EU Agrees to Improve Working Conditions for Tourist Bus Drivers

As part of ongoing negotiations to improve road safety and working conditions for tourist bus drivers, the European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement this week on breaks and rest times.

More specifically, under the agreement, three “flexibility elements” will be introduced to current legislation covering the minimum number of breaks and rests aimed at minimizing stress and fatigue and guaranteeing improved services for tourist trips across Europe.

The next step will be to present the final regulation to the Council and Parliament for approval. The Belgian presidency will submit the text to member states for endorsement and from there it will be published in the EU’s Official Journal before entering into force.

“We are proud to have achieved such a swift agreement with the Parliament on this important file. The new rules on minimum breaks and rests will ensure better working conditions for bus drivers and guarantee better services for tourist trips across Europe,” said Belgian Minister for Mobility Georges Gilkinet.

The legislation, which revises 2006 regulation, introduces provisions on breaks and rest periods for professional drivers engaged in occasional passenger transport, such as tour buses.

Amendments to the initial proposal include:

– allowing the flexibility on how to split the required minimum rest period of 45 minutes into two breaks spread over the 4.5 hours driving period

– allowing flexibility to postpone the daily rest period by one hour, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded seven hours, and that this option is exercised once during a journey with a duration of at least six days, or twice during a journey of at least eight days

– allowing the flexibility to postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive days following a previous regular weekly rest period. This option, already used in international services, could now be applied to domestic services as well.

In addition to the above changes, road safety standards are safeguarded and improved by the revised law through an enhanced control framework. The two EU bodies also agreed to “user-friendly and control-facilitating digital forms”.