The Road Transport (International Passenger Services) Regulations 1984

Occasional services by vehicles registered in the United Kingdom (whether ASOR or Community regulated or not)

6.—(1) This Regulation applies to a vehicle registered in the United Kingdom which is being used for the international carriage of passengers by road—

(a) in so far as the vehicle is used to provide a service for the carriage of passengers which is Community regulated and is such as is mentioned—

(i) in paragraph 1(a) of Article 3 of Council Regulation No. 117/66 (that is to say, an occasional service described in that paragraph as a closed-door tour), or

(ii) in paragraph 1(b) of the said Article 3 (that is to say, an occasional service described in that paragraph where the passengers are carried on the outward journey and the return journey is made unladen), or

(iii) in paragraph 1(c) of the said Article 3 (that is to say, an occasional service, as mentioned in that paragraph, of any other description); or

(b) in so far as the vehicle is used to provide a service for the carriage of passengers which is ASOR regulated; or

(c) in so far as the vehicle is used as a public service vehicle for the carriage of passengers which is not ASOR regulated or Community regulated but is a service of a description such as is mentioned in any of the paragraphs of Article 3 of Council Regulation No. 117/66.

(2) The provision of the Act of 1981 shall have effect as if—

(a) in relation to a vehicle to which this Regulation applies registered in Northern Ireland, sections 6, 12, 18 and 22 of the Act of 1981 were omitted; and

(b) in relation to a vehicle to which this Regulation applies registered in Great Britain or in Northern Ireland, for section 30 of the Act of 1981 there were substituted the following section:—

“30.— (1) No person shall cause or permit a vehicle to be used on a road for the international carriage or passengers unless—

(a) in relation to the use of the vehicle, in the case of such carriage which is ASOR regulated, the requirements of Articles 7, 8 and 9 of, and the Annex to, ASOR (which provide for the completion by the person by whom, or on whose behalf, a vehicle is used to provide an occasional service of a passenger way-bill in respect of the service in question and for the carrying of the top copy of such waybill on the vehicle at all times while it is used on that service) are complied with and, in the case of any other such carriage, the requirements of Articles 2, 3 and 4 of, and of Annex 2 to, Commission Regulation No. 1016/68 (which provide as aforesaid) are complied with, or would be complied with if those provisions applied to the service; and

(b) the vehicle is used on the service in question in circumstances which accord in all respects with the particulars which have been specified in the said passenger waybill as applicable to that service.

(2) A certifying officer or a public service vehicle examiner may, at any time which is reasonable having regard to the circumstances of the case, enter any premises from which he has reason to believe that a vehicle is or is to be operated on a service for the international carriage of passengers and may, on production if so required of his authority, require the operator of the vehicle to produce and to permit him to inspect and copy a control document duly completed for the service, in the case of ASOR regulated carriage, in accordance with Articles 7, 8 and 9 of, and the Annex to, ASOR and, in the case of any other such carriage, in accordance with Articles 2, 3, and 4 of, and Annex 2 to, Commission Regulation No. 1016/68.

(3) A certifying officer or a public service vehicle examiner may, on production if so required of his authority—

(a) require the driver of a vehicle used for the international carriage of passengers to produce and to permit him to inspect and copy and to mark with an official stamp, in the case of a vehicle used for ASOR regulated carriage, the document required by Article 8(2) of ASOR and, in the case of any other such carriage, the document required by Article 3(2) of Commission Regulation No. 1016/68, to be kept on a vehicle to which that Article applies; and

(b) detain the vehicle for such time as is required for the purpose of inspecting, copying and marking the document.

(4) A person who—

(a) without reasonable excuse contravenes subsection (1) above, or

(b) without reasonable excuse fails to comply with a requirement of an officer or examiner, under subsection (2) or (3) above, or

(c) wilfully obstructs an officer or examiner in the exercise of his powers under either of those subsections,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (within the meaning of section 75 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982).

(5) In this section—

`ASOR' means the Agreement on the International Carriage of Passengers by Road by means of Occasional Coach and Bus Services (ASOR) approved on behalf of the Economic Community pursuant to Council Decision (EEC) of 20th July 1982 concluding the Agreement entering into force for the Economic Community on 1st December 1983, as read with Council Regulation (EEC) No. 56/83 on measures implementing the Agreement;

`ASOR' State' means—

(a)

a state, not being a member State, which is a Contracting Party to ASOR and to which the provisions of Sections II and III of ASOR apply in accordance with Article 18 thereof; or

(b)

the Economic Community;

`ASOR regulated' means, in relation to the carriage of passengers, the international carriage of passengers by road to which ASOR applies namely in the circumstances specified in Article 1 thereof, that is to say, by means of occasional services (within the meaning of that Agreement) effected—

(a)

between the territories of two ASOR States, or starting and finishing in the territory of the same ASOR State: and

(b)

should the need arise during such services, in transit through the territory of another ASOR State or through the territory of a state which is not an ASOR State; and

(c)

using vehicles registered in the territory of an ASOR State which, by virtue of their construction and their equipment, are suitable for carrying more than nine persons, including the driver, and are intended for that purpose,

and references to the carriage of passengers which is ASOR regulated include unladen journeys of the vehicles concerned with such carriage;

`Commission Regulation No. 1016/68' means Regulation (EEC) No. 1016/68 of the Commission of 9th July 1968 prescribing the model control documents referred to in Articles 6 and 9 of Council Regulation No. 117/66/EEC as amended by and as read with Regulation (EEC) No. 2485/82 of the Commission of 13th September 1982; and

`Council Regulation No. 117/66' means Regulation No. 117/66/EEC of the Council of 28th July 1966 on the introduction of common rules for the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus.”.