Coach companies submit the call next to the branch organization Royal Dutch Transport (KNV) to immediately transport a maximum of thirty people by bus instead of thirteen. This call was made last week strengthens by Johan Pouw from Pouw Transport in Vianen in the Heart of the Netherlands program. KNV consciously wants to take a stand against the national corona guidelines, but several coach operators disagree.
not a strong lobby
The criticism of the lobby and visibility of the KNV trade association is becoming louder within both the taxi and coach sector. Touringcar company Bak Reizen in Alkmaar is also ignoring the call from its trade association and sticking to the existing rules for coaches. Bak Reizen has 35 coaches, most of which have been stationary in the garage for months.
“You get that when planes are allowed to leave fully loaded and there are no questions about public health at all in public transport. Those masks there seem to be mainly symbolic policies. In our modern coaches you can ventilate much better than in airplanes and public transport. Then it is no longer understandable why it must be so strict for us. We were the first to stand still and probably the last to go back into operation. If only we had such a strong lobby as aviation, ”said Olaf Bak.
large companies follow corona guidelines
Olaf Bak late through Alkmaar Central know how to understand the call of his trade association, but for the few journeys that are currently available, Bak can still handle strict national guidelines. Munckhof Groep from Horst says that, despite the various reports that have appeared in the press, the transport of 30 people in one vehicle is in violation of the corona guidelines for private bus transport. They don't want to get the customer and their employees in trouble by breaking these rules. That is why, until further notice, they follow the current corona guidelines for private bus transport.
“Whether you agree or not, it is difficult to understand and explain to our bus passengers why different rules apply in airplanes and public transport than in coach companies, while we all offer the same service,” says Ruud van der Marel , director of SnelleVliet Touringcars.
own sector corona directive
In order to have perspective and at the request of the government, the coach operators made their own corona guideline on the assumption that they could carefully think of turnover again with this guideline. The guideline is based on the use of about half of the seats on a coach, just as half of the seats are used in the public transport system.
With the own directive that was offered by the trade association to the ministry, the safety council and the police, the coach entrepreneurs thought they met all the requirements. At the last minute, however, it appeared that coach operators are obliged to follow the one and a half measures more strictly than public transport and aviation. Enforcers said that they base themselves on the (emergency) regulations and enforce them within a meter and a half within the sector.
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