COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport
Date: 2021-12-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: bus, consumer protection, disabled person, equal treatment, indemnification, passenger rights, public transport, transport safety, transport user

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 10.12.2021  SWD(2021) 416 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  of Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport {SWD(2021) 415 final}  
 
 
Introduction 

Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport 
(‘the Regulation’) was adopted under the EU framework for passenger rights to ensure a level 
playing  field  for  bus  and  coach  operators  in  the  EU,  and  a  European  standard  of  passenger 
protection. The Regulation introduced new protections for passengers and created obligations 
for  carriers,  terminal  managing  bodies,  travel  agents,  tour  operators  and  Member  State 
authorities. It started to apply eight years ago (1 March 2013).  

The possibility of exemptions, which was provided for in the Regulation up to 1 March 2021, 
limited  the  application  of  important  provisions  until  recently.  In  2018,  some  200  million 
passengers (from among 2.7 billion bus and coach passengers annually) used bus and coach 
services  for  a  distance  of  250 km  or  more  and  fully  benefited  from  the  Regulation.  In  line 
with  the  Commission’s  better  regulation  guidelines  and  the  recent  ‘Sustainable  and  Smart 
Mobility Strategy’ a full evaluation of the Regulation is now appropriate. 

Purpose and scope of the evaluation  

The purpose of the ex post evaluation was to provide an insight into how the Regulation was 
applied,  assess  whether  it  has  achieve  its  intended  aims,  and  determine  its  overall  intended 
and unintended impacts. The evaluation, which began in July 2019, is based on the collection 
and  detailed  analysis  of  published  pan-European  data  covering  the  2013-2018  period,  and 
information from interest groups and other industry sources. Its scope covers the period from 
1 March 2013 until the start of the evaluation support study in February 2020. The findings of 
the evaluation therefore cannot consider the impact of COVID-19, although, where available, 
clear  tendencies  and  stakeholder  opinions  are  reflected  in  it.  The  geographic  scope 
encompasses 27 EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. 

Main findings 

Effectiveness – Analysis of the progress made towards achieving the objectives  

Many  stakeholders welcomed the  consistent framework of rights  established across the EU. 
However,  there  remain  gaps  in  the  Regulation  that  undermine  its  effectiveness,  e.g.  a  low 
level  of  passenger  awareness  of  their  rights;  limited  protection  for  services  involving 
distances  of  less  than  250 km;  delays  en  route  and  on  arrival  are  outside  the  Regulation’s 
scope;  liability  is  limited  for  damaged  or  lost  luggage,  etc.  A  number  of  issues  concern  the 
role of NEBs because Member States have taken different approaches in their national law to 
meet the Regulation’s requirements, the NEBs differ in how they enforce it - for example as 
regards  the  conduct  of  monitoring  activities  and  the  imposing  of  appropriate  sanctions. 
Sanctions are generally infrequent and for low amounts; the NEBs receive a limited number 
of  complaints  (on  average  1.5  complaints  per  million  passengers).  The  relatively  limited 
monitoring  and  enforcement  activities  performed  by  a  number  of  NEBs  also  influence  the 
effectiveness of the legal framework.  

The various approaches seen across Member States in the provision of assistance to persons 
with disabilities and reduced mobility (PRM) further reduce the Regulation’s effectiveness.  

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Efficiency – Costs and benefits of the EU intervention  

Owing to the limited availability of relevant data, quantification of the Regulation’s costs and 
benefits proved challenging. Many stakeholders had no firm view on whether the costs of the 
Regulation  were  proportionate  to  the  benefits,  and  their  views  varied  depending  on  the 
category of group involved. While passenger representatives’ views were mostly positive (net 
cost of the Regulation is estimated at an additional EUR 0.05 per passenger), carriers’ views 
were  mostly  negative.  However,  bus  and  coach  operators  did  not  call  for  lower  regulatory 
costs  at  this  stage.  The  individual  costs  and  workloads  of  NEBs  are  relatively  low  and  are 
largely  linked  to  the  very  small  number  of  complaints  received.  Operator  costs  are  more 
substantial,  but  in  the  consultation,  operators  did  not  make  strong  objections  about 
disproportionate costs.  

Relevance – The objectives of the intervention are still relevant today 

The  original  objectives  of  the  Regulation  remain  highly  relevant  and  broadly  correspond  to 
current passenger needs. The changes in the EU bus and coach market and the increased use 
of  digital  technology  had  a  substantial  impact  both  on  the  bus  and  coach  industry  and  on 
passengers’ experience. The evaluation identified the specific objectives of establishing basic 
quality standards, more consistent handling of complaints and effective monitoring as partly 
achieved by the Regulation. Overall, the issues identified at the time of the intervention would 
have  persisted  if  the  Regulation  had  not  been  adopted,  and  a  number  of  them  have  been 
addressed by the Regulation to a certain degree. 

Coherence – Internal and external coherence of the intervention    

In  terms  of  internal  coherence,  the  evaluation  identified  some  inconsistencies  in  the 
achievement  of  uniform,  high-level  protection,  hindered  by  the  scope  of  the  Regulation  as 
several  provisions  do  not  apply  to  services  below  the  250  km  distance  threshold  (including 
PRM passengers’ rights) or to occasional services. No major issues were identified in relation 
to other European policies and related acts (e.g. insurance against civil liability in respect of 
the  use  of  motor  vehicles,  competition  policy  and  EU  external  transport  policy).  A  few 
inconsistencies were identified with the Package Travel Directive concerning the protection of 
passengers on occasional services as well as passenger rights granted across transport modes.  

EU added value – Additional value resulting from EU interventions 

The  EU-wide  legislation  on  bus  and  coach  passenger  rights  resulted  in  added  value  by 
introducing  a  consistent  level  of  rights  for  passengers  throughout  the  EU;  such  rights  were 
very  limited  or  non-existent  in  most  Member  States  prior  to  the  introduction  of  the 
Regulation. As a result, passengers travelling by bus and coach benefit from greater protection 
and  have  more  confidence,  while  greater  awareness  of  PRM  needs  was  encouraged  among 
Member  States.  A  common  framework  of  enforcement  and  complaints  handling  was  also 
established.  However,  the  added  value  of  the  Regulation  has  been  constrained  by  the 
distinction  between  ‘basic’  and  ‘extended’  rights,  and  by  the  differences  identified  in 
complaints processes and enforcement mechanisms put in place across the EU.  

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