The mobility package implements new, stricter rules in the road freight sector in order to fight against inequalities and illegal practices.
Since July 2020, new rules have set up in the road transport sector. Indeed, In fact, the European Parliament has adopted a major reform of the road transport sector: the mobility package. The main objectives of this reform are listed below:
- To improve the drivers’ working conditions;
- To set the rules pertaining to the posting of drivers;
- To put an end to inequalities in the sector;
- To fight against illegal practices.
Improvement of the truck drivers’ working conditions
The mobility package reform imposes new rules aiming to guarantee better working conditions for lorry drivers. Actually, starting its implementation, drivers working in international freight will have the obligation to return home regularly. They will need to return to their place of residence every three or four weeks, depending on their working hours.
Moreover, this reform also clarifies the conditions regarding truck drivers’ weekly compulsory rest. It will need to be spent outside of the vehicle. In consequence, if the time off is not spent at a transporter’s residence, the employer will be accountable for shouldering his employees’ accommodation costs.
Reduction of disparities and the end of illegal practices
In order to fight against fraudulent activities, tachographs will be installed in the vehicles in order to record when border crossings. This reform also imposes a waiting to prevent constant cabotage. Therefore, if a haulier wants to perform two cabotage operations in a single country and with the same truck, it will need to wait four days between the two operations.
Moreover, with these new rules, companies will have the obligation to prove that their level of activity is sufficient enough in the Member State where they are registered. This measure will help in the fight against illegal practices, especially the ones related to “letter box” companies.
In addition, the mobility package imposes that hauliers return to their company’s center of operations every eight weeks. As for utility vehicles weighing less than 2.5 tons, they will be subject to the same regulations as transporters from now on.
Clarification of the rules applicable to the posting of truck drivers
The mobility package reform defines clear rules regarding the posting of drivers. These dispositions were adopted with the purpose to reduce inequalities between EU Member States and thus ensure that lorry drivers would earn higher wages.
Regulations regarding the posting of drivers apply:
- to cabotage,
- to international transport operations (except transit),
- to bilateral operations,
- to bilateral operations with two additional loading or unloading stages.
Entry into force of the mobility package
The mobility package entered into force on 31 July 2020, the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. However, it will take another eighteen months before these new rules to come into effect – regulations applicable to the posting of workers, the rules imposing the lorry drivers’ returning home and changes related to the access to the market.
