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European Passengers' Federation

EPF

The European Passengers' Federation promotes passenger rights and sustainable public transport across Europe.

Lobbying Activity

European Passengers' Federation urges lower VAT for rail travel

16 Oct 2025
Topic — The European Commission is reviewing VAT rules for travel and transport.
Message — The federation recommends a harmonised reduced VAT rate for all transport modes to ensure fairness. They also call for pricing that integrates environmental costs.12
Why — Reduced taxes would help make rail travel significantly more affordable.34
Impact — Airlines would lose the financial advantage of tax-free international flights.5
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European Passengers’ Federation urges stronger rights for multi-operator rail journeys

22 Sept 2025
Topic — This consultation reviews EU rules to protect passengers using multiple rail operators.
Message — EPF demands a guaranteed right to continue journeys at no extra cost regardless of the operators involved. They also want to remove exemptions for regional services and clarify the responsibilities of ticket sellers.12
Why — Stronger protections would increase passenger trust and encourage more cross-border rail travel.3
Impact — Rail operators would lose the ability to easily avoid liability for missed connections.4
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Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

25 Jun 2025 · Exchange on EPF positions on passengers’ rights, MDMS, SDBTR, MFF.

European Passengers' Federation demands transparent airfares and insolvency protection

5 Jun 2025
Topic — The European Commission is revising common rules for air services within the internal market.
Message — EPF calls for mandatory insolvency protection for ticket refunds and repatriation. They also demand clear pricing for extra charges across all booking channels. Finally, passengers should have the right to cancel flights during major crises without fees.123
Why — Travelers would enjoy better price comparability and secured refunds if an airline fails.45
Impact — Air carriers would lose revenue from hidden fees and must fund mandatory passenger guarantee schemes.67
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Response to Connecting Europe through high-speed rail

8 May 2025

EPF welcomes the Commissions initiative. Availability of an attractive offer, in terms of travel time & cost, is key in order to drive a shift to rail and multimodality. Investment in high-speed rail is welcome, to address missing links (including cross-border), and to strengthen rail as the backbone of a European-wide, multimodal, sustainable mobility network. That being said, by focusing solely on high-speed rail infrastructure, the initiative should take care not to overlook first- and last-mile connectivity challenges that impact the accessibility and usability of the network. Coordinating multimodal access to the HSR system and providing clear guidelines on this is essential to creating a network that is truly citizen-centered, convenient, and inclusive. Public transport works best for people when it provides a seamless network of services the first and last mile of any journey being no less important than the high-speed journey in between. A plan for a high-speed network must therefore be complemented by good local and regional connections. The TEN-T network needs to be designed in a way that maximises interconnectivity with the wider public transport network (at its best, a key element of a network of networks). Hubs are a vital part of this: they need to be designed thoughtfully. The implementation of a European high-speed rail network requires substantial construction works to upgrade the current infrastructure, and measures are needed to minimize the impact on passengers. Replacement timetables should be simple, understandable and barrier-free. Access to replacement services must be clearly signposted and accessible to all travellers, especially those with limited mobility. Replacement services must offer sufficient seating capacity, and must offer a level of comfort comparable to that of railway travel. Real-time information on replacement services is another important element. The timely announcement of railway works ensures that replacement timetables can be published in due time. As a rule, passengers must be informed of upcoming railway works on the day when they book their tickets. In the case of trackworks scheduled at short notice, passengers should be informed as early as possible regarding the extent to which they will be affected, and regarding travel alternatives available for their journey. Consistent and realistic information via various channels is important, supported by competent accessible staff to inform and guide travellers. Finally, EPF wishes to stress that any infrastructure investments should be accompanied by efforts to increase integration at various other levels too, to maximise positive impact: Timetables and connections: An Europatakt should be a basis for infrastructure investment, enabling integrated timetables, striving for optimal use of the network capacity and optimal connectivity for passengers; Information and ticketing: Passengers should have access to unbiased, dynamic journey information, enabling them to compare and combine different transport operators and/or modes as suits their needs; Passenger protection: Passengers must be treated fairly when things go wrong with their journey and their rights adequately protected, with journey continuation guarantee across all (rail) operators being the main priority; Understanding costs: Internalisation of external costs and consistency as to the basis of charging between transport modes, would allow for a level playing field and fair competition between modes, and steer end-users sustainable mobility choices; Overcoming administrative and political boundaries: Prospective operators of new international rail services, benefiting from a common regulatory approach, e.g. in terms of train service planning cycles, track access policies, etc. For more information, please refer to EPFs priorities for EU action https://www.epf.eu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/EPF-priorities-24-04-10.pdf.
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Meeting with Elisabeth Kotthaus (Head of Unit Mobility and Transport)

12 Mar 2025 · Exchange on EPF positions on passengers’ rights and DG MOVE and EC contribution towards their achievement

Meeting with Kateřina Konečná (Member of the European Parliament)

6 Feb 2025 · Package travel directive

Meeting with Arash Saeidi (Member of the European Parliament)

30 Jan 2025 · audition acteur Transport

Meeting with Rosa Serrano Sierra (Member of the European Parliament) and HOTREC, Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe

30 Jan 2025 · Priorities for European Commission 2024-2029

Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

28 Jan 2025 · Multimodal Passenger Rights

Meeting with Alice Kuhnke (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur for opinion) and Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs and

27 Jan 2025 · Passenger rights

Meeting with Kai Tegethoff (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Dec 2024 · Rail Ticketing

European Passengers' Federation Urges Stronger Enforcement of Travel Rights

8 Mar 2024
Topic — Revision of EU rules protecting travelers who book package holidays or linked arrangements.
Message — EPF calls for National Enforcement Bodies and better individual redress options for customers. They request alignment with airline rules to provide consistent protection against carrier insolvency.12
Why — Passengers would face lower financial risks through capped downpayments and guaranteed voucher refunds.34
Impact — Travel organizers lose cash flow flexibility due to stricter limits on passenger downpayments.5
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European Passengers' Federation urges broader multimodal journey rights

8 Mar 2024
Topic — This consultation reviews EU rules to strengthen passenger rights and improve multimodal travel.
Message — EPF demands better protection for combined multimodal tickets and rules for airline insolvency. They also seek a legislative framework for digital mobility services to benefit passengers.123
Why — Increased travel reliability would likely drive higher demand for the transport modes EPF represents.4
Impact — Airlines and ticket intermediaries would face higher operational costs for rerouting and passenger assistance.56
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Meeting with Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Airlines for Europe and

22 Feb 2024 · Stakeholder Meetings on Passenger Mobility Package

Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

17 Nov 2023 · Revision of the passenger rights framework

Response to Revision of the specifications for EU-wide Multimodal Travel Information Services (Delegated Regulation 2017/1926)

28 Jun 2023

The European Passengers Federation welcomes the revision of the MMTIS Regulation, in that the scope of mandatory data to be shared by transport service providers, infrastructure managers and transport authorities through National Access Points has been extended to include, in addition to static data, also dynamic (real-time) and historic & observed data, notably on delays and cancellations. Access to data on timetables, but also fares is an essential enabler for creating multimodal integrated information and ticketing systems. Static data is not enough. Real-time data must be available as well. Passengers need timely and practical information should things go wrong during their journey. They need to be informed about disruptions (e.g. delay, cancellation) and the effect this will have on the rest of their trip: either by the operator they are travelling with and/or by the ticket vendor who sold them the ticket. Other travel service providers also need to be informed because it enables them to secure travel connections, if necessary. In addition, informing passengers about delays/cancellations, including their cause (also included in the revised Regulation) should help them be aware of and assert their passenger rights to re-routing or reimbursement, assistance and compensation. We wish to note that, in order to reach the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategys objective to make multimodal travel a reality, data sharing alone will not solve everything. As foreseen in the Strategy, the MMTIS revision should be complemented by an initiative on multimodal digital mobility services (MDMS), addressing market challenges and enabling seamless multimodal ticketing in a one-stop-shop, while also ensuring better protection of passengers undertaking a multimodal trip, addressed by the Better Protection for Passengers initiative. We urge the European Commission to maintain a high ambition level for both of these other crucial pieces of legislation, equally necessary to make multimodal travel a more reliable, safe and convenient choice for passengers.
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Response to Common form for reimbursement and compensation requests of rail passengers

5 Apr 2023

In principle, EPF supports the introduction of a uniform, standard form for reimbursement and compensation requests, to make it easier for passengers to claim their rights under the Rail Passenger Rights Regulation. In order to reach this objective, such a form, targeting the general public, must be simple, short and easy to fill in. However, the proposed form is currently hyper-detailed, unduly complex and far too long, which would likely deter anyones goodwill to proceed with their claims. Hence, we strongly recommend that the form be simplified and made more user-friendly: Required input should be kept to a minimum. Lots of questions are not necessary. For example, date and train number (or a booking number, if it refers to a train-bound ticket) are sufficient for railway undertakings to verify and check if the claim is justified or not. For many people, the difference between reimbursement and compensation is not clear. It should be the responsibility of railway operators to check which option applies and is most beneficial to passengers. Experience shows that submitting a claim by e-mail often doesnt work. Therefore, a structured online procedure for dealing with reimbursement and compensation requests should be made mandatory. This would make it easier both for passengers and railway undertakings to deal with complaints. Both the pdf form and the online form must be available in barrier-free, accessible format. Wherever technically possible, automatic reimbursement and compensation processes should be implemented, saving all parties time and effort. In the UK, such scheme (Delay Repay) has been applied for years by all train operators.
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Meeting with Ciarán Cuffe (Member of the European Parliament) and Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies and

13 Jan 2023 · Passenger rights

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

20 Dec 2022 · Multimodal ticketing

Meeting with Jakop G. Dalunde (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Dec 2022 · Speaker: Roundtable discussion on Railways

Meeting with Jakop G. Dalunde (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Kreab Worldwide and

21 Jun 2022 · TEN-T

Response to Revision of the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive

20 Mar 2022

The European Passengers' Federation (EPF) welcomes in principle a revision of the 2010 Directive on Intelligent Transport Systems. Data for planning a journey, during travel and, if necessary, also for follow-up is an essential component for passenger-friendly solutions. Only data across all modes of transport allow the potential traveller to make an informed decision between the different travel options. Derived from this, open data interfaces are crucial, especially for the optimal use of the different public transport modes. From EPF's point of view, the present draft legislation still needs considerable improvement with regard to public transport and, in principle, to the presentation of environmental impacts. We also refer to EPF's input in the impact assessment, see https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12534-Intelligent-transport-systems-review-of-EU-rules-/details/F1271499_en
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Meeting with Jakop G. Dalunde (Member of the European Parliament) and UNIFE and

23 Feb 2022 · Speaker: Symposium on the renewal of night trains in Europe

Response to Better protection for passengers and their rights

17 Jan 2022

The European Passengers’ Federation, representing 39 organisations from 21 countries, welcomes the EC’s initiative to review the passenger rights regulatory framework. In EPF’s perspective, the initiative needs to address a number of important issues: how to better protect passengers in a multimodal context; harmonizing and enforcing existing rules; extending current protection taking into account lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, EU passenger rights apply only to long-distance trips and only if there is a single contract of carriage (i.e. through ticketing). They do not tackle the issue of disruptions in a multimodal context and do not cover urban and local transport. For multimodal trips, in most cases each operator is only aware of and responsible for the journey segment that they provide themselves. There is no overall guarantee for arrival at the final destination. A missed connection may leave passengers stranded and they may only be able to complete their journey by buying new tickets. An adequate level of protection to passengers when using combinations of different transport modes is needed to make multimodal travel a convenient, reliable and safe choice. As a minimum, the following basic goals must hereby be pursued: • In case of disruption, users should receive (real-time and accurate) information about travel alternatives (rerouting) and also be offered the possibility to buy a new ticket / entitlement; • In the event of disruptions, the top priority of passengers is a guaranteed arrival at their final destination (which means that cooperation among operators is necessary); • In case of disruptions, passengers shall be paid reasonable compensation in a timely manner and following simple and easy to understand procedures; • PRM assistance must be guaranteed and there should be a single point of contact to address in case of a disruption (also in a multimodal context). The following further issues also need to be considered: • Passengers are not always adequately informed about their existing rights. Further efforts are needed to increase awareness among passengers about their rights. • Existing passenger rights regulations need to be better enforced. During the wave of cancellations following the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, passenger rights were not respected. • Harmonisation of passenger rights across modes should be aimed for, making them easier to understand (for passengers) and apply (for operators). Simplicity works best. • Some elements, e.g. protection in case of stolen or damaged luggage, are not tackled (to the same extent) for all modes. • In case of cancellation or delay, it would be useful to inform passengers of the cause and, if needed, on additional services such as where to find meals, entertainment or accommodation. • Simplified (and faster) procedures for complaint handling and receiving compensation (preferably automatically) are needed. During the Covid-19 crisis, this was clearly a major issue. • Passengers are generally not protected (except to a certain extent in the case of package travels) against insolvency of the operator. • The role of intermediaries needs to be clarified: Who informs the passengers about disruptions and who is responsible for complaint handling and reimbursement? • Passengers who need to cancel their trip because of e.g. travel restrictions or general health risk (which can be considered a form of ‘force majeure’) are not protected. • Respecting passenger rights should be a precondition for operators to be entitled to state aid. During the Covid-19 crisis, state aid has not been linked to the reimbursement of passengers. EPF supports the statements made by EDF and our member association FNAUT. EPF is ready to participate in the planned stakeholder consultation activities to give further input from the passengers’ perspective.
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Response to Count your transport emissions: CountEmissions EU

17 Dec 2021

EPF welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to create an EU framework for harmonised measurement of transport and logistics emissions – ‘CountEmissions EU’. In order to be able to make an informed choice, passengers need a neutral, comprehensive and reliable overview of available – multimodal – travel options. To promote a modal shift, it is recommended that information about sustainability / environmental impact – for all modes – is included in the overall overview, and that environmental impact is included as one of the (default) variables for ranking available transport options. Taking into account the trend towards growing environmental awareness among citizens and the urgent need to combat pollution and climate change, there is a strong case for more information on environmental impact of transport. Such information should be transparent, reliable and comparable, in order to avoid ‘greenwashing’ from the industry side and to create trust on the consumer side. In order to achieve this, the following main barriers must be overcome: Reliable standards for measuring environmental impact of transport need to be developed, and all transport operators and planning / booking platforms should apply the same standards to ensure transparency and comparable information. A holistic approach is needed. The impact of the whole trip (including the supply chain and adopting a lifecycle perspective) should be taken into account; standards should be applicable and comparable across modes; also non-CO2 impact should (in the future) be considered. Calculating environmental impact is complicated as it depends on many factors, but for passengers information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand, e.g. a label or an icon ‘most sustainable choice’, based on a standardized score.
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Response to Multimodal Digital Mobility Services

2 Nov 2021

EPF welcomes the EC’s proposal for a Regulation on Multimodal Digital Mobility Services. Without EU action we expect further delay in the provision of multimodal information and ticketing which is crucial to enable a modal shift. Today, planning, booking and executing multimodal journeys is risky, difficult and time-consuming. Some advanced multimodal door-to-door journey planning applications exist, but are mostly limited in scope (in terms of geographic coverage, modes and operators) and/or do not offer any booking & ticketing facilities. Passengers need a neutral, comprehensive and reliable overview of available travel options to make an informed choice. Buying multimodal tickets should be easy, affordable and offer protection in case something goes wrong. Access to data is an essential enabler. The MMTIS Regulation currently foresees mandatory sharing of static data by TSPs. Passengers also need real-time information about disruptions and the effect this will have on the rest of their trip: either by the operator they are travelling with and/or by the ticket vendor. TSPs make use of public infrastructure and (directly or indirectly) receive public funding; hence, real-time data on their services should be publicly available. Also, information on fares (including advantageous tariffs) is required to enable multimodal booking and ticketing. In the air sector, the CRS Code of Conduct has played a vital role in ensuring consumer access to unbiased information on available flights and fares, so as to enable passengers to make meaningful comparisons between the offers of competing providers. The CoC was introduced to ensure that airlines did not promote their own services over those of competitors. Similar concerns need to be addressed for land (and water) based travel. The principles underlying the CoC – transparency, fair competition, neutral display – are also relevant for other distribution channels and modes. The CoC can serve as a model for Multimodal Digital Mobility Services. New business models are needed that strike a balance between the interests of passengers, transport service operators and distributors / aggregators and, from the consumer side, guarantee data portability. Ownership and governance of data is a crucial topic to be addressed for all involved parties (including operators, ticket vendors, infrastructure managers, authorities, … and end-users). We need an open, multi-player distribution market, based on interoperability, non-exclusive partnerships between transport service providers and aggregators / MaaS providers. Competition both between TSPs and between distributors would eventually lead to a better offer to end-users. Liability vis-à-vis end-users is an important issue. EU passenger rights do not address disruptions in a multimodal context and don’t cover urban and local transport. In the absence of through tickets, there is no guaranteed arrival at the final destination. A missed connection may leave passengers stranded and forced to buy new tickets. Adequate protection is needed for passengers using combinations of different transport modes. Information on environmental impact should be provided as one of the (default) criteria for ranking travel options. To note that, without a level playing field between modes in terms of end-user cost, it will be very difficult to realise effectively a modal shift. Taxation and subsidies are policy tools that can make sustainable modes (and multimodal travel) more attractive. Market regulations could be considered as to the complementarity of travel services and modes at various territorial levels (with a hierarchy of modes depending on their capacity and economic, social and environmental efficiency, especially in cities). EPF is ready to participate in the planned MDMS stakeholder consultation activities to give further input from the passengers’ perspective.
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Response to New EU urban mobility framework

25 May 2021

The European Passengers's Federation EPF welcomes the concerns of the "New EU urban mobility framework". In an overall view, six general guidelines should ensure most value for passengers: • Access for all to attractive public transport is vital: getting people out of their cars is essential to reducing expensive congestion, freeing-up scarce urban land-space (from the need to build more roads and to accommodate parked cars), cutting noise levels, carbon emissions and particulate pollution (since non-exhaust road emissions from tyres, brakes, and road dust will still be a problem, even with a shift to e-vehicles). • Sticks (like road-user charging) won't be sufficient on their own to achieve significant modal shift - even if they were politically acceptable ((gilets jaunes). We need carrots like attractive, reliable, affordable, high quality and accessible public transport services and vehicles. • The potential of a public transport service is enhanced when it forms an integrated part of a network of networks - timetabling, ticketing, connectivity, etc. • With the new post-pandemic focus on the promotion of active travel in the interests of public health and environment sustainability, interchange (e.g. hubs) with public transport services is of particular importance: planned well, their integration facilitates more sustainable 'end-to-end journeys' over longer-distances. • Good public transport is not an optional add-on in any urban environment. Its provision must be conceived together with the design of the built environment. Urban mobility and good spatial planning need to go hand-in-hand. • Public transport provision can seem expensive unless one takes an holistic approach to urban mobility (as we are beginning to do in assessing the public health and environmental benefits of active travel). It needs to be recognised that public transport is a public good, for which crude market analysis based on a linear understanding of supply and demand is an insufficient tool for the identification of its benefits.
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Response to Revision of the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive

19 Nov 2020

The European Passengers’ Federation (EPF) fully supports any initiatives to facilitate EU-wide multimodal travel information (including information on environmental impact), ticketing and payment, which would allow passengers to make an informed and sustainable choice in an integrated transport system. We agree with the key problem drivers identified in the ITS review Inception Impact Assessment Roadmap (lack of interoperability; lack of concertation and effective cooperation among stakeholders; issues related to the availability and sharing of data). There is a need to integrate historic, static and dynamic data (to enable real-time services) from both users and transport providers, and for provision and access to be regulated to ensure open data and the use of specified standard interfaces to enable interoperability. Regulation may also be needed to address privacy principles as well as security concerns arising from individuals’ data use and provision. Common standards and standardised interfaces facilitate interoperability, minimising operational delays between networks, operators, systems and modes, and creating economies of scale. The European Union has a key role to play in specifying these standards. Consideration should be given to providing an enabling regulatory framework for synchro-mobility across all modes. Access to data – on timetables, but also fares – is an essential enabler for creating multimodal integrated information, ticketing and payment systems. It allows service providers – this can be transport operators, or third parties – to put together travel (MaaS) packages combining different modes to enable door to door travel and offering passengers the possibility to book and pay for all legs of their multimodal trip in a one stop shop. Static data is not enough. Real-time data must be available as well. Passengers need timely and practical information should things go wrong during their journey. They need to be informed about disruptions (e.g. delay, cancellation) and the effect this will have on the rest of their trip: either by the operator they are travelling with and/or by the ticket vendor who sold them the ticket. Other travel service providers also need to be informed because it enables them to secure travel connections, if necessary. Data sharing should not be a one-way street. Public transport operators and public transport authorities need access to relevant data to gain better insights in user needs, as a basis for policymaking – transport supply and investment decisions –, urban planning etc. To conclude, for EPF data sharing is essential to improve passengers’ experience and to promote multimodal travel and a modal shift towards more sustainable transport modes. This is true at all geographical levels, local, regional, national, and even international.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

26 Sept 2020 · Keynote speech on a European Green Deal for passengers

Response to Possible revision of the Code of Conduct for computerised reservation systems (CRS)

3 Sept 2020

The European Passengers’ Federation (EPF) links Europe’s major passenger organisations and represents the interests of travellers at EU level. EPF campaigns for strong passenger rights, a seamless multimodal travel experience and a public transport system that is inclusive and accessible. EPF believes that, in considering whether any changes need to be made to the existing CRS Code of Conduct, the principal goal of the European Commission should be to safeguard and indeed advance the interests of consumers. We are therefore pleased to note that the Inception Impact Assessment Roadmap for the CRS CoC review specifically mentions that – even though the CoC mainly deals with B2B, not B2C relationships – the impact on consumers should, and will be, taken into account: notably, the impact on transparency and comparability of travel options. For passengers, unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to compare prices across airlines. A search for a specific city-to-city travel through an online travel agency (e.g. Expedia, eDreams), a metasearch engine (e.g. Google Flights, Kayak) or an airline’s own website may yield very different results. Not all fares are available on all distribution channels and there is no like-for-like comparison (sometimes ancillary services such as luggage or seat reservation are included in the basic price, as shown at the beginning of the booking process, and sometimes they are not). As a result, passengers need to consult multiple sources to get a good overview, which is complex and time-consuming – the exact opposite of what we would like: simplicity in booking. As mentioned in its preamble (recitals 9 & 10), one of the fundamental aims of the CRS CoC is to ensure that consumers have access to comprehensive information on the travel options available. EPF fully supports this objective and urges the Commission to redouble its efforts to safeguard access to unbiased information in a way that enables consumers to make meaningful comparisons between the offers of competing providers – whether it is through an adaptation of the existing Code of Conduct or through other regulatory means. The topic of price transparency in the field of air travel is, for example, also covered by the review of the Air Services Regulation (1008/2008) (for EPF’s position: http://www.epf.eu/wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20190930-EPF-Position-Paper-price-transparency-final.pdf). The Inception Impact Assessment Roadmap also mentions that the objective of promoting rail & intermodal transport remains relevant but it is unclear whether the CRS CoC is the appropriate instrument to achieve this. EPF wishes to stress the importance of ensuring comparability not only between the offers of different air service providers, but also across transport modes. The ultimate aim must be for passengers to be offered a complete multimodal and cross-modal overview of their door-to-door travel options including first and last mile, in terms of travel time and overall price, but also in terms of comfort and, where possible, environmental impact and CO2 emissions. The European Commission can play an important role by creating a framework that encourages or even obliges transport service providers (all modes) to open up their data (on schedules, but also on fares), which would allow both existing and perhaps new players to develop new services, apps etc. that would ultimately contribute to more competition and benefit the consumers. EPF welcomes Regulation 2017/1926 on the provision of EU-wide multimodal travel information services, as well as any other initiatives planned under the Data Strategy and the Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy expected later this year, that aim to take a step forward towards realising this ambition. The case for multimodal information is really greater consumer choice, more transparency, decarbonisation and modal shift – in line with the objectives of the Green Deal.
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Response to A New Consumer Agenda

11 Aug 2020

The European Passengers’ Federation (EPF) links Europe’s major passenger organisations and represents the interests of travellers at EU level. EPF campaigns for strong passenger rights, a seamless multimodal travel experience and a public transport system that is inclusive and accessible. EPF’s priorities for future EU action to unleash the potential of the public transport sector include: - A seamless European passenger transport system - Access to unbiased, dynamic journey information, enabling informed choices, both when planning and making journeys - Passenger protection - Administrative and political boundaries should not be a barrier to the efficiency of Europe’s passenger transport system - More informed decision making - A greater focus on end-users. Taking these priorities as our starting point (www.epf.eu/wp/epf-priorities-for-future-eu-action), here are some initial reflections on the New Consumer Agenda Roadmap from EPF’s perspective: 1. There is a continuing need to ensure that passengers, as the weaker party to the service contract, are treated fairly when things go wrong with their journey and are granted protection. EPF insists on a comprehensive framework of passenger protection based on principles applicable across all modes and capable of meeting the needs of passengers using more than one mode of public transport for their journey. EPF supports the arguments outlined by BEUC on Passengers Rights: because most journeys involve the use of more than one mode, modal shift to sustainable public transport depends on public transport provision being under-pinned by supportive 'soft' measures across all modes. 2. Consumer rights too frequently depend on a careful study of lengthy and tedious Terms & Conditions. Very often, even the passenger rights' acquis requires careful reading to inform when protection is and is not afforded. The Consumer Agenda should have as one of its objectives that consumer rights' protection should be straight-forward to understand and easily accessible for all consumers who feel wronged, whatever their level of education. This should be treated as a democratic right. 3. There should be a step-change in the effectiveness and consistency of enforcement bodies throughout the Union and further attempts to develop mutual enforcement arrangements with third countries, as there appear to be considerable variances between the competence and capacity of NEBs. The European Union should also ensure that there is provision for Alternative Dispute Resolution, capable of dealing with disputes about multimodal journeys and that suitable arrangements are in place for the oversight of passengers’ rights in the case of journeys involving more than one mode. 4. There may need to be regulation to ensure integration of historic, static, and dynamic data from transport service providers to facilitate ‘whole journey’ planning, inform consumer choices and allow travel disruptions to be worked around. Transport service providers, particularly rail, are often reluctant to provide intending travellers, or third-party intermediaries such as ticketing retailers, with open access to transparent, non-discriminatory, accurate, up-to-date information. This restricts consumer choice, thereby distorting market efficiency. 5. Whereas industry associations like CER, UNIFE, UITP, IATA etc. are well financed by the sectors that they represent, consumers struggle to organise and finance their representation. In addition to the Commission subvention for BEUC, there is a strong case for financial support of organisations representing whole categories of consumers at European level, as EPF does for passengers. It would help ensure vigorous and appropriately informed contributions in areas demanding specialist understanding and expertise and reflect the importance of the plurality principle that underlies the European project.
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Response to Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy

29 Jul 2020

The European Passengers' Federation EPF welcomes the development of a strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility. We expect this strategy to be thought of from the user's point of view and to avoid a one-sided focus on the transport operator. The identification of customer requirements that lead to a modal shift in favour of environmentally friendly public transport must be the starting point of the strategy. The Eurobarometer survey on current mobility patterns, challenges and willingness to switch behaviours from September 2019 is a good starting point for this. It should be complemented by some essential but continuously measured KPIs, at least in the field of service quality. This would allow a continuous assessment of the effectiveness of all measures and a comparison between transport modes and transport companies. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the fundamental need to think of transport systems and services from a cross-border and user perspective and to prepare for crises. In this crisis, uncoordinated action has led in some cases to a situation where even those critical of the system were no longer able to meet mobility needs, especially at borders. EPF is prepared to play an active role in the further processing as a representative of customers and users of any means of transport.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

28 Jan 2020 · Expectations of rail passengers from the Green Deal

Response to Recast of Regulation (EC) 1371/2007 on rail passengers' rights and obligations

20 Nov 2017

EPF, the European umbrella organisation of national and regional passengers’ organisations with 38 member organisations 21 countries has assessed the proposal. Remarks and findings are attached.
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