WRITTEN QUESTION E-1075/03 by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission. Travel discrimination against disabled people.
Date: 2003-03-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: air transport, discrimination based on disability, facilities for people with disabilities, social policy, transport policy

C 11 E/158

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

(2004/C 11 E/180)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1075/03

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(31 March 2003)

Subject: Travel discrimination against disabled people

The current policy of SNCF (France) is to refuse to allocate or reserve seating for a blind passenger and
their guide dog, but it will make a reservation for a person using a wheelchair.

Is the Commission aware of the anomalies and unfair practices which exist in some Member States in
relation to the use by bus and train companies of ‘disabled persons’ seats and their rules relating to the
admission of guide dogs to buses and trains?

Has the Commission undertaken any research into provisions in airline policy for the admission of guide
dogs in aeroplane cabins, and policies on aid to wheelchair users on airlines?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(15 May 2003)

The Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a regulation on ‘passengers rights and obligations in
international rail services’ and has recently published a consultation document which includes a number of
proposed services for persons with reduced mobility (PRM). These include information which should be
made available in an appropriate way for all PRM, including blind and deaf people, training of staff to deal
with the needs of PRM, and consultation of passenger organisations in the provision of suitable services, in
particular those associations connected with PRM. The consultation document and the replies received by
stakeholders can be found at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/rail/passenger/initiative_en.htm. The
specific situation regarding the ‘Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer français (SNCF)’, as well as other rail
transport operators with regard to the situation of guide dogs, remains the responsibility of the national or
regional authorities concerned.

Specific requirements for accessibility to buses are contained in the Directive relating to special provisions
for ‘vehicles for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats’ (1). In addition to setting
down the technical specifications for ramps or lifts in these vehicles, the Directive also includes provisions
which require priority seating for persons with reduced mobility, a designated area for wheelchairs, space
for a guide dog, and colour contrasting for visually impaired passengers.

With regard to air transport operators, the Commission’s recent amended proposal (2) for a Regulation
establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to air passengers includes an article which
stipulates that an ‘operator shall not deny boarding to a person with reduced mobility,
to an
accompanying person or certified service dog, or to an unaccompanied child’ (Article 6). More generally,
the European Civil Aviation Conference has adopted guidelines on facilitating the transport of persons
with reduced mobility. These recommendations cover, among other things, information for passengers,
assistance in proceeding from both the point of arrival at the airport to the aircraft and from the aircraft to
the point of departure from the airport, assistance in embarking and disembarking, and the carriage of
guide dogs inside the aircraft cabin. The Commission intends to propose legislation to guarantee certain
rights of persons with reduced mobility towards the end of 2003.

(1) Directive 2001/85/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2001 relating to special provisions for
vehicles used for the carriage of passengers comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, and
amending Directive 70/156/EEC and 97/27/EC, OJ L 42, 13.2.2002.

(2) OJ C 71 E, 25.3.2003.