BUS AND ferry travellers may get similar rights to those held by airline travellers if MEPs approve legislation at the European Parliament today.
The measures would result in improved compensation or reimbursement for delays and cancellations for coach passengers and those travelling by sea or waterway. Disabled passengers would also gain rights as they could no longer be refused from boarding a ship or bus except where their safety is endangered.
Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins said the legislation when passed “would ensure higher standards with regard to the provision of information to passengers and better complaint systems”. While many of the rules already exist in Ireland they would be of particular benefit to people with a disability, he said. “They experience great difficulty when travelling abroad because it is almost a journey into the unknown.”
Sea and inland waterways companies would be obliged to give passengers information and compensation if a journey is interrupted. They would receive 25 per cent of ticket price for a delay of one to two hours and 50 per cent of the ticket price for more than two hours. However, this excludes delays that are caused by weather or extreme tides.
If a bus or coach trip is delayed for more than two hours passengers would be entitled to other transport services, or information about available services. Otherwise companies would have to pay half the ticket price in compensation.
Making passengers aware of their rights is a challenge, said Mr Higgins, who wants them to be more widely known. “We have recently seen that air passengers are still unaware of what their rights are exactly when it comes to delays, compensation and making complaints.”
Member states will be allowed to exclude bus transport if they undertake to guarantee passenger rights.
Commissioner for transport Antonio Tajani said the EU needed to intervene in this matter to fill a gap in existing EU legislation.