Awareness among passengers of their rights is low, a review into the Rights of Passengers in Bus and Coach Transport (Exemptions and Enforcement) Regulations has highlighted.
The government’s five-year review into the 2013 regulations was published in November.
The rules are intended “to prevent discrimination against bus and coach passengers by operators, particularly on the grounds of disability or nationality”.
Among the regulations are guidelines for delays, cancellations, accidents, and the accessibility of services for passengers who are disabled or have reduced mobility.
The review found that awareness of the regulations was relatively high among operators but passengers were less well informed.
This was stressed by Bus Users UK, which was one of 11 bodies and businesses responding to the review survey.
The passenger representation body says it would like to see a “commitment to launch a UK-wide promotion of the rights”.
Bus Users UK, which is an approved complaints-handling body for coach and bus passengers, adds: “Better signposting, greater consistency and clearer communication would go a long way towards building trust and ensuring passengers feel heard.”
As well as calling for clearer communication to passengers of their rights, the body notes scope to improve the regulations and that implementation of the newly passed Bus Services Act could assist in this regard.
Barclay Davies, Director for Wales with Bus Users UK and an expert on the regulations in the UK, says: “Passenger protection must be practical, accessible and actively promoted.
“While we welcome the overall findings of this review, we would like to have seen a commitment to a UK-wide promotion of the regulations to improve passenger awareness, and a strengthening of the passenger voice within enforcement processes.
“The lived experience of passengers should inform not only individual case handling, but policy and regulatory decisions.
“The conclusion that the regulations should be retained provides stability, but stability must not mean complacency.
“There is a clear opportunity to build on the existing framework by ensuring passengers are central to future developments.”
The responsibility for that better communication is shared between government, political parties, regulators and the industry, Mr Davies adds.
“Operators are often a passenger’s first point of contact, so there’s an important role for the industry in making rights visible, understandable and easy to act on,” he says. “But government and regulators also have a key role in setting expectations, ensuring consistency and supporting wider public awareness of the regulations, so passengers know what protections exist regardless of where or how they travel.
“Our concern is less about who does it, and more about the outcome: passengers understanding their rights, knowing where to go when things go wrong, and feeling confident the system will work for them.”
