EU road transport shapes its driver shortage, CO₂ and coach tourism stance

IRU’s EU members have agreed on new positions to tackle #drivershortages, #decarbonise realistically, and give coach #drivers’ rest time rules suited to their responsibilities.

𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗢₂ 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

IRU members agreed on industry-wide recommendations to improve the European Commission’s proposal to amend EU rules on CO₂ standards for heavy-duty vehicles. In May, the European Commission also put the road user charging legislation (the Eurovignette Directive) back on the table with a proposal to include trailers and semi-trailers in the CO₂ rate variation framework.

IRU’s position seeks to ensure that the new proposal will result in lower infrastructure charges when energy-efficient trailers and semi-trailers are used, acting as an incentive to further invest in such vehicles.

𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

IRU members reconfirmed their position on the EU Driving Licence Directive. One of IRU’s main calls is to lower the minimum driving age, which is essential to attracting a large pool of school-leavers to the profession.

𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀

The other position agreed by IRU members targets the current unfit coach tourism driving and rest time rules. The Commission acknowledges that the occasional passenger transport sector needs specific legislation, as it has different characteristics compared with freight and regular passenger transport.