11.8.2017   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 265/2

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having regard to Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport (1),

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having regard to Commission Regulation (EU) No 454/2011 on the technical specification for interoperability relating to the subsystem ‘telematics applications for passenger services’ of the trans-European rail system (2),

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having regard to Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (3),

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having regard to the Commission communication entitled ‘Action Plan for the Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in Europe’ (COM(2008)0886),

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having regard to the 2011 Commission White Paper entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’ (COM(2011)0144),

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having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2011 on the Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system (4),

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having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document entitled ‘Towards a roadmap for delivering EU-wide multimodal travel information, planning and ticketing services’ (SWD(2014)0194),

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having regard to the Action Plan on Urban Mobility (COM(2009)0490),

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having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee,

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having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions,

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having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A8-0183/2015),

A.

whereas, despite ongoing efforts, the aim outlined in Initiative 22 in the 2011 White Paper (5) of enabling seamless multimodal door-to-door travel using intelligent systems for interoperable and multimodal scheduling, online reservation systems and smart ticketing has not yet been realised;

B.

whereas most travellers continue to prefer individual transport, and whereas, given that creating EU-wide journey planners will not in itself be enough to achieve better integration of the various modes of transport, each of these transport modes needs to become more efficient, sustainable and user friendly, and that process will be significantly assisted by, inter alia, the adoption of the Fourth Railway Package to the extent that it would ensure equal access to infrastructure also for smaller operators, SMEs and start-ups, the adoption of the Regulation on air passengers’ rights and of a European waterways strategy and the implementation of the Single European Sky and TEN-T priority projects;

C.

whereas, despite the Commission defining integrated ticketing as a combination of different transport methods into one single ticket, such a definition is not always shared by businesses and some service providers only aim to provide interoperable tickets, which hampers further developments in the sector;

1.

Points out that EU-wide multimodal travel information, a cross-border integrated approach on journey planning and ticketing services, especially for long-distance travel are part of the answer to major challenges in the European transport sector, including those of sustainability, multimodality, improvement of safety in all transport modes, efficiency and economic viability, the creation of quality jobs and labour mobility and are therefore equally beneficial to society, the economy, the environment, social cohesion and the tourism industry;

2.

Emphasises that EU-wide integrated multimodal travel information, planning and ticketing services provide European businesses, especially SMEs and start-ups, with opportunities for innovation and hence constitute a major contribution to a globally competitive European single market and the completion of a single European transport area;

3.

Emphasises that EU-wide personal mobility is a prerequisite for the exercise of basic freedoms and that consumers should therefore be able to access comprehensive, accurate and neutral information regarding both timetables and connections about multimodal and cross-border transport links for seamless, facilitated door-to-door travel with high standards of comfort and to make the necessary reservations and payments online; welcomes incentives to encourage travellers to combine several available modes of transport; notes that in most of the Member States the option of purchasing tickets for national and cross-border journeys within the EU via the Internet or mobile application is still lacking; is of the opinion that geo-blocking should not be permitted;

4.

Underlines the importance for users of getting one ticket for one multimodal journey and sees the enabling of fair and equal access to multimodal travel and traffic data and therefore the provision of comprehensive, easily accessible, neutral, reliable and real-time information for travellers as a prerequisite for integrated ticketing systems and emphasises that, in order to ensure that measures to that end are fair, it is of prime importance that they be accompanied by the internalisation of external costs for all modes of transport and by information on the environmental performance of the different modes;

5.

Notes that consumers should at all times be given transparent pricing information; stresses therefore that reservation and payment systems should clearly indicate the total ticket price for any selected journey, including compulsory elements such as taxes and charges; emphasises the importance of innovative IT-based platforms that reduce reservation and transaction charges overall and underlines the importance of allowing for a variety of payment options for purchasing travel tickets; calls upon the EU and Member States to do more to restrict fees for the use of credit cards or other reasonable forms of payment for public transport services;

6.

Emphasises that the incompatibility and inconsistency of data layers, the diversity and the missing interoperability of data formats and data exchange protocols undermine the existence of integrated multimodal information, planning and ticketing services in the EU and create additional costs; calls on the Commission to ensure that any regulatory action keeps up with the rapid developments in the transport sector and does not create an unnecessary burden;

7.

Welcomes efforts in both the public and private sectors to introduce journey planners together with the required open standards and interfaces, but notes that many such services cover only specific regions or countries and that few are multimodal; calls therefore, as a first step, for transport services providers and providers of journey planners to build on existing synergies and to focus more closely on providing multimodal, cross-border journey planners with tailored ticketing arrangements, devoting particular attention to the language in which services are provided, taking into account the use of minority languages and linking long-distance and local transport including the ‘first and last mile’, i.e. by upgrading the different systems to develop their interoperability and enable communication between them; calls on the Commission to use the TEN-T corridors as a pilot project for the identification of passenger flows and the potential for multimodal information, travel planning and ticketing services;

8.

Calls on the Commission to develop a repository of good practices for locally, regionally or nationally run projects, to serve as a basis for implementation of the latter across the EU;

9.

Stresses that the ease and convenience of purchase using multimodal integrated ticketing systems will attract more passengers to public transport, which will increase their satisfaction and benefit public transport companies;

10.

Calls on the Commission, with regard to multimodal integrated ticketing services, to take the measures necessary to create a clear framework, supporting and facilitating the efforts being made by the stakeholders and the competent authorities, the agreements they have already concluded and the innovative nature of the products and services on offer and in the event that no significant progress in creating integrated, interoperable multimodal, cross-border ticketing systems is made by 2020 calls on the Commission, building on the progress already made and the voluntary initiatives already introduced, to take legislative action by introducing minimum rules and a timetable;

11.

Highlights the active role and the responsibility of local and regional authorities with regard to the ‘first and last mile’ of journeys; considers it essential that they be involved in implementing individual measures, in supervising their operation and in ensuring that the system as a whole functions effectively; taking the above points into account, calls on the competent authorities in the Member States

12.

Shares the Commission’s view that fair, open and equal access for all information, travel planning and ticketing service providers, including SMEs and start-ups, to comprehensive, multimodal real-time transport and travel data is a prerequisite for EU-wide multimodal travel information, planning and ticketing services, and calls on the Commission to circulate a proposal requiring all providers to make available, on fair and equal terms, all the information needed for putting in place more comprehensive services and thereby giving travellers a genuine and accessible choice between the most sustainable, best-value or fastest connections, without prejudice to the commercial interests of the service providers involved;

13.

Emphasises that, in line with the EU’s competition policy, it is incumbent on the Commission to identify and counter any potential danger of multimodal information and ticketing providers’ monopolising information; adds that the Commission must also ensure that the share assigned to paying for the electronic ticketing service does not assume such proportions as to penalise passenger transport undertakings;

14.

Urges that a platform for dialogue be established, involving all the representatives of the transport sector and competent authorities on a local, regional, national and European level, to develop feasible arrangements for the phased EU-wide introduction of interoperable electronic ticketing systems taking account of the entire journey cycle from planning to the purchasing of tickets and to identify and address the problems of distributing ticket-sales income in a proportionate manner and of cost-sharing in the event of disputes between contracted parties; is of the opinion that these solutions should be developed in a market-driven manner without burdening operators and passengers with disproportionate costs; calls on the Commission to strongly promote through EU co-financing synergies in this field between Trans-European Telecommunications and Transport networks;

15.

Points out that European passenger rights are limited to the extent that they apply separately to each contract of carriage individually, but when a journey involves cross-border legs or multimodal transport, passenger rights cannot be guaranteed in the usual way and urges therefore the Commission to respond to Parliament’s call, in its resolution on the 2011 Roadmap (6), for a Charter of Passengers’ Rights covering all forms of transport by bringing forward a proposal for such a Charter, including a separate section on multimodal journeys with clear and transparent protection of passengers’ rights in the multimodal context taking account of the specific characteristics of each transport mode, and integrated multimodal ticketing, by the end of 2017;

16.

Emphasises the crucial importance, in terms of social mobility, and considering the demographic change in Europe, of equal barrier-free access to transport for all and in particular for vulnerable people, and calls for more attention to be paid to the needs of people with disabilities or limited mobility as well as to the special requirements of elderly people in relation to access to travel information before and during journeys, ticketing options and reservation and payment systems, including the ability to reserve wheelchair spaces; welcomes the Commission’s European Accessibility Act Roadmap and the potential for legislative action to remove economic and social barriers facing people with disabilities; urges the Commission to tackle barriers to transport as part of its efforts to improve accessibility;

17.

Underlines the importance of safeguarding different pricing models and payment options (allowances, discounts, etc.) so as to ensure that certain groups in society (the unemployed, retired, students, large families, people with low income and other disadvantaged social groups) may benefit from multimodal ticketing systems in the EU;

18.

Notes that multimodal transport information systems should be user-friendly and hence complemented by updated map and geographical data;

19.

Calls for the continuation of support for stakeholders for innovative problem solving, and therefore for the relevant sources of EU financing, e.g. the Shift2Rail Innovation Programme 4 under the Horizon 2020 programme and the Connecting Europe Facility, along with the structural funds to be not only maintained but developed; urges the European Investment Bank to make appropriate use of the European Fund for Strategic Investment in this regard;

20.

Calls on the Commission to publish an easily accessible list with a regular evaluation of EU co-financed projects on ‘intermodal integrated ticketing’;

21.

Highlights the vital role of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and, in particular, the Galileo European navigation satellite system, in dynamic data collection, enabling travellers to be informed about possible disruption and alternative travel options both before they set off and en route; stresses that the benefits of satellite systems must at all times be matched by sufficient data protection provisions;

22.

Points out the need to reduce congestion and air pollution in urban areas and calls for the introduction of incentives to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport across Europe, with the inclusion in travel information and journey-planning services of information about diverse mobility services, e.g. car sharing, carpooling, park-and-ride systems, bicycle rental systems, cycles lanes and footpaths;

23.

Welcomes the increasing availability of integrated electronic ticketing systems in cities and other urban areas, such as inclusive digital ‘smartcard’ technologies that can be used across the different transport modes, and also for cross-border travel, but emphasises that technical solutions should be left to the market and not be imposed at European level;

24.

Notes that permanently good network connections are one of the prerequisites for creating a passenger-friendly smart system capable of providing dynamic information on the traffic situation in real time; calls on the Commission therefore to prioritise facilitating, encouraging and supporting the wide availability of free or low-cost high-speed digital infrastructures, on all transport modes and at all transport interchanges, via the Connecting Europe Facility, Horizon 2020, EFSI and other relevant funding sources;

25.

Underscores the importance of data protection, urges compliance with Directive 95/46/EC and calls for clear conditions to be laid down for the use and transmission of data, particularly in respect of personal data, which should be processed and used only in ‘anonymised’ form and only for the purposes of facilitating intermodal ticketing; outlines that the purchase and payment of tickets via mobile and internet applications should preferably be available without need of registration in the system;

26.

Highlights the importance of journey planning, accessible multimodal information and clear and transparent ticketing, including through digital and online platforms, and the need for better access to public transport whilst travelling abroad in the EU and for encouraging the modernisation of sustainable transport services in order to attract tourists from within and outside the EU, since this will facilitate the entire journey planning process; highlights also the potential positive effects of an integrated ticketing system in terms of a better connection of all regions, particularly the most remote regions, such as the outermost regions;

27.

Stresses the need for more and better promotion and showcasing of the more than a hundred multimodal journey planners that are already available in cities, regions and on the national level in the EU, and calls also for efforts promoting the interconnection of these services;

28.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.