The Road Transport (International Passenger Services) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Amendment of the Road Transport (International Passenger Services) Regulations 2018

3.—(1) The Road Transport (International Passenger Services) Regulations 2018(1) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 3 (interpretation)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) for the definition of “Interbus”, substitute—

““Interbus” means the Agreement on the international occasional carriage of passengers by coach and bus (Interbus Agreement) originally concluded in Brussels on 30th June 2001 and as acceded to by the United Kingdom by instrument of accession deposited on 29th October 2020(2);”;

(ii) after the definition of “Regulation 1071/2009”, insert—

““RPT Chapter” means Title II of Heading Three of Part Two (transport of passengers by road) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement(3), together with—

(a)

Annexes 32, 33 and 34 to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement; and

(b)

Articles 124, 135 and 137 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, so far as applying to that Title;

“RSR Protocol” means the Protocol to Interbus regarding the international regular and special regular carriage of passengers by coach and bus(4);

“Trade and Cooperation Agreement” has the meaning given in section 37(1) of the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020;”;

(iii) omit the definition of “Regulation 1073/2009”;

(b) in paragraph (2), for “Regulation 1073/2009 and Interbus”, substitute “the RPT Chapter, Interbus and the RSR Protocol”;

(c) in paragraph (3), for “Regulation 1073/2009 or Interbus”, substitute “the RPT Chapter, Interbus or the RSR Protocol”.

(3) After regulation 3, insert—

“Status of international agreements

3A.— (1) The road passenger transport agreements, in their English language version, form part of domestic law on and after 1st April 2025.

(2) Any enactment has effect on and after 1st April 2025 with such modifications as—

(a) are required in consequence of paragraph (1) or otherwise for the purposes of implementing the road passenger transport agreements, and

(b) are capable of being ascertained from the agreements or otherwise from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as it has effect on that date.

(3) Paragraphs (1) and (2)—

(a) are subject to any equivalent or other provision—

(i) which (whether before, on or after 1st April 2025) is made by or under the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 or any other enactment or otherwise forms part of domestic law, and

(ii) which is for the purposes of (or has the effect of) implementing to any extent the Trade and Cooperation Agreement or any other future relationship agreement (as defined in section 37(1) of the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020), and

(b) do not limit the scope of any power which is capable of being exercised to make any such provision.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation—

(a) the road passenger transport agreements are the following, as they have effect on 1st April 2025—

(i) the RPT Chapter,

(ii) Interbus, and

(iii) the RSR Protocol;

(b) references to the purposes of (or having the effect of) implementing an agreement (or any provision of an agreement) include references to the purposes of (or having the effect of) making provision consequential on any such implementation.

(5) In this regulation “domestic law” means the law of—

(a) England and Wales, and

(b) Scotland.”.

(4) For regulation 4 (other than the heading) (competent authorities), substitute—

“4.— (1) The competent authority is—

(a) for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (2), the Secretary of State; and

(b) for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (3), the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

(2) The purposes mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) are these Regulations and—

(a) non-liberalised occasional services to which Articles 15 and 16 of Interbus apply where the point of departure is in Great Britain;

(b) regular and special regular services to which—

(i) Articles 477, 479, 480 and 481 of the RPT Chapter apply; and

(ii) Articles 8 to 12 of the RSR Protocol apply;

for transport operators established in Great Britain.

(3) The purposes mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) are—

(a) the issue of control documents to transport operators established in Great Britain for the purposes of Article 10 of Interbus for occasional services exempted from authorisation as set out in Annex 3 of Interbus; and

(b) occasional services outside the scope of Interbus but falling within Article 475 of the RPT Chapter where the point of departure is in Great Britain.

(4) It is the duty of the competent authority to perform the functions conferred on the competent authority by the provisions specified in paragraph (2) or (3) as appropriate.”.

(5) In regulation 5 (use of a public service vehicle not registered in the United Kingdom), for paragraph (1)(b) substitute—

“(b) the RSR Protocol for the provision of regular services or special regular services, or

(c) the RPT Chapter for the provision of occasional services, regular services or special regular services outside the scope of Interbus and the RSR Protocol.”.

(6) In regulation 6 (use of a public service vehicle for regular, special regular or cabotage services for international operations)—

(a) in the heading to the regulation, for “, special regular or cabotage” substitute “or special regular”;

(b) for paragraph (1), substitute—

“(1) This regulation applies to a vehicle which is registered in a member State, an EEA State or an Interbus State, and which is being used in Great Britain in accordance with the RSR Protocol or the RPT Chapter for the provision of—

(a) regular services, or

(b) special regular services.”;

(c) after paragraph (2) insert—

“(3) In this regulation “Interbus State” has the same meaning as in regulation 5.”.

(7) In regulation 7 (fees)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) for “control document”, substitute “relevant document”;

(ii) after “is made”, insert “to the Confederation of Passenger Transport”;

(b) in paragraph (2)—

(i) for “an authorisation”, substitute “a relevant document”;

(ii) after “is made”, insert “to the Secretary of State”;

(c) after paragraph (3), insert—

“(4) In this regulation “relevant document” means—

(a) a control document,

(b) an authorisation,

(c) a journey form, or

(d) a waybill.”.

(8) In regulation 12(1) (supply of information), for the words from “Article 7(3)” to the end, substitute—

“—

(a) Article 9(3) of the RSR Protocol; or

(b) Article 478(3) of the RPT Chapter.”.

(9) In regulation 13(1) (power to stop), for sub-paragraph (a), substitute—

“(a) an operator’s licence for the international carriage of passengers by road,”.

(10) For regulation 16(1) (offences), substitute—

“(1) A person is guilty of an offence if that person breaches a provision of—

(a) Interbus set out in Schedule 2;

(b) the RSR Protocol set out in Schedule 3; or

(c) the RPT Chapter set out in Schedule 4.”.

(11) Omit Schedule 1 (offences for breach of Regulation 1073/2009).

(12) Schedule 1 inserts into the Regulations a new Schedule 3 (offences for breach of the RSR Protocol) and a new Schedule 4 (offences for breach of the RPT Chapter).

(1)

S.I. 2018/1395, as amended by S.I. 2019/741.

(2)

Cm 9699; the United Kingdom deposited its instrument of accession to the Interbus Agreement on 29th October 2020 and became a Contracting Party in its own right on 1st January 2021.

(3)

CP 426. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukeu-and-eaec-trade-and-cooperation-agreement-ts-no82021.

(4)

O.J. L No. 122, 5.5. 2023, p. 3. Copies of the RSR Protocol are available on request from International Market Access Team, Road Freight Strategy, Motoring and Freight Directorate, Road Transport Group, Department for Transport, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2DR, or by email at [e-mail], or by using the contact form athttps://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ZVVFD6/.