International occasional services
Regular, special and shuttle services are runs of minibusses, coaches, and buses for a specific purpose and with a published timetable. However, there are services that do not have such a timetable, so they are called occasional. They concern not only minibusses up to 9 people with a driver, but also coaches and buses - here everything is regulated by the Interbus agreement. The most important information about these transportations is the fact that for occasional travel by vehicles to 9 seats with driver is not required license. Unfortunately, coaches and buses despite international occasional transport must have such a license. What's more, if the occasional passenger transport exceeds the borders of the European Union or the Swiss Confederation and member states of the European Free Trade Agreement, then another permission is required, issued by the Chief Inspector of Road Transport.
Occasional carriages - definition from Interbus agreement
According to this agreement, the international occasional carriage of passengers is transporting at least two contracting parties between two territories. Importantly, the fact that the journeys are made within a certain frequency does not mean that they lose their occasional character. The presented content is contained in the Interbus Agreement regulates the international occasional road transport of passengers of any nationality, carried out by a road transport operator for profit, which is established in a contracting party and holds a license if the occasional transport is carried out with the help of a coach or bus.
License is not required for vehicles with less than 9 seats
As we wrote at the beginning, a license for occasional transport is not required when the transport is carried out in a minibus with nine seats. However, the driver should then have a document that will confirm the control authority in the belief that he performs international occasional transport because he will not have a license, or a driving form, ie Interbus Book and Book of Travel Forms. Each driver also needs documents such as:
- vehicle registration certificate with a document confirming its insurance
- driving license cat. B
- medical and psychological certificate for the driver.
Interestingly, in the regulations, there is no clear information on what document could be a confirmation of performing international occasional transport.
Permit for international occasional transport (coaches and buses)
As we have already written, this is a necessary document when occasional transport is carried out outside the borders of the Community, the Swiss Confederation, and the European Free Trade Association. It will be needed, among others, when the transport will take place, for example, from Poland to Russia or Belarus. Such a permit is issued by the Chief Inspectorate of Road Transport. Of course, in the case of occasional transport, there is no timetable, but in the application, the applicant will be asked to provide the planned dates of transport. What's important, this kind of permission will be needed not only when the carriage will concern passengers from Poland to another country, but also when the driver goes after them on an empty coach or returns empty to the country! What's more, any carrier that owns more than one coach must exempt the driver from the permit if they transport occasional customers.
Who can obtain a permit for an international occasional carriage?
Occasional carriage of passengers to countries such as Belarus and Russia can take place if only the carrier meets several basic requirements. First of all, it is necessary to have a Community license for the international carriage of passengers by bus and coach for hire or reward, as well as permission to carry out international occasional carriage. But that's not the end of the matter, because the General Road Transport Inspector has to guarantee also the foreign permit for an empty bus, which is usually issued together with the basic one. What is important, it has to concern one of the countries the bus is going to or will pass through.
When and how to obtain a permit for international passenger transportation?
If shortly the carrier will occasionally transport passengers to one of the countries listed above, he must apply to the appropriate authority and apply for a permit. It is best to do it before the first planned date of passenger transportation, about one to two weeks in advance. How does the process look like? Everything is explained step by step below:
Applying for a permit
First of all, it is necessary to submit the appropriate application for a permit to carry out an international occasional carriage. The content should specify the date of the planned transport, as well as the route and border crossings, which will be crossed. It is also necessary to enter the registration numbers of the vehicles, which will be used to transport people. When entering the border crossings, indicate the two towns at which the crossing point is located and the two countries through which the border passes. Remember that the planned transport should take place in a given year because the permit is issued only for a specific calendar year. When declaring vehicles in the application, remember that they must be declared in the Community license. That's not the end, because the number of extracts from the permit applied for by the applicant cannot exceed the number of vehicles declared.
Issuance of the application by the office
When all documents are submitted correctly and GITD accepts the application for the permit, the carrier can count on its issuance for a maximum of one year (receiving it on January 1, its validity ends on December 31). It is important to note that the copies that will be issued together with the permit will correspond to the number of vehicles registered, but ultimately it is the GITD that decides on the number of copies within the pool available for a particular country in a calendar year. Finished documents can be collected in person or requested to be sent by courier. Please note that you will have to pay extra for this service.
Application for a permit - other information
A permit for occasional passenger transport will cost you 50 zloty for each trip and 50 groszy for each extract from the permit. But this is not the end, because if the carriage will take place in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus, you need to make an additional, foreign permit. For each of them, you pay the same amount as for the basic one, i.e. 50 zlotys. As we have already written, the maximum waiting time for obtaining a permit is one month from applying. However, this time may be extended to 2 months, but each hauler applying for a permit will be informed by the authority. There is a possibility of refusal of a decision issued by GITD, fortunately, every applicant may apply for reconsideration of the case. You have to file a relevant application within 14 days from receiving a refusal.
What documents should be on the coach during occasional passenger transport?
Occasional transport requires transport operators to display an extract from the authorisation on each coach. The extract and the foreign permit must be on board the vehicle at all times, and when the control authority asks for it, the document must be shown immediately. However, this is not all, because during occasional passenger transport other documents are also required, which is called a driving form. This includes the Interbus Book, which allows for transport to countries outside the European Union, and the Book of Travel Forms, which allows for transport within the countries of the Community. These books are available from the GITD and are made in the form of a notebook with tear-out forms, of which there are always 25. The price of one book is PLN 50.
Each driving form should contain data concerning the entrepreneur's designation and the type of services he provides. You should not miss the registration number of a particular vehicle, information about the place of departure and destination of transport, and a personal list of transported persons.