Changes to the law on collective transport passengers' rights

The plan wants local and regional public transport to become cheaper, accessible and eventually fully tax-financed and free for users — passengers should not bear the costs of the transport system's shortcomings. Social considerations should come before capital interests, which argues against freeing transport operators from liability. Strengthened instead of weakened consumer protection for rail passengers is therefore supported.

• passengers should not bear the costdecisive»ska vara fullt ut skattefinansierad och gratis för brukaren.« (party programme ↗)“should be fully financed by taxes and free for users.”
• cheaper and accessible public transport»För att såväl öka alla människors rörelsefrihet som för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser så behöver även kollektivtrafiken byggas ut och göras billigare och mer tillgänglig i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“In order to both increase all people's freedom of movement and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, public transport also needs to be expanded and made cheaper and more accessible throughout the country.”
• social considerations before capital interests»demokratiska och ekologiska hänsyn ska gå före kapitalintressen.« (party programme ↗)“democratic and ecological considerations should come before capital interests.”
• functioning rail transport»Renare storstadsluft, billig och fungerande tåg- och kollektivtrafik.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Cleaner city air, cheap and functioning train and public transport.”

The party programme wants to shift transport toward public transport and rail and puts the consumer's position before producer interest, and the election manifesto wants through major rail investments to get more people to choose the train. To exempt transport operators from price reductions in extraordinary circumstances weakens passenger protection and makes the train less attractive, why the plan speaks for the counter-proposal's demand for strengthened protection. Compensation rules are not explicitly addressed.

• consumer's positiondecisive»Socialdemokratin vill att varje människa som medborgare, löntagare och konsument ska ha« (party programme ↗)“Social democracy wants every person as citizen, employee and consumer to have”
• shift to public transport»Transportsystemen ska läggas om för mer gång-, cykel- och kollektivtrafik och så att« (party programme ↗)“The transport systems shall be transformed for more walking, cycling and public transport and so that”
• the train shall be attractive»Genom massiva investeringar i både ny och befintlig järnväg kommer fler att kunna resa klimatsmart med tåg.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Through massive investments in both new and existing rail, more people will be able to travel climate-smartly by rail.”
• consumer before producer»producentintresset, ska vara utgångspunkten för en politik där« (party programme ↗)“producer interest, shall be the starting point for a policy where”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that one should be able to rely on the railway and that delays shall be minimized, and that consumers shall have strong protection. Exempting local and regional traffic from price discounts for external disruptions shifts the cost of delays to the passenger, which goes against these commitments. The plan also wants to make it cheaper and more attractive to travel by bus and train, which requires strong passenger protection.

• reliable railwaydecisive»Man ska kunna lita på järnvägen.« (party programme ↗)“One should be able to rely on the railway.”
• strong consumer protection»god konsumentvägledning, tydlig märkning av varor och tjänster« (party programme ↗)“good consumer guidance, clear labelling of goods and services”
• attractive public transport»bygga ut kollektivtrafiken i hela landet, och gör det billigare att åka buss och tåg, särskilt för unga och pensionärer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“expand public transport throughout the country, and make it cheaper to travel by bus and train, particularly for young people and pensioners.”
• delays shall be minimized»spåren underhållas och förseningar minimeras.« (party programme ↗)“the tracks are maintained and delays are minimized.”

The plan demands fast, cheap and reliable communications across the country and that it shall be smooth to choose trains and buses instead of cars. An exception that places the cost of a large part of disruptions on the passenger makes public transport less reliable and attractive. The plan does not address compensation rules for delays, so the position is derived and uncertain.

• reliable communicationsdecisive»Skapa snabba, billiga och pålitliga kommunikationer i hela landet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create fast, cheap and reliable communications across the country”
• attractive public transport»Utsläppsfria transporter, cyklar, elbilar och kollektivtrafik ska bli smidigare och attraktivare.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Emission-free transport, cycles, electric cars and public transport shall become smoother and more attractive.”
• easy to choose trains and buses»Det ska dessutom vara smidigt att välja bort bilen till förmån för tåg, buss, båt och cykel.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It shall moreover be smooth to choose away from the car in favour of trains, buses, boats and cycles.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan says nothing about force majeure exceptions in public transport, but its consumer policy line is that the individual's position in everyday contracts shall be strengthened through improved consumer legislation and that the ambition level in consumer protection shall be high. This speaks for the counter-proposal's requirement that the passenger shall not bear the cost of disruptions the transport operator cannot control. At the same time the plan wants to harmonise regulations within the EU, which pulls towards the committee's line, making the assessment uncertain.

• stronger position in contractsdecisive»enskildes inflytande över de avtal som ingås i vardagen behöver stärkas« (party programme ↗)“the individual's influence over the contracts entered into in everyday life needs to be strengthened”
• high consumer protection level»Målet ska vara att konsumentlagstiftningen i EU-länderna ligger på en hög ambitionsnivå« (party programme ↗)“The goal shall be that consumer legislation in EU countries is at a high ambition level”
• strong consumer laws»behövs en stark konkurrenslagstiftning och konsumentlagar som ger rätt till korrekt produktinformation.« (party programme ↗)“a strong competition law and consumer laws are needed that give the right to correct product information.”
• harmonised EU regulations»Den inre marknaden ska utvecklas, regelverk ska harmoniseras« (party programme ↗)“The internal market shall be developed, regulations shall be harmonised”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not take a position on the carrier's liability for compensation in extraordinary circumstances. What it says is that public transport should be attractive in a market with competition and long-term ground rules and that each mode of transport should bear its own socio-economic costs, which speaks for predictable and similar liability rules rather than expanded liability for matters the carrier cannot control. The consumer commitment in the plan concerns effective legal ground rules and information, not compensation in force majeure. The evidence is weak.

• long-term ground rules in public transportdecisive»marknad med konkurrens och långsiktiga spelregler.« (party programme ↗)“market with competition and long-term ground rules.”
• modes of transport bear their own costs»Målet ska vara att respektive transportslag bär sina egna samhällsekonomiska« (party programme ↗)“The goal shall be that each mode of transport bears its own socio-economic”
• effective legal ground rules»välinformerade konsumenter samt effektiva rättsliga spelregler« (party programme ↗)“well-informed consumers and effective legal ground rules”

The plan states that EU decisions as a rule should be implemented at minimum level and that over-implementation in Sweden should be counteracted, and that red tape and company administrative costs should be significantly reduced. The counter-proposal instead requires consumer protection that goes further than the new EU regulation through retained liability for force majeure. The plan's response to delays is to upgrade existing railways, not to expand transport operators' liability.

• EU rules at minimum leveldecisive»motverka överimplementering i Sverige av EU-beslut – som huvudregel ska EU-direktiv genomföras på miniminivå« (2022 manifesto ↗)“counteract over-implementation in Sweden of EU decisions - as a main rule EU directives should be implemented at minimum level”
• reduced regulatory burden»Ta bort en tredjedel av företagens administrationskostnader och en tredjedel av regelkrånglet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Remove one third of companies' administrative costs and one third of red tape”
• upgraded railway against delays»Rusta upp dagens järnväg i stället för att satsa på höghastighetståg som riskerar att vara omoderna redan innan de är klara« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Upgrade today's railway instead of investing in high-speed trains that risk being outdated before they are finished”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan does not address collective transport passengers' right to price discounts for delays. The closest commitments are that new rules shall be cost-effective, that citizens shall have access to public transport at reasonable cost within the collective transport for which the state and municipalities are responsible, and that respect for taxpayers' money shall permeate all public activity. Based on these principles, the plan speaks against the counter-proposal's requirement for expanded liability for compensation for primarily publicly financed regional transport. Since the plan is silent on the matter, certainty is low.

• cost-effective regulationsdecisive»Nya regler ska vara kostnadseffektiva och befintliga regler behöver ses över.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“New rules shall be cost-effective and existing rules need to be reviewed.”
• public transport at reasonable cost»tillgänglighet till en rimlig kostnad måste stat och kommuner behålla ett betydande mått av inflytande« (party programme ↗)“accessibility at reasonable cost the state and municipalities must retain significant influence”
• respect for public funds»Centralt för partiet är att respekt för skattebetalarnas pengar och strävan efter ett minimum av byråkrati« (party programme ↗)“Central to the party is that respect for taxpayers' money and striving for a minimum of bureaucracy”