Passenger Transport
In all European countries, normal driving and rest times will apply again from Monday 1 June. The exception to the regulations allowed by the European Commission laid down in Reg. 561/2006 is valid until May 31 and is not extended.
The Government have released an updated list of essential retail outlets after the lockdown was put in place in the battle against coronavirus.
All non-essential trips and social gatherings have been banned under the harsh new measures.
The order remains in place until May 18th.
Essential retail outlets will remain open but must adhere to strict social distancing guidelines.
Other business that off call-out or delivery services will be allowed to remain open on that basis only.
Public health measures in place until 18 May to prevent the spread of COVID-19 Published: 5 May 2020 From Department of Health and Department of the Taoiseach
Here’s the list in full.
Fuel types of new buses: diesel 85%, hybrid 4.8%, electric 4%, alternative fuels 6.2% share in 2019
Last year, 85.0% of all new medium and heavy buses (over 3.5 tonnes) registered in the European Union were fuelled by diesel, while the market share of petrol in this segment was close to zero. All alternatively-powered vehicles (APV) combined accounted for 15.0% of the EU bus market in 2019, with electrically-chargeable vehicles (ECV) making up 4.0% of total new bus registrations.
Introduction: In light of the potential impact of the Coronavirus on HGV operations and the importance of the road haulage sector to the national economy and in response to requests from the haulage industry, the Road Safety Authority and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport have agreed to allow a temporary and urgent derogation in respect of certain provisions of the EU driving and resting time rules. The proposed derogation will apply to all operators and drivers subject to the EU driver’s hours and tachograph rules engaged in the carriage of goods.
Coming into effect: The derogation comes into immediate effect from 18 March 2020 up to 16 April 2020 which will be reviewed every week as regards application and scope. Read more
Scania R450
The Scania R450 won with consumption of 23.25 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres. The Scania G 410 was placed third with average fuel consumption of 24.02 litres.
Scania R 450 convinced with the smallest average fuel consumption of 23.25 litres per 100 kilometres, the lowest CO2 emissions at 738 grams per kilometre, the highest speed with 80.42 km/h and the best score for fuel-efficiency.
The Scania G 410 was also tested by both magazines, Verkehrsrundschau and Truck and took a third-place in the environmental ranking with average fuel consumption of 24.02 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres and CO2 emissions of 762 grams per kilometre.
Protecting the climate, driving efficiently Every year, VerkehrsRundschau presents the Green Truck Award to the most environmentally friendly tractor truck from the previous test year. 13 vehicles are in the running, and it‘s a close race.
As of March 1, 2020, there is a duty to notify for employers abroad and relevant self-employed persons from countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland who have a temporary posting in the Netherlands
This applies in particular to posted professional drivers and own goods transport is also subject to the new regulation.
A deal between Parliament and Finnish Presidency negotiators on reforming the road transport sector was approved by the Transport and Tourism Committee on Tuesday.
The revised rules for posting of drivers, drivers’ rest times and better enforcement of cabotage rules (i.e. transport of goods carried out by non-resident hauliers on a temporary basis in a host member state) aim to put an end to distortion of competition in the road transport sector and provide better rest conditions for drivers.
In today’s crash-for-cash climate, the presence of vehicle cameras is a rising trend that hasn’t gone unnoticed. From simple dash-cams to full multi-camera systems, installing a vehicle camera solution protects your drivers against false claims, improve driving behaviour and lower insurance premiums.
But the benefits don’t stop there. Have a read of our top 5 reasons why you should be investing today… Read more
EU Mobility Package
The negotiators from the EU Parliament and member states have agreed on a compromise on the controversial reform of the rules for truck drivers. After years of inquiries and difficult negotiations, EU countries have agreed on new rules for the road haulage sector. The new rules will be introduced in 2021 and will also cover Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.
The EU Parliament, Commission and Council of Ministers sat through one final night of negotiations and agreed at 6.30am on Thursday 12 December. The new legislation must be formally approved by the Council and the Parliament. After that, the 28 EU member states have 18 months to include the changes in national legislation. The rules will also cover EEA countries, i.e. Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.
“The agreement means all those who run domestic transport companies in Ireland must offer Irish wages and working conditions and in Germany must offer German wages and working conditions. And if you are a permanent resident, you must register the truck and pay taxes in Sweden,” said Swedish MEP Johan Danielsson (S).
Fines for cabin camping only in the act
Negotiators of the European Parliament and the Council did not find a compromise on planned reforms for road freight transport during the nightly meeting. Above all, the flexibility of drivers’ driving and rest periods is controversial. The EU Parliament and Council negotiators met in Strasbourg on Monday to Tuesday night to discuss their positions on the planned reforms to road freight transport. However, the seven-hour meeting failed to deliver a breakthrough, according to the Transport Review by Ismail Ertug, Deputy Group Chairman of the S & D Group in the European Parliament. When and how it will continue, is currently not foreseeable. There will probably be another meeting in one to two weeks.
While most of the three dossiers on amendments to cabotage, driving and rest time regulations and secondment agreements were foreseeable, the European Parliament and Council do not find each other in the flexibilization of drivers’ driving time and rest periods as proposed by the Council. The Council is committed to ensuring that two consecutive weekly rest periods are possible in future. Parliament wants drivers and vehicles in international traffic to return to their country of origin every four weeks by truck. Read more
The Daimler Group has warned that tougher emissions rules in the EU will hurt its profits over the next two years. Daimler Group is struggling with falling profits as it looks to make a costly switch to electric vehicles. In the segment of vans and buses, the car manufacturer expects growth, and in the truck core markets a downturn.
The Daimler Group expects various commercial developments in the commercial vehicle segment in the future. In the course of further urbanization and the digitization of the trading business, the carmaker sees a growth field in the van business. In order to increase the competitiveness of Mercedes-Benz Vans, the material and personnel costs in this environment should nevertheless be reduced by 100 million euros.
As far as market share and profitability are concerned, the Daimler Group rank the Daimler Buses and Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) business units among the best in the industry. Together, they would make up 55 per cent of sales. The profitability of Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe and Latin America –
ieBUS-CRIS
In addition to an aesthetically pleasing design, this new generation, available in 10, 12, 15 and 18-metre versions, incorporates innovations as well as new batteries. Space has been optimized and there is, therefore, more passenger capacity and greater modularity. A new generation of more efficient batteries is combined with a regenerative braking system, which reduces consumption and offers greater vehicle range. In urban environments, driven by 350 kWh and in standard climate conditions, it offers an approximate autonomy of 250 km, which means about 17 hours of operation. The charging time has decreased and we can perform the slow charging of the vehicle in 3 hours. We also offer the option of fast pantograph charging.
BUCHAREST (Romania), November 7 (SeeNews) – The European Commission (EC) said it has approved Romanian liberal MEP Adina Ioana Valean as the new commissioner for transport.
Adina Ioana Valean – Romanian EU Commissioner for transport
“Romania today nominated two candidates for the Commissioner position. Both candidates held interviews with the president-elect and performed well. The president-elect of the European Commission has decided that Adina Valean will take over the Transport portfolio,” EC deputy chief spokesperson Mina Andreeva said on Wednesday evening during a press briefing in Brussels, as seen in a video file posted on the Commission’s website. Read more
How much more in taxes do petrol car drivers pay than diesel drivers, even though diesel engines are the main cause of the air pollution crisis in our cities? Which EU countries have managed to eliminate diesel’s unfair fiscal advantage? In which EU countries is zero tax levied on palm oil diesel? Answers to all these questions – and more – can be found in T&E’s interactive tool based on datasets of fuel consumption taxes for road transport in all 28 EU member states since 1995.
In real terms, today western Europeans pay less fuel tax than 20 years ago
Transport is the biggest emitter in the European Union. Road transport – cars, vans, trucks and motorcycles – accounts for 21% of total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While climate change has become a political priority of the new Commission (aka the European Green Deal), in real terms (considering inflation), fuel taxes have decreased in recent decades. In fact, the sales-weighted average petrol and diesel fuel tax dropped from 64 cents per litre of fuel in 1998 to 54 cents in 2018. Read more
The increasing sales of SUVs are the second-largest contributor to the rise in global CO2 emissions, the International Energy Agency has found. Between 2010 and 2018, the higher polluting vehicles SUVs doubled their global market share from 17% to 39%, sending their annual emissions to more than 700 megatonnes of CO2. That’s more than the annual total emissions of the UK and the Netherlands combined.
The IEA figures show that four in 10 cars sold worldwide last year were SUVs. In Europe, more than one in three cars sold were from that segment; in the US it’s one of every two cars sold.
Only the power drove a larger increase in carbon emissions, the IEA said. While highly profitable for carmakers to sell, SUVs are heavier and less aerodynamic – and therefore less fuel-efficient – than other cars. Read more
The world’s biggest truck manufacturer, Daimler, has said it will no longer develop fossil gas-powered trucks as they will not advance its goal of offering a carbon-neutral fleet. Daimler Trucks said it would instead invest in electric and hydrogen lorries.
Noting that gas engines are fossil-based Daimler Trucks and Bus head Martin Daum said the company was not going to ‘spend a lot of money on something that does not have a long-term future, when we can use that money much better elsewhere.’ Read more
Transport and mobility policies look set to go into overdrive under the next European Commission, as a heady mix of climate change ambition and competition concerns dictate the direction of travel. This is what the vision looks like.
Incoming Commission President Ursula von der Leyen built support for her candidacy by pledging to put green policies at the heart of her five-year-long mandate. Her nominations for Commissioners have largely reflected that promise.
“It is great to see the challenge being recognised in the appointment of Timmermans as vice-president for the EU Green Deal. This is a major assignment. Reaching climate-neutrality won’t be easy,” according to policy analyst Annika Herdberg. Read more
Countering Vehicle as a Weapon: Best Practice Guidance for Goods Vehicle Operators and Drivers has just been released by the UK Department for Transport and addresses VAW attacks, writes Tim Norris of Ashtons LegalSolicitors.
VAW stands for ‘Vehicle as a Weapon’. Such an attack requires relatively low-level preparation and little or no training but is potentially devastating in its impact. The guidance categorises all goods vehicles within that term to include anything from a small van to a large lorry.
Best Practice Guidance covers: Read more
DCPC
Only 2 months to go for professional truck, bus and coach drivers’ to complete their Driver CPC training before the September deadline.
All drivers need to make sure they’ve completed 7 hours of periodic training by 9 September 2019.
European Court reminds employers to properly record working time
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) last week delivered its judgment in a working time dispute between a Spanish trade union and Deutsche Bank.
The decision serves as a warning to employers to make sure employees’ working time is properly recorded and that employees take adequate rest breaks.
EU working time laws Read more