Bill for customer-oriented Transport placed to parliament

The government on Thursday submitted a proposal to the Parliament on the third stage amendments to the Act on Transport Services with the view to establish customer-oriented transport services.

The first and second stages of the Act are already in force, said an official press release.

"From the beginning, the underlying principle of the Act has been to transform transport services into a comprehensive package and provide the users with flexibility and freedom of choice. Advanced transport services also help reduce emissions. The Act is an extensive set of measures that can be used in preparing for the future. It was finalised with this proposal," said Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner.

"The whole Mobility as a Service, MaaS, concept is a Finnish innovation that has been an international success. The Act on Transport Services enables the implementation of MaaS, and our advanced legislation has attracted a lot of interest in the EU and internationally. We are clearly a leader in this area," Berner said.

Due to its wide-ranging contents, the Act has been carried out in three stages. It is part of the Government key projects on deregulation and on building a digital growth environment for businesses.

In the third stage of the Act on Transport Services, the regulatory burden on professional qualifications in road and maritime transport will be reduced. It is suggested that there would be a test-based alternative to the training option when drivers of heavy vehicles acquire professional basic qualifications. The tests would measure the same skills as the training alternative. The aim is to ensure the availability of drivers.

The regulation on professional qualifications in maritime transport is proposed to be changed. It is proposed that the qualifications and manning requirements will not be applied to vessels of rescue departments, the police and Customs, if they are using a training system approved by the Transport Safety Agency.

It is also proposed that the coverage of the preparedness obligation be extended to include road transport operators. The goal is to ensure smooth flow of traffic also in emergency conditions. The preparedness obligation has already been secured in terms of railway, rail and air transport.

The proposal also aims to ease the shortage of taxi drivers. In order to ensure the availability of taxi services, the Act on Transport Services is proposed to be amended, at the request of the taxi industry, so that the section concerning knowledge of the local environment be excluded from the test for taxi drivers.

The aim is that most parts of the third stage of the Act on Transport Services will enter into force on 1 March 2019. Provisions on professional qualifications in road transport would come into effect on 1 January 2020. The provisions on the entry into force would come into effect as soon as possible.