2011-03-12

Annual report 2010

Introduction

This year has seen significant steps in the development of our federation and our activities. We began our participation in the ENERQI project about passenger satisfaction and we started work with our partners to prepare the USEmobility project which will study the influences on choice of transport mode in ten European regions.

The year has also seen progress in the development and implementation of passenger rights and the telematics project in the service of rail passengers.

Our federation has played a continuous and important role in this work.

Activities

1. In March our conference took place in Malmö, Sweden, and the entire weekend was full of interest - high quality speakers and discussions and some very interesting excursions. We thank our colleagues from ResenärsForum for a very well-organised event. We have published and distributed a report which can also be found on our website.
2. Representatives of EPF have given presentations at conferences and seminars in Berlin, Salzburg, Trier, Brussels, Liège, Kassel, Amsterdam and Budapest. These are opportunities to express the passengers' point of view but also to listen to expert speakers from industry and politics, to network and to learn from the experiences of other voluntary associations.
3. We have considered the review of European air passengers' rights and the examination of possible changes in the First Railway Package. We have sent our comments to the European Commission. Our discussions with the Commission and with the cabinet of the Transport Commissioner in this respect were very productive.
4. EPF is also a forum, or place for debate - in person and electronic - for its members in 18 European countries. This is how we share our experiences and opinions on such subjects as the effects of the snow and the Icelandic volcano; customer care; ticket distribution and station opening hours.
5. Our 2010 Work Programme envisaged publication of our report "Journeys without Borders" and the updated list of cross-border services on our website. In October we completed both projects. We are now receiving reactions and we are working together with associations such as IGOB in the Polish-German border region and our new member association DERKE in the Hungarian-Romanian border region. We note also the beginning of a Spanish-French lobby for the improvement of regional services between Languedoc-Roussillon and Catalonia. Our productive contacts have also continued with the project "Regions of Connected Knowledge" based in Eindhoven.
6. The regular dialogue between our federation and international bodies such as UITP and CER has continued; and we have also started dialogue with the European Disability Forum and with the federation of transport trades unions.
7. We have established or reorganised three expert groups: for long-distance rail; buses and coaches; urban transport. These groups should contribute to our Work Programme with their studies and actions in these specialist fields and also profit from the knowledge and experience of individual members of our affiliated associations.
8. For several years we have been conducting dialogue with the operators Eurostar and Thalys. In 2010 we also contributed our opinions to the inquiry into the problems of Eurostar during the snow. For the first time we met the Directors of Railteam for a very useful discussion and as a result we produced a questionnaire for high speed train passengers. This has been on our website since January 1st and we are sure that it will provide a lot of information about positive and negative experiences.
9. How do we communicate our views? Apart from our bulletin and website, magazines such as FNAUT-Infos, Mondig Mobiel, Railwatch, Regionale Schienen and Railteam Express have published articles on our opinions and activities. There have also been interviews with the BBC, Westdeutscher Rundfunk and a Polish television channel. It is, of course, our member associations who make comments to the media concerning their domestic transport. As for EPF, it always remains an important part of our programme to explain the European perspective and to draw instructive comparisons about good practice.
10. Our dialogues with the academic world have increased with new contacts at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University of Vienna.

Topics

1. There exist in Europe the possibilities of fast travel by plane, train, ship and coach - when these means of transport function well and when the operators talk to one another.
   But what happens when things do not work? In the case of bad weather, technical problems, delays and cancellations, it is necessary to have systems of co-operation, information and customer care. Let us not forget that airline and rail passengers have rights introduced by the European Union, those who travel by ship will also have them in two years' time and at the end of 2010 an agreement was reached for the introduction of rights for bus and coach passengers.
   Of course, the operators are sometimes in competition with one another, but when there are problems, they should also co-operate.
   The experiences of 2010 show that this topic should remain in the action programme of all players in 2011.
2. Although technology makes it possible to obtain information and reservations and buy tickets electronically, this is not perfect and it is not always possible to make all one's travel plans on line, especially for international and multimodal journeys. It remains one of our aims to see a European "sat nav" for travellers who would like to choose public transport for their international journeys.
   But we believe there is still a need for personal contact. It is important that staff who are there to serve and assist customers are well trained, informed and motivated.
3. Accessibility to ferries for pedestrians and cyclists is still sometimes a problem, for example on certain trips between Great Britain, Ireland and the Continent. Our affiliated association Railfuture has published a study and would like to co-operate with its counterparts in other countries in an effort to resolve these problems.
4. Good practice in urban transport and a comparison between large cities will be a priority for our expert group in 2011. Their study is to include large cities from London to Athens, from Stockholm to Marseille, from the passenger viewpoint. We also hope to make progress on the subject of night trains and we are following with interest the project "European Bus Systems of the Future."

Conclusion

Our Federation has been in existence since 2002. Many of our member associations have more than 30 years of experience. But most of our work is still accomplished by volunteers.

Our finances at the start of 2011 are stronger and during the coming year it is perhaps the time to discuss possible plans for the next five years so that we shall be able to develop a more and more effective voice for European passengers.

I thank all colleagues for their contributions to our work and our growing effectiveness.

Trevor Garrod
Chairman