APC would like to strengthen the status of coach traffic for better mobility in Europe. The goal of APC as an independent and neutral association is to generate transparency of actual coach offerings regarding complete routing, travel time, costs and conditions and security standards. Already the improvement of basic information will bring out serious benefits to all users along the value chain (travellers, travel agencies, coach operators and coach terminals) and in addition also to destinations by increasing tourism.
These benefits are:
– Increase attractiveness of offering / Options of creative ticketing and pricing models
– Expand market position
– Widen sales reach
– Secure higher utilization of passengers seats and better planning basis for resource allocation
– Improve customer satisfaction
– Increasing number of passenger
– Establishing of hub structure and intermodality development
– Optimization of database based planning
– Harmonization of terminal services
– Optimization of processes between coach operators and coach terminals
– Transparency
• Schedule, route and price information
-Single point of information for all point-to-point connections to plan a trip
-Information on schedule changes, delays, re-routing, estimated arrival-times
• Ticketing
-Buying the ticket(s) for the entire trip at one time
• Reservation and seating
-Getting a confirmation when booking to avoid overcrowding
• Additional and standardized services and processes around travelling by coach
-Security and reduce cross-border delays
• On-line tracking of current position, pre-checking of passenger identity cards to shorten border crossing and avoid delays or even entry denials, pre-clearing of customs
– Passenger rights
•Bus and coach passenger services should benefit citizens in general. Consequently, disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, whether caused by disability, age or any other factor, should have opportunities for using bus and coach services that are comparable to those of other citizens.
•Information and service accessibility for all passenger categories at designated terminals, including all essential information provided should also be provided, upon request, in alternative, user’s friendly formats; assistance provided to disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility.
•Improvement of passenger awareness according to their rights, so that they can effectively exercise those rights.
– Increasing number of traveller and visitor to the great cities (i. e. capitals).
The task of APC is to find new effective and successful forms of partnerships and cooperation between operators and transport modes. Cooperation between modes to provide complementary offers, including potential connection of timetables, provision of travel information to customers and ticketing.
The combination of all services regarding coach travel in combination with other modes of transport will help to connect countries and people and will support employment as well as personal cultural exchange.
For the positive perception of the cross-border coach transport, it is important that the social and political forces to provide necessary support. That means that have be an equal treatment of traffic types. In particular, the financial support and regulatory framework are required to develop the bus terminal into an efficient, service-based and modern entrance gate of the cities.
