Article 1
Open ↗Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 is amended as follows: (1) in Article 4, point (n) is replaced by the following: ‘(n) “regular passenger services” means “regular services” and “special regular services” as defined in Article 2, points 2 and 3, respectively, of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *1 ) , whether national or international; (na) “occasional passenger services” means “occasional services” as defined in Article 2, point 4, of Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, whether national or international; ( *1 ) Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009on common rules for access to the international market for coach and bus services, and amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 ( OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, p. 88 ).’;" (2) in Article 7, the following paragraph is inserted after the second paragraph: ‘For a driver engaged in an occasional passenger service, the break referred to in the first paragraph may also be replaced by two breaks, of at least 15 minutes each, distributed over the driving period referred to in the first paragraph, in such a way as to comply with the provisions of the first paragraph.’ ; (3) Article 8 is amended as follows: (a) the following paragraph is inserted: ‘2a. Provided that road safety and the working conditions of the driver are not thereby jeopardised, a driver engaged in a single occasional passenger service with a duration of at least six consecutive 24 hour periods may derogate from paragraph 2, first subparagraph, by taking the daily rest period once within a maximum of 25 hours after the end of the previous daily rest period or weekly rest period, provided that the total accumulated driving time for that day has not exceeded seven hours. Complying with the same conditions, that derogation may be used twice in a single occasional passenger service with a duration of at least eight consecutive 24 hour periods. The use of that derogation is without prejudice to the maximum working time under the applicable law. ’; (b) paragraph 6a is amended as follows: (i) the introductory phrase is replaced by the following: ‘By way of derogation from paragraph 6, a driver engaged in a single occasional passenger service may postpone the weekly rest period for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods following a previous regular weekly rest period, provided that:’ ; (ii) point (a) is deleted; (iii) the following subparagraph is added: ‘The Commission shall examine the options for digitalising the journey form referred to in Article 16(4) in the context of broader digitalisation efforts in the road transport sector.’ ; (4) in Article 16, the following paragraphs are added: ‘4. For the purpose of roadside checks, until a digital journey form is available, the driver shall be able to justify the use of the derogations under Article 7, third paragraph, and Article 8(2a) and (6a) by: (a) carrying on board the vehicle a completed journey form, containing the information required in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009, which the transport undertaking shall be responsible for providing the driver with prior to each journey; and (b) carrying on board the vehicle paper or electronic copies of such journey forms which cover the previous 28 days, and, from 31 December 2024, the previous 56 days. The obligation in point (b) of the first subparagraph shall cease to apply at the latest when the vehicle uses a tachograph allowing the recording of the type of passenger service referred to in paragraph 5. For national services, the journey form for international services may be used, indicating its use for national service. The Commission may adopt an implementing act establishing the format of the journey form for national services to simplify checks on compliance, if appropriate. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 24(2a). No later than 31 December 2026, the Commission shall assess the options for digitalising the journey form for drivers engaged in occasional passenger services in terms of feasibility, cost-effectiveness and its impact on enforceability and working conditions of drivers and, if appropriate, present to the European Parliament and the Council a legislative proposal regarding such digitalisation. That assessment shall cover the development of a digital journey form containing the information required in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1073/2009 to allow such information to be electronically registered prior to the start of the journey in a multilingual interface to which operators have access. To that end, the Commission may also explore the possibility of developing one or more new modules for the Internal Market Information System established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *2 ) . 5. To ensure uniform application and enforcement of Article 7, third paragraph, and Article 8(2a) and (6a), the Commission shall, at the earliest occasion of reviewing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 ( *3 ) or any implementing act replacing it, and at the latest by 23 November 2025, adopt implementing acts laying down appropriate technical specifications that enable the recording and storage on the tachograph of data relating to the type of passenger service, namely regular or occasional passenger service. The date of application of those implementing acts shall be set after consulting the relevant stakeholders. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 24(2a). ( *2 ) Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System and repealing Commission Decision 2008/49/EC (“the IMI Regulation”) ( OJ L 316, 14.11.2012, p. 1 )." ( *3 ) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 of 18 March 2016implementing Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the requirements for the construction, testing, installation, operation and repair of tachographs and their components ( OJ L 139, 26.5.2016, p. 1 ).’;" (5) the following Article is inserted: ‘ Article 17a By 31 December 2028, the Commission shall draw up a report assessing the consequences of the provisions of this Regulation relating to the occasional passenger services sector in respect of road safety and social aspects, in particular the working conditions of drivers. The Commission shall send that report to the European Parliament and the Council. If it considers it to be appropriate, the Commission shall make relevant legislative proposals. ’; (6) in Article 19(2), the first subparagraph is replaced as follows: ‘2. A Member State shall enable the competent authorities to impose a penalty on an undertaking and/or a driver for an infringement of this Regulation or of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 detected on its territory and for which a penalty has not already been imposed, even where that infringement has been committed on the territory of another Member State or of a third country.’.