This Regulation shall apply to the international carriage of passengers by coach and bus within the territory of the Community by carriers for hire or reward or by own-account carriers established in a Member State in accordance with its law, using vehicles which are registered in that Member State and are suitable and intended, by virtue of their construction and equipment, to carry more than nine persons, including the driver, and to the movement of such vehicles when empty in connection with such carriage.

A change of vehicle or an interruption of carriage to enable part of a journey to be made by another means of transport shall not affect the application of this Regulation.

In the event of carriage from a Member State to a third country and vice versa, this Regulation shall apply to the part of the journey on the territory of any Member State crossed in transit. It shall not apply to that part of the journey within the territory of the Member State of picking up or setting down, as long as the necessary agreement between the Community and the third country concerned has not been concluded.

Pending the conclusion of the agreements referred to in paragraph 2, this Regulation shall not affect provisions relating to the carriage from a Member State to a third country and vice-versa contained in bilateral agreements concluded between Member States and those third countries.

This Regulation shall apply to national road passenger services for hire or reward operated on a temporary basis by a non-resident carrier as provided for in Chapter V.

Any carrier for hire or reward referred to in Article 1 shall be permitted in accordance with this Regulation to carry out regular services, including special regular services and occasional services by coach and bus, without discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of establishment if he:

Any own-account carrier referred to in Article 1 shall be permitted to carry out the transport services pursuant to Article 5(5) without discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of establishment if he:

International carriage of passengers by coach and bus shall be carried out subject to possession of a Community licence issued by the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment.

The competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall issue the holder with the original of the Community licence, which shall be kept by the carrier, and the number of certified true copies thereof corresponding to the number of vehicles used for the international carriage of passengers at the disposal of the holder of the Community licence, whether those vehicles are wholly owned, or held in another form, particularly under an instalment-purchase, hire or leasing contract.

The Community licence and the certified true copies thereof shall correspond to the model set out in Annex II. They shall contain at least two of the security features listed in Annex I.

The Commission shall adapt Annexes I and II to technical progress. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

The Community licence and the certified true copies thereof shall bear the seal of the issuing authority as well as a signature and a serial number. The serial numbers of the Community licence and the certified true copies thereof shall be recorded in the national electronic register of road transport undertakings provided for in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 as part of the data relating to the carrier.

The Community licence shall be issued in the name of the carrier and shall be non-transferable. A certified true copy of the Community licence shall be kept in each of the carrier’s vehicles and shall be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

The Community licence shall be issued for renewable periods of up to 10 years.

Community licences and certified true copies thereof issued before the date of application of this Regulation shall remain valid until their date of expiry.

Whenever an application for a Community licence is lodged, or a Community licence is renewed in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article, the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall verify whether the carrier satisfies or continues to satisfy the conditions laid down in Article 3(1).

Where the conditions referred to in Article 3(1) are not satisfied, the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall refuse to issue or renew or shall withdraw a Community licence by means of a reasoned decision.

Member States shall guarantee the right of the applicant for, or holder of, a Community licence to appeal against a decision by the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment to refuse or withdraw this licence.

Member States may decide that the Community licence shall also be valid for national transport operations.

Regular services shall be open to all, subject, where appropriate, to compulsory reservation.

Such services shall be subject to authorisation in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III.

Regular services from a Member State to a third country and vice versa shall be subject to authorisation in accordance with the bilateral agreement between the Member State and the third country and, where appropriate, the transited Member State, as long as the necessary agreement between the Community and the third country concerned has not been concluded.

The regular nature of the service shall not be affected by any adjustment to the service operating conditions.

The organisation of parallel or temporary services, serving the same public as existing regular services, the non-serving of certain stops and the serving of additional stops on existing regular services shall be governed by the same rules as those applicable to existing regular services.

Special regular services shall include in particular:

Occasional services shall not require authorisation in accordance with Chapter III.

However, the organisation of parallel or temporary services comparable to existing regular services and serving the same public as the latter shall be subject to authorisation in accordance with the procedure laid down in Chapter III.

Occasional services shall not cease to be occasional services solely on the grounds that they are provided at certain intervals.

Occasional services may be provided by a group of carriers acting on behalf of the same contractor, and travellers may catch a connection en route, with a different carrier of the same group, on the territory of a Member State.

The Commission shall establish the procedures for the names of such carriers and the connection points en route to be communicated to the competent authorities of the Member States concerned. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

Empty journeys by vehicles in connection with the transport operations referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph 2, and in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3, shall likewise not require authorisation.

Own-account transport operations shall be exempt from any system of authorisation but shall be subject to a system of certificates.

The certificates shall be issued by the competent authorities of the Member State in which the vehicle is registered and shall be valid for the entire journey including transit.

The Commission shall establish the format of the certificates. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

Authorisations shall be issued in the name of the carrier and shall be non-transferable. However, a carrier who has received an authorisation may, with the consent of the competent authority of the Member State in whose territory the point of departure is situated, hereinafter referred to as the ‘authorising authority’, operate the service through a subcontractor. In this case, the name of the subcontractor and its role shall be indicated in the authorisation. The subcontractor shall satisfy the conditions laid down in Article 3(1). For the purposes of this paragraph, the point of departure shall mean ‘one of the termini of the service’.

In the case of undertakings associated for the purpose of operating a regular service, the authorisation shall be issued in the names of all the undertakings and shall state the names of all the operators. It shall be given to the undertaking that manages the operation and copies shall be given to the other undertakings.

The period of validity of an authorisation shall not exceed 5 years. It may be set at less either at the request of the applicant or by mutual consent of the competent authorities of the Member States on whose territory passengers are picked up or set down.

Authorisations shall specify the following:

The Commission shall establish the format of the authorisations. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

Authorisations shall entitle their holder(s) to operate regular services in the territories of all Member States over which the routes of the service pass.

The operator of a regular service may use additional vehicles to deal with temporary and exceptional situations. Such additional vehicles may be used only under the same conditions as set out in the authorisation referred to in paragraph 3.

In this case, the carrier shall ensure that the following documents are carried on the vehicle:

Applications for authorisation of regular services shall be submitted to the authorising authority.

The Commission shall establish the format of the applications. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

Persons applying for authorisation shall provide any further information which they consider relevant or which is requested by the authorising authority, in particular a driving schedule making it possible to monitor compliance with Community legislation on driving and rest periods and a copy of the Community licence.

Authorisations shall be issued in agreement with the authorities of all the Member States in whose territories passengers are picked up or set down. The authorising authority shall forward to such authorities, as well as to the competent authorities of Member States whose territories are crossed without passengers being picked up or set down, a copy of the application, together with copies of any other relevant documentation, and its assessment.

The competent authorities of the Member States whose agreement has been requested shall notify the authorising authority of their decision on the application within 2 months. This time limit shall be calculated from the date of receipt of the request for agreement which is shown in the acknowledgement of receipt. If the decision received from the competent authorities of the Member States whose agreement has been requested is negative, it shall contain a proper statement of reasons. If the authorising authority does not receive a reply within 2 months, the authorities consulted shall be deemed to have given their agreement and the authorising authority may grant the authorisation.

The authorities of the Member States whose territories are crossed without passengers being picked up or set down may notify the authorising authority of their comments within the time limit laid down in the first subparagraph.

The authorising authority shall take a decision on the application within 4 months of the date of submission of the application by the carrier.

Authorisation shall be granted unless:

In the event that an existing international coach and bus service is seriously affecting the viability of a comparable service covered by one or more public service contracts conforming to Community law on the direct sections concerned, due to exceptional reasons which could not have been foreseen at the time of granting the authorisation, a Member State may, with the agreement of the Commission, suspend or withdraw the authorisation to run the international coach and bus service after having given 6 months’ notice to the carrier.

The fact that a carrier offers lower prices than those offered by other road carriers or the fact that the link in question is already operated by other road carriers shall not in itself constitute justification for rejecting the application.

The authorising authority and the competent authorities of all the Member States involved in the procedure to reach the agreement provided for in paragraph 1 may refuse applications only on the basis of reasons provided for in this Regulation.

Having completed the procedure laid down in paragraphs 1 to 5, the authorising authority shall grant the authorisation or formally refuse the application.

Decisions refusing an application shall state the reasons on which they are based. Member States shall ensure that transport undertakings are given the opportunity to make representations in the event of their application being refused.

The authorising authority shall inform all the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of its decision, sending them a copy of any authorisation.

If the procedure for reaching the agreement referred to in paragraph 1 does not enable the authorising authority to decide on an application, the matter may be referred to the Commission within the time limit of 2 months calculated from the date of communication of a negative decision by one or more of the Member States consulted pursuant to paragraph 1.

After having consulted the Member States concerned, the Commission shall, within 4 months from receipt of the communication from the authorising authority, take a decision which shall take effect 30 days after the notification to the Member States concerned.

The Commission decision shall continue to apply until an agreement is reached between the Member States concerned.

Without prejudice to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on public passenger transport services by rail and by road ( 12 ), an authorisation for a regular service shall lapse at the end of its period of validity or 3 months after the authorising authority has received notice from its holder of his intention to withdraw the service. Such notice shall contain a proper statement of reasons.

Where demand for a service has ceased to exist, the period of notice provided for in paragraph 1 shall be of 1 month.

The authorising authority shall inform the competent authorities of the other Member States concerned that the authorisation has lapsed.

The holder of the authorisation shall notify users of the service concerned of its withdrawal 1 month in advance by means of appropriate publicity.

Save in the event of force majeure, the operator of a regular service shall, until the authorisation expires, take all measures to guarantee a transport service that fulfils the standards of continuity, regularity and capacity and complies with the other conditions laid down by the competent authority in accordance with Article 6(3).

The carrier shall display the route of the service, the bus stops, the timetable, the fares and the conditions of carriage in such a way as to ensure that such information is readily available to all users.

Without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007, it shall be possible for the Member States concerned, by common agreement and in agreement with the holder of the authorisation, to make changes to the operating conditions governing a regular service.

Occasional services shall be carried out under cover of a journey form with the exception of the services referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 5(3).

A carrier operating occasional services shall fill out a journey form before each journey.

The journey form shall contain at least the following information:

The books of journey forms shall be supplied by the competent authorities of the Member State where the carrier is established or by bodies appointed by those authorities.

The Commission shall establish the format of the journey form, the book of journey forms and the way in which they are used. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

In the case of the special regular services referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 5(2), the contract or a certified true copy thereof shall serve as the control document.

The performance of the cabotage operations shall be subject, save as otherwise provided in Community legislation, to the laws, regulations and administrative provisions in force in the host Member State with regard to the following:

The weights and dimensions referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph may, where appropriate, exceed those applicable in the carrier’s Member State of establishment, but they may under no circumstances exceed the limits set by the host Member State for national traffic or the technical characteristics mentioned in the proofs referred to in Article 6(1) of Directive 96/53/EC.

Save as otherwise provided in Community legislation, cabotage operations which form part of the transport services provided for in Article 15(c) shall be subject to the laws, regulations and administrative provisions in force in the host Member State regarding authorisations, tendering procedures, the routes to be operated and the regularity, continuity and frequency of services as well as itineraries.

The technical standards of construction and equipment which must be met by vehicles used to carry out cabotage operations shall be those laid down for vehicles put into circulation in international transport.

The national laws, regulations and administrative provisions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be applied to non-resident carriers under the same conditions as those imposed on carriers established in the host Member State, so as to prevent any discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of establishment.

Cabotage operations in the form of occasional services shall be carried out under cover of a journey form as referred to in Article 12 which shall be kept on board the vehicle and be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

The following information shall be entered in the journey form:

The journey forms shall be supplied in books as referred to in Article 12 certified by the competent authority or body in the Member State of establishment.

In the case of special regular services, the contract concluded between the carrier and the transport organiser, or a certified true copy thereof, shall serve as the control document.

However, a journey form shall be filled out in the form of a monthly statement.

The journey forms used shall be returned to the competent authority or body in the Member State of establishment in accordance with procedures to be laid down by that authority or body.

Carriers operating a regular service, excluding special regular services, shall issue either individual or collective transport tickets indicating:

The transport ticket provided for in paragraph 1 shall be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

The authorisation or control document shall be carried on the vehicle and shall be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.

Carriers operating international carriage of passengers by coach and bus shall allow all inspections intended to ensure that operations are being conducted correctly, in particular as regards driving and rest periods. In the context of the implementation of this Regulation, authorised inspecting officers shall be empowered to:

The competent authorities of the Member State where the carrier is established shall withdraw the Community licence where the holder:

The authorising authority shall withdraw an authorisation where the holder no longer fulfils the conditions on the basis of which the authorisation was issued under this Regulation, in particular where the Member State in which the carrier is established so requests. That authority shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member State concerned.

In the event of a serious infringement of Community road transport legislation committed or ascertained in any Member State, in particular with regard to the rules applicable to vehicles, driving and rest periods for drivers and the provision without authorisation of parallel or temporary services, as referred to in the fifth subparagraph of Article 5(1), the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment of the carrier who committed the infringement shall take appropriate action, which may include a warning if provided for by national law, to pursue the matter. This may lead, inter alia, to the imposition of the following administrative penalties:

These penalties may be determined after the final decision on the matter has been taken and shall have regard to the seriousness of the infringement committed by the holder of the Community licence and to the total number of certified true copies of that licence held in respect of international traffic.

The competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall communicate to the competent authorities of the Member State in which the infringements were ascertained, as soon as possible and at the latest within 6 weeks of their final decision on the matter, which, if any, of the penalties provided for in paragraph 1 have been imposed.

If such penalties are not imposed, the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall state the reasons therefor.

The competent authorities shall ensure that the penalties imposed on the carrier concerned are, as a whole, proportionate to the infringement or infringements which gave rise to such penalties, taking into account any penalty for the same infringement imposed in the Member State in which the infringement was ascertained.

This Article is without prejudice to the possibility of the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment of the carrier instituting proceedings before a national court or tribunal. In the event that such proceedings are brought, the competent authority in question shall inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which the infringements were ascertained thereof.

Member States shall ensure that carriers have the right to appeal against any administrative penalty imposed on them pursuant to this Article.

Where the competent authorities of a Member State are aware of a serious infringement of this Regulation or of Community road transport legislation attributable to a non-resident carrier, the Member State within the territory of which the infringement is ascertained shall transmit to the competent authorities of the carrier’s Member State of establishment, as soon as possible and at the latest within 6 weeks of their final decision, the following information:

The competent authorities of the host Member State may request that the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment impose administrative penalties in accordance with Article 22.

Without prejudice to criminal prosecution, the competent authorities of the host Member State may impose penalties on non-resident carriers who have committed infringements of this Regulation or of national or Community road transport legislation in their territory on the occasion of a cabotage operation. The penalties shall be imposed on a non-discriminatory basis and may, inter alia, consist of a warning, or, in the event of a serious infringement, a temporary ban on cabotage operations within the territory of the host Member State where the infringement was committed.

Member States shall ensure that carriers have the right to appeal against any administrative penalty imposed on them pursuant to this Article.

Member States may conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements on the further liberalisation of the services covered by this Regulation, in particular as regards the authorisation system and the simplification or abolition of control documents, especially in border regions.

Member States shall inform the Commission of any agreements concluded under paragraph 1.

The Commission shall be assisted by the committee established by Article 18(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on recording equipment in road transport ( 13 ).

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and (5)(b), and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Every 2 years Member States shall communicate to the Commission the number of authorisations for regular services issued the previous year and the total number of authorisations for regular services valid at the end of that reporting period. This information shall be given separately for each country of destination of the regular service. Member States shall also communicate to the Commission the data concerning cabotage operations, in the form of special regular services and occasional services, carried out during the reporting period by resident carriers.

Every 2 years the competent authorities in the host Member State shall send the Commission statistics on the number of authorisations issued for cabotage operations in the form of the regular services referred to in Article 15(c).

The Commission shall establish the format of the table to be used for the communication of the statistics referred to in paragraph 2. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 26(2).

Member States shall inform the Commission no later than 31 January of every year of the number of carriers holding a Community licence as at 31 December of the previous year and of the number of certified true copies corresponding to the number of vehicles in circulation on that date.

By way of derogation from paragraph 6, a driver engaged in a single occasional service of international carriage of passengers, as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services ( *1 ), may postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods following a previous regular weekly rest period, provided that:

The Commission shall monitor closely the use made of this derogation in order to ensure the preservation of road safety under very strict conditions, in particular by checking that the total accumulated driving time during the period covered by the derogation is not excessive. By 4 December 2012, the Commission shall draw up a report assessing the consequences of the derogation in respect of road safety as well as social aspects. If it deems it appropriate, the Commission shall propose amendments to this Regulation in this respect.