shall be limited in time and their duration shall
be geared to the average depreciation period of the vehicles
concerned.’;

proposes adding the following text to Article 10(a) of

12.
the draft regulation:

Brussels, 4 April 2001.

‘The minimum criteria must include the possibility of
promoting general tickets which encourage the use of
public transport within a limited area.’;

13.
requests the European Commission, contrary to the
system indicated in Article 10(b), to prepare another system
fixing the amount of compensation so as to avoid private
transport becoming impossible;

13.a)
requests the European Commission to provide in
Article 12 for the possibility of transport services being
imposed by the competent authorities, but only in emergency
cases when there is no operator and as a temporary measure
in order to ensure the continuity of the public service;

13.b)
requests the Commission to scale down the trans-
parency rules (Article 7(3) and in particular Article 13) to a
level with which the responsible authorities can cope, in line
with the related cost: benefit ratio;

wishes the transitional measures in Article 17(1) to be

14.
extended to eight years;

15.
would point, however, to the need to make provision
for the requisite measures and conditions to ensure that
remote areas too are supplied with adequate transport services
(quantity, quality and mode) so as to encourage local inhabi-
tants to stay and to boost local activities;

16.
hopes that local and regional authorities will practice a
policy that will enable an integrated approach to be adopted
in the field of public transport, especially in such areas as
prices and timetables; urban areas particularly need an inte-
grated system with a single timetable, a single fare and a single
ticket, but it is also necessary to adopt an integrated approach
in rural areas;

17.
notes that the draft regulation once again contains
numerous reporting obligations vis-à-vis the European Com-
mission. These necessitate a great deal of bureaucracy both in
national administrations and in the EU administration involved
in evaluation. Hence, it would appear sufficient to continue to
leave the specific task of market observation largely to national
authorities and to cut reporting obligations vis-à-vis the
European Commission to a minimum;

18.
requests the Commission to replace the calculation
method provided for in Appendix 1 of the regulation by one
which is easier to understand and apply in practice.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Jos CHABERT