COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the documents Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EC) No 261/2004, (EC) No 1107/2006, (EU) No 1177/2010, (EU) No 181/2011 and (EU) 2021/782 as regards enforcement of passenger rights in the Union Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on passenger rights in the context of multimodal journeys
Date: 2023-11-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: air transport, bus, carriage of passengers, combined transport, consumer information, disabled person, indemnification, inland waterway transport, maritime transport, passenger rights, rail transport

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.11.2023  SWD(2023) 387 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the documents Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EC) No 261/2004, (EC) No 1107/2006, (EU) No 1177/2010, (EU) No 181/2011 and (EU) 2021/782 as regards enforcement of passenger rights in the Union  Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on passenger rights in the context of multimodal journeys                   {COM(2023) 752 final} - {SEC(2023) 392 final} - {SWD(2023) 386 final} - {SWD(2023) 389 final}  
 
 
A. Need for action 

What is the problem and why is it a problem at EU level?  

Passenger rights apply to a growing market of around 13.4 billion passengers who perform 107 million 
journeys every year by using public transport. These rights protect passengers prior, during and after 
their  journey,  and  are  at  the  heart  of  the  EU  transport  and  consumer  policy;  they  have  become  a 
flagship initiative of the Union.  

The passenger rights framework consists of five different EU Regulations for air (2), rail, waterborne 
and  bus  and  coach  transport.  Their  implementation  has  led  to  a  significant  improvement  of  the 
protection  of  passengers  in  the  last  twenty  years.  However,  despite  the  substantial  progress  made, 
including  the  recast  of  the  rail  Regulation  in  2021,  major  challenges  remain.  First,  passengers  in  all 
modes  of  transport  do  not  fully  benefit  from  their  rights  due  to  shortcomings  in  their  implementation 
and  enforcement.  Second,  the  current  legal  framework  does  not  provide  protection  to  passengers 
undertaking  a  multimodal  journey.  Third,  as  observed  during  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  the 
reimbursement rules for air tickets are unclear when flights were booked via an intermediary.  

What should be achieved?  

This initiative seeks to ensure the proper functioning of the single market for passenger transport and 
to achieve a high level of consumer protection for passengers when travelling. To this end, its specific 
objectives are to: 1) ensure effective and efficient enforcement  of passenger rights legislation  across 
Member States, 2) ensure an effective complaint handling for passengers, 3) increase the protection 
of  passengers  facing  travel  disruptions  in  the  context  of  multimodal  journeys,  4)  increase  the 
information for and assistance of persons with disabilities or reduced mobility (PRM) when switching 
between transport modes, and 5) ensure a clear reimbursement process when air passengers booked 
via an intermediary. 

What is the value added of action at the EU level (subsidiarity)?  

Passengers  must  be  able  to  assert  their  rights  in  the  same  manner  and  to  benefit  from  the  same 
protection  in  the  European  Union,  regardless  of  the  Member  State  where  they  travel.  For  these 
reasons, the problems mentioned above need action at EU level. On the other hand, the enforcement 
and monitoring of the application are tasks of the Member State. 

B. Solutions 

What are the various options to achieve objectives? Is there a preferred option or not? If not, 
why?  
Three  sets  of  policy  options  (PO1,  PO2,  PO3)  have  been  assessed  in  the  context  of  this  Impact 
Assessment. Each set of options proposes solutions to one of the three identified problems but varies 
in terms of the scope of actions envisaged at EU level.  

Options PO1.1 and PO1.2 focus on solutions to shortcomings in the implementation and enforcement 
of the existing passenger rights regulatory framework. PO1.1 aims to ensure the harmonisation of key 
existing rules in this area based especially on measures included in the new rail Regulation which has 
entered into force in June 2023. PO1.2 builds on PO1.1 and aims to the strengthening of compliance.  

Options  PO2.1,  PO2.2  and  PO2.3  address  issues  relating  to  the  level  of  protection  of  passengers 
undertaking  a  multimodal  journey,  including  PRM,  by  mirroring  measures  which  have  already  been 
implemented under the existing Regulations for travels with a single mode. Policy measures take into 
account  several  multimodal  ticket  categories,  i.e.  single  contracts  of  carriage  offered  by  a  carrier 
(category A), separate tickets bundled by intermediaries (category B) and separate tickets purchased 
by  passengers  separately  on  their  own  initiative  (category  C).  PO2.1  provides  passengers  a  basic 
level  of  protection  to  ensure  that  they  receive  minimum  information  and  assistance,  in  particular  for 
passengers  with  a  single  contract  of  carriage  (category  A).  PO2.2  provides  a  more  comprehensive 
level  of  protection  than  PO2.1:  passengers  (category  A  and  B)  should  get  real-time  information  on 
disruptions and possible next connections. In addition, the assistance of PRM when switching between 
modes  would  become  more  efficient  and  comprehensive  with  the  introduction  of  “Single  Points  of 
Contact”  at  multimodal  hubs.  PO2.3  introduces  a  further  level  of  protection  by  adding  an  additional 
right  to  passengers  having  a  single  contract  of  carriage  (category  A)  to  conclude  an  alternative 
transport contract where they miss a connection.  

Options  PO3.1,  PO3.2  and  PO3.3  address  unclear  rules  related  to  the  reimbursement  of  air  tickets 

1 

 
booked  via  an  intermediary.  They  include  obligations  on  carriers  and  intermediaries  to  inform 
passengers  about  the  reimbursement  process,  and  to  provide  means  of  contact  to  the  passenger. 
Under PO3.1, passengers may only request the reimbursement from the carrier and the intermediary 
is  not  part  of  the  reimbursement  processing;  intermediaries  must  enable  passengers  to  do  so,  by 
providing them with the necessary data. Under PO3.2 the carrier can decide whether passengers have 
to request the reimbursement from the intermediary or the carrier, while PO3.3 allows passengers to 
choose between reimbursement via the intermediary or to the carrier. 

The preferred policy package combines policy options PO1.2, PO2.2 and PO3.2. 

What are different stakeholders' views? Who supports which option?  
Stakeholders agree in general with the relevance of the problems identified as well as the objectives.  

As regards PO1, many  national enforcement  bodies (NEBs), carriers and terminal operators support 
PO1.1,  as  it  does  not  include  obligations  on  risk  assessments  and  passenger  rights  awareness 
programs for these stakeholders.  PO1.2  is supported by  consumer organisations  as the option goes 
further  on  obligations  for  carriers  and  terminal  operators  to  provide  passengers  with  information  on 
their rights. Well performing NEBs, carriers, terminal operators and intermediaries also support PO1.2, 
as  it  ensures  that  the  NEBs  monitoring,  and  enforcement  activities  are  more  transparent  and 
predictable.   

As  regards  PO2,  consumer  associations  support  PO2.3,  as  it  would  entail  a  high  protection  of 
consumers.  Carriers  and  intermediaries  rather  support  PO2.1  in  view  of  the  current  level  of 
development of the multimodal ticketing market. NEBs are more favourable to PO2.2. 

As  regards  PO3,  airlines  and  intermediaries  support  PO3.2;  a  European  passenger  association  also 
supports  PO3.2.  A  European  consumer  association  would  possibly  prefer  PO3.3,  but  also  be 
favourable  towards  PO3.2  because  the  passenger  can  always  approach  the  carrier  as  a  last  resort 
(when the intermediary does not pay within the deadline). NEBs support PO3.1.  

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise of main ones)?                                       

The general  objective  of this intervention is to ensure the  proper  functioning of the single market for 
passenger transport and to achieve a high level of consumer protection for passengers when travelling 
within  one  mode  or  when  switching  modes  during  their  journey  by  enabling  passengers,  carriers, 
intermediaries and (especially for PRM) terminal operators and national administrations in an efficient 
and effective manner to apply and enforce these rights. 

The  benefits  of  the  preferred  policy  package  are  expected  to  fall  on  different  stakeholders'  groups, 
namely:  carriers,  intermediary  ticket  vendors,  terminal  operators,  national  enforcement  bodies  and 
passengers.  

Passengers:  the  ultimate  beneficiaries  of  this  initiative  are  the  passengers  whose  awareness  about 
their  rights  is  expected  to  increase  because  of  the  action  of  carriers,  terminal  managers,  and 
enforcement  authorities.  In  addition,  passengers  (including  PRM)  would  enjoy  more  rights  to 
information  and  assistance  when  performing  a  multimodal  journey,  and  would  benefit  from  easy 
reimbursement  of  air  tickets.  Total  benefits  for  passengers  are  estimated  at  EUR  2,187  million, 
expressed  as  present  value  over  2025-2050  relative  to  the  baseline,  of  which  EUR  2,165.3  million 
correspond to hassle costs savings. Hassle costs savings are driven by the time saved thanks to: the 
higher clarity on the reimbursement  procedure (EUR  1,679.1 million), the Single Point of Contact for 
PRMs  (EUR  277.3  million),  the  use  of  an  EU-wide  standardised  form  for  reimbursements  and 
compensation  requests  (EUR  147  million),  the  complaint-handling  mechanism  for  multimodal 
passengers  (EUR  43.3  million)  and  the  assistance  for  PRM  passengers  travelling  under  category  A 
multimodal tickets (EUR 18.6 million). In addition, passengers benefit of assistance rights in the event 
of a missed connection during a  multimodal journey (in particular the right to reimbursement and re-
routing  as  well  as  a  right  to  care  in  the  form  of  e.g.  refreshments,  meals  and  accommodation), 
estimated  at  EUR  20.1  million,  and  of  the  use  of  the  cheaper  option  of  an  Alternative  Dispute 
Resolution (ADR) body, estimated at EUR 1.6 million. 

Carriers:  will  benefit  from  quicker  and  more  efficient  procedures,  increased  transparency  about  the 
compliance  of  operators,  B2B  rules  with  air  travel  intermediaries  when  processing  reimbursements 
together with them, competitive advantage thanks to their good reputation, coordinated investigations 
across borders, effective cooperation between NEBs and ADR bodies. They will indirectly benefit from 

2 

 
clearer  rules  on  liability  in  the  context  of  multimodal  travel,  as  well  as  from  the  publishing  for  risk 
assessments,  as  it  will  level  the  industry  playing  field  across  Member  States  and  makes  monitoring 
factors more transparent. In addition, hassle costs savings for carriers due to the complaint-handling 
mechanism for multimodal passengers are estimated at EUR 35.3 million, expressed as present value 
over 2025-2050 relative to the baseline.  

Intermediaries: will benefit from an official role in the reimbursement process of air tickets booked via 
them - if the carrier so decides and they agree to this. Intermediaries may also indirectly benefit from 
clearer  liability  rules  in  the  context  of  multimodal  travel,  in  particular  where  they  properly  inform 
passengers  on  the  separate  nature  of  the  transport  tickets  that  these  intermediaries  have  combined 
and sold for a given multimodal journey. In addition, hassle costs savings for intermediaries due to the 
complaint-handling mechanism for multimodal passengers are estimated at EUR 24 million, expressed 
as present value over 2025-2050 relative to the baseline. 

National  public  authorities:  recurrent  enforcement  costs  savings  for  national  public  authorities  are 
estimated  at  EUR  5.9  million,  expressed  as  present  value  over  2025-2050  relative  to  the  baseline. 
Costs  savings  are  due  to  an  easier  way  to  evaluate  compliance  for  carriers  and  terminal  operators, 
without  having  to  do  more  in  depth  and  costly  monitoring  activities,  the  use  of  standard  claim  forms 
which easy monitoring activities and the expected decrease in the number of court cases. In addition, 
they  are  expected  to  experience  hassle  costs  saving  due  to  the  complaint-handling  mechanism  for 
multimodal passengers (EUR 71.4 million, expressed as present value over 2025-2050 relative to the 
baseline). 

The  total  benefits  of  the  preferred  policy  option  are  estimated  at  EUR  2,323.6  million  relative  to  the 
baseline, expressed as present value over 2025-2050.  

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise of main ones)?  

The total costs of the preferred policy package are estimated at EUR  575.2 million in addition to the 
baseline over the period 2025 to 2050, expressed as present value. 

For  carriers,  total  costs  are  estimated  at  EUR  144.5  million  expressed  as  present  value  over  2025-
2050  relative  to  the  baseline,  of  which  EUR  51.2  million  adjustment  costs  and  EUR  93.3  million 
administrative costs. The largest share of adjustment costs is driven by the right to reimbursement or 
re-routing, the right to care and the right to PRM assistance for passengers having a single contract of 
carriage  (category  A),  and  by  the  the  need  to  put  in  place  the  system  for  providing  real-time 
information  to  passengers  for  multimodal  ticket  categories  A  (single  contracts  of  carriage)  and  B 
(separate  tickets  bundled  by  intermediaries).  The  administrative  costs  are  largely  driven  by  the 
requirement  to  report,  following  the  set  up  of  service  quality  standards  and  a  quality  management 
system. 

For terminal operators, total costs are estimated at EUR 321.9 million expressed as present value over 
2025-2050 relative to the baseline, of which EUR 319.5 million adjustment costs and EUR 2.3 million 
administrative  costs.  The  requirement  to  establish  a  “Single  Points  of  Contact”  (SPC)  for  PRM  at 
multimodal  hubs  makes  up  a  large  part  of  the  adjustment  costs  (EUR  316.5  million),  while  the 
administrative costs are driven by the requirement to report on results, following the set up of service 
quality standards and a quality management system.  

For  intermediaries,  total  costs  are  estimated  at  EUR  75.2  million,  of  which  EUR  17.8  million 
adjustment  costs  and  EUR  57.5  million  administrative  costs.  The  administrative  costs  are  mainly 
driven  by  the  need  to  change  the  information  systems,  to  inform  passengers  on  the  reimbursement 
process. Claim agencies may experience losses, estimated at EUR 1.6 million, due to the use of the 
cheaper option of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body. 

For national public authorities, total costs are estimated at EUR 32 million, of which EUR 30.6 million 
enforcement costs, EUR 1.4 million administrative costs and EUR 0.02 million adjustment costs.  

What are the impacts on SMEs and competitiveness?  

The impacts of the preferred policy package will affect larger and smaller enterprises, with SMEs also 
likely to experience a significant impact due to their size and resource limitations. This is especially the 
case  with  intermediary  ticket  vendors  and  small  transport  operators  such  as  bus  and  coach  and 
waterborne  operators.  In  this  context,  an  SME  exemption  has  been  included  for  a  policy  measure 
bearing  particularly  large  costs  for  SMEs  (i.e.  providing  real-time  information  to  passengers  for 
multimodal  ticket  categories  A  (single  contracts  of  carriage)  and  B  (separate  tickets  bundled  by 

3 

 
 
intermediaries)).  

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  
The  preferred  policy  package  makes  it  possible  to  implement  and  enforce  passenger  rights  better, 
making  the  work  of  the  national  authorities  more  efficient.  Raising  awareness  of  passengers  about 
their  possibility  of  submitting  reimbursement  and  compensation  claims  to  an  Alternative  Dispute 
Resolution (ADR) body will save administrative costs for courts, due to decreased litigation acts, and 
thereby  a  decrease  in  litigation  costs.  The  total  costs  for  national  public  authorities  are  estimated  at 
EUR  32  million,  while  the  costs  savings  at  EUR  77.3  million,  leading  to  net  benefits  of  EUR  45.3 
million, expressed as present value over 2025-2050 relative to the baseline.  

Will there be other significant impacts?  
The preferred  policy  package  will result  in some social  impacts: while impact  on employment will be 
marginal,  benefits  related  to  fundamental  rights  would  materialise  in  a  higher  level  of  consumer 
protection, including for PRMs (e.g. establishment of Single Points of Contact for PRMs at multimodal 
hubs). The preferred policy package is also expected to have some positive environmental impacts; it 
will  make  mobility  with  collective  transport  solutions  more  attractive  and  may  contribute  to  people 
choosing to use individual cars less, which may have a positive impact in terms of reducing CO2 and 
other pollutant emissions, as well as on congestion.  

Proportionality 
The preferred policy package does not exceed what is necessary to reach the overall policy objective 
to  ensure  the  proper  functioning  of  the  single  market  for  passenger  transport  and  to  achieve  a  high 
level of consumer protection for passengers when travelling.  

D. Follow up 

When will the policy be reviewed?  
The policy will be reviewed after an adequate period of time following the proposal’s adoption. Policy 
measures  will  require  time  to  take  effect  and  to  generate  impacts;  the  Commission  will  have  a  solid 
base to monitor an effective implementation through the enforcement and reporting by NEBs. Unless 
implementation issues occur, this will not be less than 5 years after the legislation comes into force. 

4