Action by the Union in the field of bus and coach transport should aim, among other things, at ensuring a high level of protection for passengers, that is comparable with other modes of transport, wherever they travel. Moreover, full account should be taken of the requirements of consumer protection in general.

Since the bus or coach passenger is the weaker party to the transport contract, all passengers should be granted a minimum level of protection.

Union measures to improve passengers’ rights in the bus and coach transport sector should take account of the specific characteristics of this sector, which consists largely of small- and medium-sized undertakings.

Passengers should, in addition to compensation in accordance with applicable national law in the event of death or personal injury or loss of or damage to luggage due to accidents arising out of the use of the bus or coach, be entitled to assistance with regard to their immediate practical needs following an accident. Such assistance should include, where necessary, first aid, accommodation, food, clothes and transport.

Bus and coach passenger services should benefit citizens in general. Consequently, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, whether caused by disability, age or any other factor, should have opportunities for using bus and coach services that are comparable to those of other citizens. Disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility have the same rights as all other citizens with regard to free movement, freedom of choice and non-discrimination.

In the light of Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and in order to give disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility opportunities for bus and coach travel comparable to those of other citizens, rules for non-discrimination and assistance during their journey should be established. Those persons should therefore be accepted for carriage and not refused transport on the grounds of their disability or reduced mobility, except for reasons which are justified on the grounds of safety or of the design of vehicles or infrastructure. Within the framework of relevant legislation for the protection of workers, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility should enjoy the right to assistance at terminals and on board vehicles. In the interest of social inclusion, the persons concerned should receive the assistance free of charge. Carriers should establish access conditions, preferably using the European standardisation system.

In deciding on the design of new terminals, and as part of major refurbishments, terminal managing bodies should endeavour to take into account the needs of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, in accordance with ‘design for all’ requirements. In any case, terminal managing bodies should designate points where such persons can notify their arrival and need for assistance.

Similarly, without prejudice to current or future legislation on technical requirements for buses and coaches, carriers should, where possible, take those needs into account when deciding on the equipment of new and newly refurbished vehicles.

Member States should endeavour to improve existing infrastructure where this is necessary to enable carriers to ensure access for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility as well as to provide appropriate assistance.

Organisations representative of disabled persons or persons with reduced mobility should be consulted or involved in preparing the content of the disability-related training.

Rights of bus and coach passengers should include the receipt of information regarding the service before and during the journey. All essential information provided to bus and coach passengers should also be provided, upon request, in alternative formats accessible to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, such as large print, plain language, Braille, electronic communications that can be accessed with adaptive technology, or audio tapes.

This Regulation should not restrict the rights of carriers to seek compensation from any person, including third parties, in accordance with the applicable national law.

Inconvenience experienced by passengers due to cancellation or significant delay of their journey should be reduced. To this end, passengers departing from terminals should be adequately looked after and informed in a way which is accessible to all passengers. Passengers should also be able to cancel their journey and have their tickets reimbursed or to continue their journey or to obtain re-routing under satisfactory conditions. If carriers fail to provide passengers with the necessary assistance, passengers should have the right to obtain financial compensation.

With the involvement of stakeholders, professional associations and associations of customers, passengers, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, carriers should cooperate in order to adopt arrangements at national or European level. Such arrangements should aim at improving the information, care and assistance offered to passengers whenever their travel is interrupted, in particular in the event of long delays or cancellation of travel, with a particular focus on passengers with special needs due to disability, reduced mobility, illness, elderly age and pregnancy, and including accompanying passengers and passengers travelling with young children. National enforcement bodies should be informed of those arrangements.

Passengers should be fully informed of their rights under this Regulation, so that they can effectively exercise those rights.

Passengers should be able to exercise their rights by means of appropriate complaint procedures implemented by carriers or, as the case may be, by submission of complaints to the body or bodies designated to that end by the relevant Member State.

Member States should ensure compliance with this Regulation and designate a competent body or bodies to carry out supervision and enforcement tasks. This does not affect the rights of passengers to seek legal redress from courts under national law.

Taking into account the procedures established by Member States for the submission of complaints, a complaint concerning assistance should preferably be addressed to the body or bodies designated for the enforcement of this Regulation in the Member State where the boarding point or alighting point is situated.

Member States should promote the use of public transport and the use of integrated information and integrated tickets in order to optimise the use and interoperability of the various transport modes and operators.

Member States should lay down penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation and ensure that those penalties are applied. Those penalties should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Since the objective of this Regulation, namely to ensure an equivalent level of protection of and assistance to passengers in bus and coach transport throughout the Member States, cannot sufficiently be achieved by the Member States and can therefore by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.