NEWSROOM

The European Court of Auditors’ special report “Air Passenger rights during the Covid-19 pandemic”, covering the period from March 2020 until March 2021, was published on 29. June. ECA reporting member Annemie Turtelboom also presented the findings on 14. July during a European Parliament public hearing. The report confirmed that key passenger rights were not…

The COVID pandemic has caused a cataclysm in the mobility schemes that we knew. In the past year 2020, with the rise of the pandemic, new mobility paradigms have emerged, some of which are here to stay. The most obvious is teleworking but there are many others. A collateral effect of the pandemic has been…

The UIC (International Union of Railways) has published a state-of-the-art document with examples of scientific evidence, case studies and mathematical models that shows that clusters of Covid-19 are rare on public transport and among train staff, and that the probability of becoming infected on public transport is relatively low. A separate chapter focuses on the…

So far, 2020 has been a year in which change was our only certainty. Policies and recommendations changed almost on a weekly base and with that came the quite normal human feeling of fear. Nowadays we are not only fighting an invisible enemy (COVID-19), but also a very real feeling of anxiety whenever we step out…

The COVID-19 pandemic has struck public transport across Europe in an unprecedented way. Lower occupation levels and mandatory health inspections are now part of travelling with trains, trams and buses. Yet, public transport remains an essential part of society. It is a sustainable, accessible and affordable mobility option. Regaining passengers’ trust is crucial and even…

The end of June was marked by the lifting of many of the restrictive measures imposed during the pandemic. However, this was quickly followed by an increase of infections in several European countries and new steps were taken to stop the spread of COVID-19. Public transport is yet to return to normality but it is…

Last week, the European Railway Agency published its “Recommendations for safe resumption of railway services in Europe”. For the safe resumption of railway operations in Europe, the European Union Agency’s for Railways (ERA), the European Commission and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have developed operational guidelines with the COVID-19 railway protocol.…

Last month, the European Commission launched ‘Re-open EU‘, a web platform to support a safe relaunch of travelling and tourism across Europe. The platform provides real-time information on borders and available means of transport and tourism services in Member States. It also includes practical information provided by Member States on travel restrictions, public health and safety…

The European Passengers’ Federation (EPF) calls for a harmonization of health safety measures imposed in Public Transport within each European country and clear information for cross-border travelers. As governments across Europe lift the travel restriction measures taken this spring to control the spread of COVID-19, public transport (PT) is slowly returning to normality and regaining its…

As governments across Europe lift the travel restriction measures taken this spring to control the spread of COVID-19, public transport (PT) is slowly returning to normality and regaining its passengers. However, the “new normality” is very different from the reality we once knew and changes in health safety measures happen sometimes on a weekly basis.…