CTP Seminar on harmonised rules and controls for international bus and coach transport

"As always, the Commission pushes for the greatest level of harmonisation possible. Our ambition always being to achieve single market goals, to increase competition and to improve Europe's competitiveness. We have tried to do this, and will continue to do this, in close cooperation with you, the stakeholders.”

"The specificity of the bus and coach industry is that the customer is always present during road-side checks. That is why, we need intelligent controls, that is to say controls that are quick and focus on the main items, so that the customer is not annoyed.“

“We are still not in the habit of exchanging information at the European level. Besides, the information that is collected differs from country to country and the structure of the data also differs… We need a common framework for controls and exchange of data between control authorities.”

“We have to cooperate with the road transport industry and the IRU to facilitate and enhance the travel of bona fide travelers.”

“What we need today first and foremost is a level playing field between transport modes. We believe the free movement of persons exists within the Schengen area. This is a fact for air or rail transport, but unfortunately it is not yet the case for regular bus and coach services across Europe… It often happens that coaches are controlled 4-5 times on their way from Budapest to Belgium… And if the burden on our customers becomes too heavy, they will simply disappear from our regular services.”

“Dialogue between operators and authorities does work: It fosters mutual understanding and it makes the best of what we have at our disposal… Indeed, if operators perform checks and can show it, they are treated sympathetically by control authorities.”