Scope:

Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport

Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 oconcerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air

Evaluation findings:

Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport

Many stakeholders welcomed the consistent framework of rights established across the EU. However, there remain gaps in the Regulation that undermine its effectiveness. Owing to the limited availability of relevant data, quantification of the Regulation’s costs and benefits proved challenging. The original objectives of the Regulation remain highly relevant and broadly correspond to current passenger needs. 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. 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.

Regulation (EU) No 1177/2010 concerning the rights of passengers when travelling by sea and inland waterway

The Regulation created an unprecedented legal framework for the protection of passengers travelling by sea and inland waterway across the EU. However, there are gaps that undermine its effectiveness, as several provisions of the Regulation are not clearly defined. The original objectives of the Regulation remain highly relevant and broadly correspond to the current needs of passengers. In terms of internal coherence, no major issues were identified. The Regulation resulted in added value by introducing a consistent level of rights for passengers throughout the EU.

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air

The mechanism designed to fund the provision of PRM assistance free of charge to passengers benefiting from it has worked efficiently. There was a consensus among the stakeholders who took part in the public consultation that the original objectives were relevant when the Regulation was adopted and that they remain highly relevant today, and broadly correspond to the current needs of passengers. The provisions of the Regulation are in general coherent and consistent with each other. The Regulation is also coherent with other EU legislation dealing with consumer rights and air transport, although there are sometimes inconsistencies between the different passenger rights regulations as regards provisions dealing with the same situations (e.g. pre-notification deadline, liability for loss or damage of mobility equipment) which might confuse PRM passengers. Because aviation is an industry dominated by cross-border services, passengers and operators derive added value from a coherent and single European framework of rights while airlines and airports benefit from a level playing field.

Estimated savings and benefits

In the evaluations and through interactions with industry and Member States, the Commission has identified several matters having potential for better implementation, enforcement and clarification. Improvement in these areas is expected to lead to cost improvements, more efficiency amongst stakeholders or better protection for passengers. The upcoming impact assessment will assess the different matters and estimate the savings and benefits for all the different identified matters.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The objective of the initiative is to maintain the EU acquis fit for purpose, through policy measures tackling problems that became particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative also aims to make the passenger rights framework more future-proof, in particular with regard to multimodal travel. The Commission will assess whether to adopt policy measures on the problem that air passengers do not have the rights they need or cannot enjoy their rights effectively in case their travel plans are disrupted, that there are no passenger rights in place to promote multi-modal journeys, and that passengers cannot enjoy their existing rights effectively, due to insufficiently effective and uniform enforcement across the EU.

The Commission is considering policy measures covering the following aspects:

• improved financial protection for air passengers against the risk of a liquidity crisis or an insolvency regarding the reimbursement of tickets and if needed their repatriation

• reimbursement of air passengers in case of a booking via an intermediary ticket vendor

• reimbursement in case of cancellation by air passengers in the event of major crisis such as a pandemic or a natural disaster

• passenger rights for multimodal journeys

• improved enforcement of passenger rights in all transport modes.

Another objective is to simplify the EU regulatory framework. For multimodal passenger rights and improved enforcement, the Commission foresees some alignments with provisions which already exist in the latest rail passenger rights Regulation (EU) 2021/782 or were proposed as part of the Commission Proposal of 2013 for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (COM(2013) 130 final). A greater number of harmonised provisions across modes would lead to a reduction in complexity of the legal framework, more streamlined obligations for stakeholders and facilitated compliance checks by Member State authorities.