Commission staff working document - Accompanying document to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the enforcement of consumer protection laws - Summary of the impact assessment {COM(2008) 817 final} {SEC(2008) 2953}
Date: 2008-12-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: bus, carriage of passengers, consumer protection, public transport, single market, transport accident, transport policy, transport safety

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 4.12.2008 
SEC(2008) 2954 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Accompanying document to the 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport and amending Regulation (EC) 
No 2006/2004 on cooperation between national authorities responsible for the 
enforcement of consumer protection laws 

SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

{COM(2008) 817 final} 
{SEC(2008) 2953} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

2. 

Procedural issues and consultation of interested parties .............................................. 3 

1.1. Purpose.................................................................................................................. 3 

1.2. Consultation and expertise .................................................................................... 3 

Problem definition........................................................................................................ 3 

2.1. 

Project background....................................................................................................... 3 

What are the main problems identified ...................................................................................... 4 

3. 

4. 

5. 

OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 5 

POLICY OPTIONS ..................................................................................................... 5 

ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACTS................................................................................. 5 

5.1. 

Economic impacts ........................................................................................................ 5 

5.1.1.  Option 1 No policy option............................................................................................ 5 

5.1.2.  Option 2 – Standard protection scenario...................................................................... 5 

5.1.3.  Option 3.I - Enhanced protection scenario (only international)................................... 6 

5.1.4.  Option 3.II - Enhanced protection scenario (both international and domestic) ........... 7 

5.1.5.  Option 4 - Self-regulation scenario .............................................................................. 7 

5.2. 

Social impacts .............................................................................................................. 7 

5.2.1.  Option 1........................................................................................................................ 7 

5.2.2.  Option 2........................................................................................................................ 7 

5.2.3.  Option 3.I ..................................................................................................................... 7 

5.2.4.  Option 3.II .................................................................................................................... 7 

5.2.5.  Option 4........................................................................................................................ 7 

5.3. 

5.4. 

5.5. 

5.6. 

6. 

Environmental impacts................................................................................................. 8 

Value added to the EU ................................................................................................. 8 

Impact on SMEs........................................................................................................... 8 

Administrative costs..................................................................................................... 8 

Key Conclusions of the Impact Assessment ................................................................ 8 

EN 

2 

   EN 

1. 

PROCEDURAL ISSUES AND CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES 

1.1. 

Purpose 

This  impact  assessment  has  been  prepared  with  a  view  to  examining  the  necessity  for  and 
desirability  of  establishing  and/or  extending  legislation  granting  rights  to  passengers  in  the 
international bus and coach sector. It focuses in particular on the three main areas of concern 
highlighted by the Commission in its policy documents, namely 1) the rights of persons with 
reduced  mobility;  2)  liability  issues  (insurance  system  in  the  event  of  death  or  injury);  3) 
compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of delay or cancellation. 

The  Impact  Assessment  was  submitted  to  the  Impact  Assessment  Board  that  issued  its 
opinions on 7 November 2007 and 7 May 2008 in which it suggested necessary modifications 
and improvements of the document.  

1.2. 

Consultation and expertise 

Before  drafting  the  legislative  proposals  and  the  present  report,  a  public  consultation  was 
conducted  in  order  to  gather  as  many  comments  and  suggestions  as  possible  from  the 
individuals  and  bodies  concerned.  In  July  2005  the  Commission  launched  a  public 
consultation  based  on  the  Commission  Staff  Working  Paper  “Rights  of  Passengers  in 
International  Bus  and  Coach  Transport”.  The  Commission  received  57  responses  to  the 
working paper from: Member State governments (14), European organisations (12), national 
organisations  (20),  companies  (9)  and  other  contributors  (2).  The  contributions  received 
revealed  a  clear  division  between  bus  and  coach  operators  and  their  associations  and 
federations  on  the  one  hand  and  consumer  associations  on  the  other.  As  a  general  rule,  bus 
and  coach  operators  see  no  need  -  or  only  a  very  limited  need  -  for  regulation  at  EU  level, 
whereas consumer associations call for extensive rights for passengers. However, very clear 
concerns  were  also  expressed  regarding  the  economic  and  organisational  pattern  of  this 
industry,  and  there  was  no  unanimity  about  the  scope  of  regulation  and  the  inclusion  or 
exclusion of particular types of service, in particular local and regional services. 

2. 

PROBLEM DEFINITION 

2.1. 

Project background 

Over the last thirty years, the phenomenon of passenger mobility has increased considerably. 
In  fact,  since  the  1970s  it  has  doubled.  This  trend  is  due  to  several  factors,  but  three  in 
particular  stand  out:  namely  economic  growth,  lower  travel  costs  and  progress  towards  a 
“European area without internal frontiers”1. However, liberalisation of transport services and 
the  growth  in  travel  have  not  always  been  accompanied  by  adequate  measures  to  protect 
passenger rights. As their numbers have increased, passengers have faced difficult situations, 
including cancellations, overbooking, loss of luggage and delays. Bus and coach passengers, 
in  particular,  still  do  not  enjoy  the  same  passenger  rights  as  for  other  modes  of  transport, 
especially air transport. Coach passenger rights are not yet covered by Community legislation, 
and customers therefore have to rely on national liability schemes, fair trading legislation and 
voluntary customer care commitments by operators. In contrast to other modes there are few 

1 

Article 2 of the European Union Treaty. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

                                                 
international  agreements  concerning  passenger  rights  in  bus  and  coach  transport  that  are 
binding on Member States. 

What are the main problems identified 

This  mode  of  transport  exhibits  a  number  of  distinctive  features  which  affect  both  the 
operators and passengers. 

Unequal footing with other modes of transport 

Passengers  in  other  modes  of  transport,  particularly  air  passengers,  already  enjoy  a  set  of 
rights established at Community level providing for adequate protection in cases where their 
journey  is  interrupted  (liability  of  operator  for  death  /injury/lost  and  damaged  baggage; 
compensation/assistance in the event of cancellation/delays/denied boarding). 

Fragmentation of legislation 

Protection of bus and coach passengers varies from one Member State to another. Passengers 
have to rely on national liability schemes, fair trading legislation and voluntary customer care 
commitments by operators. Operators in some countries have developed extensive voluntary 
agreements  including  appropriate  complaint  handling  and  dispute  resolution  mechanisms; 
however this is not a case for the majority of Member States.  

Atomized market 

The market is characterized by large number of enterprises providing bus and coach transport 
services  which  offer  different  levels  of  passenger  care  and  service  quality.  Passenger  care 
varies from one operator to another and depends largely on national legislation and voluntary 
agreements  that  enterprises  may  have  contracted.  In  many  instances,  this  state  of  affairs 
prevents passengers from making informed choices as to the level of service they are likely to 
receive. 

Persons with disabilities and ageing population 

In  general,  passengers  using  this  type  of  transport  tend  to  be  "vulnerable",  i.e.  on  low 
income/geographically isolated. However, availability of bus and coach services for persons 
with  disabilities  and  reduced  mobility  is  limited,  and  this  may  hamper  their  integration  into 
society.  

Insufficiency of the current legislative framework 

The  current  legislative  framework  creates  real  problems  for  international  and  domestic 
passengers. The cross-border problems need to be assessed primarily from the point of view 
of  the  passenger  undertaking  international  travel.  For  passengers,  there  are  big  differences 
between bus and coach industry. In the first place, these stem from national legislation, which 
differs  from  one  Member  State  to  another,  resulting  in  different  levels  of  passenger 
protection;  secondly,  bus  and  coach  transport  is  on  an  unequal  footing  with  other  modes  of 
transport,  notably  air  and  rail,  where  passengers  already  benefit  or  will  benefit  from  a  high 
and uniform level of protection. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

3. 

OBJECTIVES  

The main objectives of establishing the rights of  passengers are underpinned by the  general 
objectives  of  the  European  Union  in  terms  of  a  high  level  of  customer  protection,  social 
inclusion  of  different  social  groups  and  ensuring  the  movement  of  persons  within  the 
European Union.  

4. 

POLICY OPTIONS 

Option 1 "No policy option" - No EU action, so the status quo remains intact; i.e. differing 
levels of protection of bus and coach passengers in the Member States continue to exist. 

Option  2  "Standard  protection  scenario"  -  Community  legal  act  establishing  a  general 
framework  laying  down  only  minimum  rules  of  protection  and,  where  appropriate, 
consolidating/amending and/or simplifying any existing Community or national legislation. 

Option 3 "Enhanced protection scenario" - Community legal act establishing rights of bus and 
coach  passengers  in  international  transport.  Option  3.I:  international  transport  only.  Option 
3.II: both long-distance domestic and international transport. 

Option 4 "Self regulation scenario" - Scenario in which the bus and coach operators develop 
and adopt voluntary EU-wide/domestic self-regulation measures with regard to rights of bus 
and coach passengers 

5. 

ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACTS 

In order to assess the economic, environmental and social impact of the proposed measures to 
enforce  passengers’  rights,  an  evaluation  will  be  made  of  the  impact  resulting  from  each 
proposed measure. 

5.1. 

Economic impacts 

5.1.1.  Option 1 No policy option 

This option basically maintains the status quo in the sector, and therefore will not have any 
additional  impact  on  it.  Thus,  no  new  economic,  social  or  environmental  impacts  can  be 
identified at this stage. Passengers would have to continue to rely on national legislation and 
voluntary schemes developed by the operators. 

5.1.2.  Option 2 – Standard protection scenario 

Liability of operators in event of personal injury or baggage damages  

Additional  costs  that  carriers  may  incur,  are  related  to:  minimum  allowance  amounts, 
minimum insurance cover amounts, advance payments, legal procedures.  

Under  these  circumstances,  indemnity  values  per  se  are  not  expected  to  rise  significantly, 
even  if  EU  intervention  might  set  a  minimum  amount  for  indemnities  and  compensation.  It 
would  just  be  a  matter  of  fixing  a  common  economic  threshold,  on  the  basis  of  national 
experience and without conditions in the case of higher amounts. 

EN 

5 

   EN 

Disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility 

The  training  of  drivers  and  other  staff,  the  provision  of  information  and  similar  issues  will 
involve  other  additional  costs.  Although  it  is  difficult  to  give  an  estimate  of  such  costs,  it 
should be noted that all passengers have a common need for information and for trained staff. 
It  is  therefore  unlikely  that  the  cost  of  providing  for  the  needs  of  disabled  passengers  is 
greater than it would be for other passengers. 

Quality standard and information obligation 

It does not appear that the new measures will give rise to any particular additional costs to the 
operators.  

5.1.3.  Option 3.I - Enhanced protection scenario (only international) 

Liability of operators in event of personal injury or baggage damages  

The effects are the same as those analyzed in option 2. Additional impact is related to advance 
payments.Under  these  circumstances;  transport  operators  are  likely  to  look  for  appropriate 
insurance  schemes  to  cover  the  risk  related  to  events  for  which  advance  payment  is  due. 
However, given the limited number of such events and the supposed value of these advance 
payments2, the premiums are expected to be very small. 

Disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility 

The capital costs of providing wheelchair access at the build stage are estimated to increase 
the purchase cost of a coach by 8 to10% (about €19,150) 3. This is for the cost and installation 
of  a  lift  at  the  vehicle  build  stage,  plus  any  extra  door  or  vehicle  structural  adjustments, 
together  with  the  relatively  minor  costs  of  equipping  the  wheelchair  space  with  restraint 
systems  and  any  other  facilities.  Other  operating  costs  will  arise  from  lift  maintenance  and 
removing and replacing seats. 

The provision of fully accessible coaches can be expected to lead to an increase in the number 
of  disabled  people,  including  wheelchair  passengers,  using  coach  services.  The  additional 
revenue for domestic and international services due to increase in travel by wheelchair users 
alone are expected to be 0,5% corresponding to about 55,72 million Euro per year. Whilst the 
additional revenues for international services only are estimated to be 8,14 million Euro per 
year. 

Additional  cost  to  be  borne  by  the  coach  operators  are  estimated  to  amount  to  2,7%  of  the 
total industry revenue for the two considered services. The additional revenue (0.5% based on 
wheelchair users alone) would reduce this loss to approximately 2,2%.  

Compensation and assistance in case of cancellations, delays 

The cost of compensating and assisting passengers should not be excessive, although this is 
hard to predict. Nevertheless, the effects on revenue and profits should not be significant and 

2 

3 

In the case of rail transport the advance payment in the in the event of death is never less than 21.000 
EUR.  
These  data  come  from  several  sources  reported  in  COST  349  Report,  including  Regione  Piemonte 
grants, coach manufacturers, UK data etc. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

                                                 
also  the  impact  on  the  competitiveness  of  Community  companies  should  be  slight,  as  all 
operators involved in the sector would be covered. 

Quality of service and information obligation 

The effects are the same as those analyzed in option 2. 

5.1.4.  Option 3.II - Enhanced protection scenario (both international and domestic) 

The  option  3.II  has  the  same  subject-matter  as  option  3.I  however  its  scope  is  extended  to 
domestic long distance services thus more operators/routes will be covered. 

5.1.5.  Option 4 - Self-regulation scenario 

Under this option, the EU will promote a common soft-law framework based on best practices 
to persuade bus and coach operators to develop and adopt voluntary EU-wide/domestic self-
regulatory measures with regard to the rights of bus and coach passengers. At this stage, it is 
difficult to compare this option against the others in terms of expected economic impact, since 
it is not possible on the basis of the available literature to make a reliable quantified estimate 
of the extent to which operators are complying with voluntary agreements. 

5.2. 

Social impacts 

5.2.1.  Option 1 

No new social impacts are expected with option 1. 

5.2.2.  Option 2 

Passengers making bus and coach journeys will benefit if service quality is improved. They 
will  also  receive  assistance  if  they  experience  inconvenience  during  the  journey.  Disabled 
passengers will also receive more assistance than they currently do. Thanks to the proposed 
measures it will be possible to achieve an important social objective, namely that persons with 
reduced mobility enjoy comparable opportunities for road transport.  

5.2.3.  Option 3.I 

The provision of fully accessible coaches can be expected to lead to an increase in the number 
of  disabled  people,  including  wheelchair  passengers,  using  the  coach  services.  However,  a 
modest increase in the number of trips, due to wheelchair users alone, is not likely to lead to 
an  increase  in  number  of  services  by  the  operators.  Therefore,  impacts  on  the  level  of 
employment of the coach industry are not expected. 

5.2.4.  Option 3.II 

The impact of the measures under option  3.II may be greater than under  option  3.I because 
these measures could be extended to include long-distance domestic bus and coach services. .  

5.2.5.  Option 4 

Under  this  option  the  EU  will  promote  a  common  "soft-law"  framework  based  on  best 
practices  to  get  bus  and  coach  operators  to  develop  and  adopt  voluntary  EU-wide/domestic 
self-regulatory measures with regard to the rights of bus and coach passengers. At this stage it 

EN 

7 

   EN 

is difficult to compare this option against the others in terms of expected social impact, since 
it is not possible on the basis of the available literature to make a reliable quantified estimate 
of the degree to which operators comply with voluntary agreements. 

5.3. 

Environmental impacts 

Not  all  of  the  options  under  consideration  are  directly  related  to  environmental  issues. 
However, these measures may involve increases or decreases in passenger transport demand 
and  therefore  the  possibility  of  a  modal  shift  that  could  have  some  environmental  impacts, 
which is difficult to assess. 

5.4. 

Value added to the EU 

In  principle,  option  1  will  not  alter  the  existing  situation,  and  therefore  represents  no  value 
added  for  EU  citizens.  While  the  implementation  of  option  4  may  reflect  current 
developments in the bus and coach market, it is not possible to fully ascertain the value added 
of  this  approach  since  the  number  of  voluntary  agreements  is  quite  limited  and  they  are 
inconsistently  applied  across  the  EU.  The  involvement  of  EU  institutions  in  encouraging 
economic  operators  to  adopt  self-regulatory  schemes  may  bring  positive  results  in  the  long 
term.  Option  2  and  3  would  have  significant  impact  in  terms  of  increased  accessibility  of 
services  for  disabled  persons  and  persons  with  reduced  mobility,  revenues  of  the  tourism 
industry and strengthening of consumer rights in the EU. 

5.5. 

Impact on SMEs 

Given the structure of the bus and coach industry the measures proposed will have an impact 
on small and medium size enterprises. Options 1 and 4 would not create any new burden for 
small  and  medium  sized  enterprises.  While  option  2  would  generate  quite  modest  costs 
(liability issues, assistance) the impact of option 3 would be significant with regard to the cost 
of a fleet of vehicles available to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility. 

5.6. 

Administrative costs 

Options  1  and  4  would  not  generate  any  additional  administrative  cost,  but  options  2  and  3 
may  have  some  financial  implications.  However,  at  this  stage  the  administrative  costs  of 
implementing  the  provisions  on  enforcement  of  passenger  rights  can  be  quantified  on  the 
basis of the work of national enforcement bodies under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. It is 
estimated  that  the  designated  national  enforcement  bodies  will  have  to  employ  7  Full  Time 
Equivalents to handle the complaints related to the international bus and coach services.  

6. 

KEY CONCLUSIONS OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT 

This  chapter  indicates  optimal  policy  options  in  view  of  achieving  the  objectives  of  a 
legislative act. It contains a concise comparison of available options with regards to the main 
policy objectives as defined in Chapter 2 of the document. 

Principle  of  non-discrimination  and  assistance  to  disabled  people  and  with  reduced 
mobility 

The optimal policy option is the Standard protection scenario whereas domestic services are 
also covered. The choice of the best option has been influenced by two main issues, namely 

EN 

8 

   EN 

trade-off  between  the  assertion  of  passenger  rights  and  increasing  costs.  Bus  and  coach 
passengers are "price-sensitive" customers and an increase in fares may cause a modal shift to 
low cost airlines, cars and railways. 

Principle of liability of operators in the event of death or injury of passengers 

The  optimum  policy  option  is  the  Enhanced  protection  scenario  (both  domestic  and 
international  transport).  Option  3.II  is  seen  as  the  best  option  because  it  will  increase 
protection  of  passengers’  rights  (both  domestic  and  international)  and  will  establish  the 
responsibility  of  the  operators  at  EU  level,  with  only  a  moderate  impact  on  the  costs  to  the 
operators.  Option  3.I  would  solve  problems  of  legal  differences  between  Member  States  on 
the  issue  of  international  services,  but  it  could  also  open  up  some  issues  regarding 
discrimination between domestic and international passengers. In fact, since there are few if 
any national laws at the present time, the EU provisions would  mean that national journeys 
would  benefit  from  less  protection  than  European  ones:  this  difficulty  might  be  overcome 
simply by including domestic transport in the scope of the provisions (Option 3.II). 

Quality  standards  /  information  obligations  /  compensation  and  assistance  in  case  of 
cancellations, delays 

The  optimal  policy  option  is  the  Standard  protection  scenario  combined  with  aspects  of  the 
self-regulatory  option.  Option  2  (Standard  protection  scenario)  would  be  preferable  because 
sufficient  protection  of  passengers  guaranteed  by  legislation  will  also  encourage  bus  and 
coach  transport  operators  to  offer  better  services  without  raising  fares.  The  Commission 
should  encourage  European  bus  and  coach  enterprises  to  draw  up  appropriate  quality 
standards and develop good practices. 

EN 

9 

   EN