madam president i strongly support the principle of passenger rights and it is only right that customers should expect a high standard of service
however we must have a sense of proportionality and look at what effect this will actually have
we have to compare the real benefits for users with the true costs to businesses in this sector
this house and the commission often take a one size fits all approach but we must accept that passenger rights differ across different modes of transport
air travel is not the same as bus travel
most importantly here the difference lies with the number of small- and medium-sized businesses in this sector
i believe everyone in this chamber knows the importance of reliable and profitable bus and coach services to our local economies and it is for this reason that i strongly support the introduction of the two hundred and fifty km rule
it is simply not right that small local companies providing very local or regional services should have these burdens put upon them
given the introduction of that protection and the value of the underlying principle of this legislation i strongly support the compromise
