EU Council and Commission undermine bike + train provision - ETRA
06 November 2007
by eub2
-- last modified 06 November 2007
The European Parliament and the Council have reached an agreement on the 3rd Railway Package, which includes the Regulation on Railway Passengers’ Rights and Obligations. Much to ETRA and ECF's surprise, in the Common Position, the provision relating to the transport of bicycles, which was adopted by a very large majority in the Parliament, has been completely eroded. Parliament voted an obligation to have space available on all trains for the transport of bicycles.
That obligation is now replaced by
Article 5 stating: "Railway undertakings shall enable passengers to
bring bicycles on to the train, where appropriate for a fee, if they
are easy to handle, if this does not adversely affect the specific rail
service, and if the rolling-stock so permits."
This article gives railway companies plenty of
opportunities to refuse the carriage of bicycles. What’s more, as a
result of Article 2.4 and 2.5, the member states may exempt railway
companies from carrying bicycles on domestic trains for up to 15 years
and on urban, suburban and regional trains for an indefinite period of
time.
As a result of Article 2.7, the member states must
inform the Commission of such exemptions. The Commission is allowed to
take action should the exemption not be in accordance with the
Regulation. No later than 7 years after the publication of the
Regulation in the Official Journal, the Commission must submit to
Parliament and Council a report on these exemptions. Finally, the
railway companies have an obligation to provide information on
accessibility and access conditions for bicycles.
We were informed that this complete change from
imposing the transport of bicycles to allowing the transport of
bicycles was forced through at the very end of the negotiations under
pressure of the Council and the Commission.
It is now up to our members, the national
organisation, to monitor and lobby their national railway companies.
They will have to make sure that they do not abuse of the possibility
not to carry bicycles. At the same time, they will have to convince
them to carry bicycles.
In the meantime, ETRA and ECF will continue our
efforts for the establishment of European legislation that stimulates
the combination of bike and train. We will also continue to raise
awareness in the European institutions of the need for facilitating
that combination.
We find the reluctance of the member states and of
the Commission to seriously develop bike transport by train regrettable
and all the more peculiar in the light of the ongoing debate on
sustainability.
ETRA is the European professional association for independent bicycle, moped and motorcycle retailers. Our aim is to group these retailers in Europe and to defend and further their interests. We represent some 5,000 companies, which employ approximately 11,500 people, in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
European Twowheel Retailers' Association (ETRA)
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