Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-03-Speech-2-082"
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"en.20001003.3.2-082"2
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"Our report discusses a proposal amending Council Directive 96/53/EC with a view to authorising buses with a length of 15 metres for circulation within the European Union. I welcome this proposal. Indeed, at the present time, the maximum legal length of passenger vehicles varies considerably from one European Union Member State to the next: in 7 countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece), the limit is 12 metres. In one country (Denmark), it is 13.7 metres. In two other countries (Sweden and Finland), it is 14.5 metres and in five other countries (with restricted use only in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria, and unrestricted use in Belgium and Germany) it is 15 metres.
This legal limit has not been explicitly harmonised at the European level, as it was not included in Directive 96/53/EC. To date, only 12-metre buses are authorised to circulate freely throughout all the territory of the Community. At the request of the Council of Ministers, the Commission has drawn up a proposal seeking to include passenger vehicles in Council Directive 96/53/EC in order to harmonise not only the length of rigid buses but also to create a clearer situation regarding removable attachments on buses and trailers.
Even in countries where 15-metre buses are not allowed officially, in practice they are not refused or sent back at the border. In that sense one can say that this proposal formalises an existing situation.
There are commercial reasons behind the extended length of buses. A 15-metre bus can take some 67 passengers, i.e. 16 more than a 12-metre bus. Obviously, some operators are driven to resort to longer buses by the imperatives of competition. It must, however, be pointed out that there is another way of increasing the number of seats per vehicle and that is to use double-decker buses and coaches.
At the same time, introducing larger buses would make it possible to reduce the number of buses on the road, thereby reducing damage to the environment.
In order to guarantee the safety of vulnerable road users and as far as possible to prevent problems relating to the existing road infrastructure, the proposal provides for limits, applicable to all buses, on admissible outswing when turning.
Clearly, it will take time to implement such adaptations. That is why I think it wise to allow reasonable transitional periods that will enable the production facilities of the 15 Member States to adapt to the new criteria, thereby avoiding distortions of competition.
In voting, therefore, I have attempted to reconcile respect for the environment, imperatives of completing the internal market, and to take account of the new restrictions placed on vehicle manufacturers."@en1
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