AMPLITUDE :
The amplitude of a coach driver's working day is the interval between two successive daily rest periods or between a weekly rest period and the immediately following or preceding daily rest period. For drivers, the maximum duration is 12 hours. It may be extended to 14 h on occasional services. In the case of a crew made up of several bus drivers, the maximum duration is 18 h. Before and after the bus is made available, other tasks are included in the working day (starting, ending, maintenance, etc.). The driver therefore begins his working day before picking up customers, and ends it after dropping them off on the return journey.
WORKING HOURS :
The actual daily working time may not exceed 10 h: for bus drivers, it may be extended to 12 h once a week and a second time a week, up to a maximum of 6 times over 12 weeks, provided that the weekly working time has been spread over at least 5 days. In all cases, bus drivers must comply with the maximum driving time. Weekly driving time may not exceed 48 hours in any single week, and 44 hours on average over a 12-week period.
MAXIMUM DRIVING TIME :
Under EU regulations, the maximum daily driving time (between two daily or daily and weekly rest periods), made up of the sum of all driving periods to the exclusion of any other activity, is limited to 9 hours, which may be increased to 10 hours twice a calendar week. Driving time must not exceed a maximum of 04h30 without interruption. In the case of night work (between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., or any other period of 9 consecutive hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. set by company agreement), the maximum continuous driving time is 4 hours.
PAUSE DEFINITION :
To be taken into account in your chauffeur-driven bus rental project, a break is any period during which a driver is not allowed to drive or carry out other tasks, and is intended solely for rest. During the break, the driver is no longer at the disposal of the customer or his employer.
BREAKS RELATED TO DRIVING TIME (DRIVING INTERRUPTION) :
On a coach tour with driver, a transfer or a return trip by coach with driver, the same driver may not drive for more than 4 hours 30 minutes without observing an uninterrupted break of at least 45 minutes (unless he takes a daily or weekly rest period); this break in the driving schedule may be replaced by a break of at least 15 minutes followed by a break of at least 30 minutes taken at the latest at the end of the 4 hours 30 minutes driving period, to be taken into account in your bus rental with driver project.
DEFINITION OF REST :
European regulations define rest as any uninterrupted period during which a driver can freely dispose of his time. During rest periods, the driver is not at the disposal of the employer or the customer; he does not have to comply with their instructions, and can freely pursue personal interests.
DAILY REST :
In each 24-hour period after the end of a daily or weekly rest period, the driver must have taken a new daily rest period. The daily rest period is set at 11 consecutive hours, which may be:- reduced to a minimum of 9 consecutive hours, up to a limit of 3 times between two weekly rest periods;- split into two periods, the first of which must be an uninterrupted period of at least 3 hours, followed by a second uninterrupted period of at least 9 hours.
WEEKLY REST :
A weekly rest period begins at the latest at the end of 6 periods of 24 h from (the end of) the previous weekly rest period. In the course of two consecutive calendar weeks, a driver takes at least: -two normal weekly rest periods of 45 h each-or one normal weekly rest period of 45 h and a reduced weekly rest period of at least 24 h.
ONCE THEY'RE GONE :
In the interests of safety, the driver may have to divide up the driving breaks provided for in the contract, in compliance with European social regulations.Although safety is largely the driver's responsibility, the principal's role is nonetheless essential, in particular in reminding passengers of:- the obligation to wear seatbelts on coaches with drivers fitted with them (new coaches registered since October 1, 1999),- the need to remain sufficiently quiet to avoid distracting the driver, and the obligation to remain properly seated during the journey,- the need to respect the schedule for returning to the coach after a visit (e.g., in the event of an accident),- the need to ensure that the driver is not distracted by the driver's absence,- the need for the driver to remain seated during the journey. compliance with the timetable for returning to the coach after a visit (or excursion), which is essential if the scheduled time of transport by coach with driver and regulatory obligations are to be met. Since 01/07/09, regulations have required that a list of names of passengers (with contact details for children) be kept on board coaches with driver carrying out occasional services outside the home département or neighbouring départements. This list must be drawn up by the organizer and given to the organizer's representative present on the coach with driver.
ATTENTION:
All those involved in bus rental with driver must ensure compliance with European social regulations, as outlined in article 10.4 of European regulation 561/2006.
