Operating an occasional European coach trip? Here’s what you need to know

April 22 2025

Are you a coach operator making occasional journeys carrying passengers between the UK and European Union? If so, the CPT’s Operations Team has been working to make the paperwork as simple and straightforward as possible.

In response to representations from the CPT, the Department for Transport has created a new online form to apply for occasional ‘non-liberalised’ services.

For the uninitiated, certain types of journey are routinely allowed under the Interbus Agreement between the UK and EU. These include ‘closed door tours’ where, for example, a UK group travels together out, and back, with no change to the passenger group during the trip. Or a group taken from the UK and dropped in the EU before returning empty, or going out empty to the EU to collect a group that was originally taken out by the operator.

However, these ‘routinely allowed’ arrangements don’t allow for changes to a group during an international journey - for example, where a tour from the UK is required to leave certain passengers in the EU before returning, or a tour where additional passengers are picked up in the EU and added to the group before returning. Guidance on www.gov.uk provides a further example, relating to shuttle services between the UK and France, where passengers are grouped differently for return journeys, to what they were on the outbound leg.

For these non-liberalised trips, operators must now complete an application form, which needs to be submitted with a copy of their International Operator Licence, to the DVSA International Road Haulage Permits Office, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UE. Alternatively, documents can be sent by email: irhp@dvsa.gov.uk. 

Approval is sought by DVSA from the destination country (if EU), and each country along the route (if the destination is non-EU). DVSA will make a decision within 30 days, and if granted, an authorisation will be sent to the operator in the post. The authorisation should be carried on the vehicle undertaking the non-liberalised service, along with the usual waybill (journey form).

The new process is straightforward, but it does take some time, so a degree of forward planning is essential. Do note, there’s no allowance for cabotage journeys to be undertaken. Cabotage is where a group is collected from, and set down in another territory. The EU is classed as a single territory under Interbus.  Day excursions, made as part of a “liberalised” occasional service, are classed as part of the overall journey. For example, a round trip from the UK to Paris can include a day trip to Euro Disney.

We do appreciate that the “routinely allowed” aspect of Interbus often leads to questions about plans for individual services. If you’re struggling, do get in touch with the CPT Operations Team, and we will do our best to assist.