Background Regulation
International travel is conditional on the possession of a Community licence. In the Republic of Ireland these are issued by the Department of Transport, please see www.rtol.ie for further information.
Carriers are required to carry a certified true copy of their Community licence on board each of their vehicles. This is in order to facilitate effective controls by enforcement authorities, especially those outside the Member State in which the carrier is established.
Regular and special regular services between EU Member States and the UK are authorised under the Protocol to the Agreement on the International Occasional Carriage of Passengers by Coach and Bus (Interbus Agreement). This Protocol applies to the following countries:
- Albania
- Andorra
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Moldova
- Montenegro
- North Macedonia
- Serbia
- Türkiye (Turkey)
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
The Interbus Agreement defines regular and special regular services as:
“regular services” are services which provide for the carriage of passengers according to a specified frequency and along specified routes, whereby passengers may be taken up or set down at predetermined stopping points. Regular services can be subject to the obligation to respect previously established timetables and tariffs;
“special regular services” are services, by whomsoever organised, which provide for the carriage of specified categories of passengers to the exclusion of other passengers, in so far as such services are operated under the conditions specified in point 3. Special regular services shall include:
– the carriage of workers between home and work,
– the carriage of school pupils and students to and from the educational institution.
The fact that a special regular service may be varied according to the needs of users shall not affect its classification as a regular service;
Timelines
- Apply for a new Authorisation or to vary an existing Authorisation: Six months
- Renew an existing Authorisation: Six months
- Special Regular Services: Six months
Apply for an Ireland – UK Authorisation
Please note that all applications for an UK Authorisation must be forwarded to all other competent authorities for approval. Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales have separate competent authorities.
To make a complete and valid application for an UK Authorisation you must supply the following:
- A completed application form, signed and dated
- The appropriate fees (fees to be advised)
- Timetable
- Drivers rota
- Fare structure, please note that fares must be given in Euros and the currency for all other countries
- Copy of valid Community Licence
- Copy of valid Tax Clearance Certificate
- A complete map of the proposed route, and maps clearly showing each individual stop
If the proposed Authorisation includes pick-up and set down of passengers solely within the Republic of Ireland, a National Licence may be required in addition to the Authorisation.
Alteration (amendment) of an Authorisation
An application to alter an Authorisation is required to change any of the following:
- The route
- Stopping places
- Timings at stopping places
- Any part of the timetable
- Operational dates
- Operational days
- Fares in all currencies
The same application form is used to apply for a new Authorisation, an alteration (amendment) to a current Authorisation, and the renewal of an Authorisation.
Fees
Fees for Authorisations are available here.