On the water

Just before the holidays, there is much consumer-relevant news from the European Commission to report on. To start with, as of today passenger rights that already existed for air and railways travel are extended to Europeans travelling by water.

As summarised by the Commission 'the new rights include:

1. adequate and accessible information for all passengers before and during their journey, as well as general information about their rights in terminals and on board ships;
2. adequate assistance such as snacks, meals, refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation up to three nights, with a financial coverage up to €80 per night in case of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;
3. guaranteed choice between reimbursement or rerouting in case of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;
4. compensation, between 25% and 50% of the ticket price, in situations of delay at arrival;
5. non-discriminatory treatment and specific, free-of-charge, assistance for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, both at port terminals and on board ships, as well as financial compensation for loss of or damage to their mobility equipment;
6. mechanisms to handle passenger complaints to be put in place by carriers and terminal operators;
7. appointment of independent national bodies in charge of enforcing the regulation, where appropriate, through the application of penalties.

In addition, as from 31 December 2012, passengers involved in an accident when travelling by sea will have the following rights under EU law:

1. financial compensation in case of death, personal injury, and loss of or damage to luggage, vehicles, and mobility or other special equipment;
2. advance payment (within 15 days) to cover immediate economic needs in case of death or personal injury;
3. direct recourse against the carrier's insurance provider in case of death or personal injury;
4. right to receive appropriate and comprehensible information regarding the above rights prior to or –at the latest – upon departure.'

More information is available in the press release and on the Commission's passenger rights website.

You take the plane, and I'll take the train - on uniform passenger rights

Since I've been mostly travelling in the past month (the photo is one of the favourite ones I took in Mexico City), it's nice to find more EC news on consumer travel. While I mostly used air planes, there were also some buses and railways involved here and there. It would have been nice to know that as a passenger I had the same rights while using all these transport modes, or at least that if things went wrong I could expect similar assistance and complaint handling procedures. At this point, there is no uniform regulation of passenger rights for different transport modes in Europe. But this may change. 

This Tuesday there was a hearing organized in the European Parliament's Transport Committee with stakeholders from various travel organisations and consumer organisations in order to discuss strengthening of passenger rights. A survey prepared by Georges Bach was discussed (Draft report on passenger rights in all transport modes) in order to identify and find solutions to current EU travel issues. The survey mentions as such: unclear online pricing, lack of information while travelling, poor service for passengers with disabilities (see previous post), poor complaint procedures.

A good idea would be to draft one set of rules for enforcement of passenger rights - regardless the mode of transportation. This would give consumers clarity and legal certainty as to how to proceed when things go wrong during their trips. Unfortunately, this is seen as infeasible at the moment due to lack of experience with enforcement of rights for ship and bus passengers (these will only enter into force in 2013). Matthias Ruete, the Commission's Director General for transport, promises a revision of air passengers rights instead. This, however, was already on the table - so no news there.

"Monique Goyens of the European Consumers Organisation (BEUC) advocated enforceable pricing rules to halt the proliferation of unfair contractual terms and surcharges for basic services that should be automatically included in the fare." (MEPs assess how to strengthen passenger rights in all transport modes)

Unclear pricing is a huge issue for consumers, so it doesn't surprise that it was singled out in these talks as well. Hopefully, after many resolutions on this in the Parliament and many voices raised to change the transparency of the pricing policy this will finally get a priority at a drafting table in the European Commission.

Towards passenger ship safety

There has been lots of talk in the European institutions (and as a result on this blog) about the protection that air passengers receive in Europe. Today the EU Transport Commissioner, Siim Kallas, presented the European Commission's priorities for passenger ship safety (Transport: Commission sets out priorities for passenger ship safety). After all, despite the raising popularity of the air travel this is not the only method of travelling that Europeans make use of.

The EU Commission intends to promote voluntary industry measures. For example, today the European Cruise Council committed itself to undertake more strict than legally necessary measures with regard to, among others, route planning, security of bridge access, access to life jackets on board (Cruise Industry Announces Three New Safety Policies at EU Conference). The European Cruise Council intends to appoint four independent experts to oversee the process and monitor progress and implementation of such measures.

The EU Commission plans to intensify enforcement actions to make sure that safety rules are being implied in practice. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) will give a hand in organising inspections, e.g., of proper registration of passengers on board.

Finally, certain regulatory measures are under consideration. For example, the new proposal on domestic passenger ship safety rules is planned for the end of 2012, which would broaden the application of existing EU rules to ships other than only constructed out of steel (lots of touristic ships are smaller and not made of steel). Another proposal is considered as far as EU passenger ship stability rules for roll-on roll-off ferries are concerned. Stability is particularly important for these ferries since water on deck is more common. The new proposal would focus on rules that would lead to improving stability after damage. In the future, regulation of cruise and ropax ship stability is also feasible.

Until 5 July 2012 public consultations are conducted with stakeholders of the industry. Legislative proposals are expected before the end of 2012.