A lack of clarity currently surrounds how coach parking in Paris will be paid for over coming weeks after suspension of the Pass Autocar service beyond 30 April, but operators have been advised that coach spaces in the city will remain available for use during that period.
Such a hiatus has happened because of a decision by the Commercial Court of Paris around a “judicial reorganisation” of the company responsible for the scheme’s operation. Work is underway to source a new provider, with a brief statement on the Pass Autocar website advising that the city of Paris is “urgently” seeking to appoint such a body.
However, reopening is not expected before mid-June. Operations “will therefore continue in a degraded mode,” the statement continues.
Investigation by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) in partnership with the International Road Transport Union and French trade body the Fédération Nationale des Transports de Voyageurs has confirmed that any already-purchased coach parking will be honoured during the period of suspension.
That provision in the city will continue to be an operational cost while the website is down, but CPT advises that it is not yet clear how visits during the period for which the portal is unavailable will be charged retrospectively once it or a replacement is live again.
“We are trying to establish if the Paris authorities will do this automatically or whether operators will need to proactively use a website to pay,” says CPT UK Coach Manager Phil Smith.
“Operators should continue to go to Paris and park as normal,” he continues, noting that peak season for UK coach visits to the French capital is underway.
It is understood that suspension of the Pass Autocar service was unexpected. The website will temporarily be inaccessible from 0001hrs on Thursday 1 May, although at least one operator moved quickly to pay for all planned coach parking until mid-June ahead of the temporary closure.
