European Regulation 561/2006 has brought local bus services over 50km in length into scope of EU drivers’ hours and tachograph legislation, which is increasing costs and making rostering of drivers more difficult on longer rural bus services.

BUS USERS UK Chairman Gavin Booth says: ‘These services are often fragile enough without loading extra, unnecessary costs on them. We do appreciate the need for tighter controls on drivers’ hours on long-distance coach services, but these local bus services are very different and drivers on them are no more prone to fatigue than on any other bus service.’

Already numerous long-established inter-urban services, which create many important rural links, have been divided up into smaller sections, and some communities have fallen off the bus map in a bid to make services shorter. Moreover, over-zealous implementation of the rules has even ruled out through ticketing. ‘This is making many rural bus services less attractive at a time when it has never been more vital to encourage the use of public transport’, Mr Booth is telling MEPs.

BUS USERS UK is adding its voice to calls to exempt local bus services from the rules, by allowing local authorities to make a declaration that a particular service is essentially a local service despite its length, or redefining a local bus service as one with timetabled stopping places not more than 15min apart, regardless of overall length. Increasing the length of route qualifying for exemption to 100km is another possible solution, which would be an improvement but would still catch out some bus services.