Long-distance bus trip canceled - what now?

The passenger had booked a bus trip from Linz to Prague in order to attend an event in Prague in the afternoon. However, as the bus had not arrived at the bus stop where she wanted to board within an hour and she was unable to contact the bus company by telephone, she ended up driving to Prague in her own car.

After an initial attempt to clarify the situation with the bus company, she was informed that a replacement bus had been organized, which departed with a total delay of 1 hour and 40 minutes, meaning that the passenger was not entitled to compensation. Dissatisfied with this response, she turned to the Agency for Passenger Rights, which initiated an arbitration procedure .

The apf pointed out to the bus company that, in accordance with the Bus Passenger Rights Regulation (Art. 20 Para. 1 of Regulation (EC) No. 181/2011), it is obliged to provide passengers with comprehensive information in the event of cancellations and departure delays no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The reason for this is to enable passengers to decide whether any alternative transport offered is in their interest or whether they would prefer to forego the bus journey instead (e.g. because they would miss an event if they took a later journey).

The apf successfully mediated and obtained a refund of the ticket costs and compensation amounting to 50% of the ticket price. In addition, the bus company covered part of the fuel costs for the journey by private car, so that the person concerned received a total of 150 euros.

Recommendations from apf if you are also affected by a long-distance bus cancellation or departure delay:

• The company is obliged to inform you immediately in the event of a cancellation or delayed departure, but no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time.
• If the departure is delayed by more than 120 minutes or the journey is canceled altogether, the company must offer you the choice between a ticket refund and alternative transport.
• If this selection is not offered, you are entitled to additional compensation amounting to 50 percent of the ticket price.

Further interesting information on your passenger rights in bus transport can be found on the apf homepage at www.passagier.at