Passenger rights for bus and coach transport
Bus and coach companies in the Netherlands must comply with European Union (EU) regulations on passenger rights. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) oversees this. If you think your rights have been violated, you can find out where to submit a complaint on this page. The relevant rules are set out in Regulation (EU) No. 181/2011.
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Complaints about violations of passenger rights on busses and coaches
If you have a complaint or believe that your rights have been violated on bus or coach transport, you can submit your complaint or claim to the transport operator within 3 months of the date of travel. The transport operator must respond to your complaint within 1 month and provide a final response within 3 months of receipt of your complaint.
If you are unable to resolve the matter with the transport operator, you may refer the complaint to the dispute resolution body to which the transport operator is affiliated. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of that process, you may report the matter to the ILT using the Melding klacht naleving passagiersrechten busvervoer online form (in Dutch).
The ILT has the authority to impose sanctions on bus and coach companies that violate the regulation.
Questions about passenger rights for bus and coach transport
If you have a question about your passenger rights, rather than a complaint, please contact the ILT using the question form, or dial +31 800 489 0000.
Passenger rights for package holidays
A package holiday is a combination of at least 2 different types of travel services for the same trip or holiday. If your complaint is related to a cancelled package holiday and the reason for cancellation is not related to the cancellation of the coach or bus service, please contact ConsuWijzer, part of the Autoriteit Consument & Markt, ACM (Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets).
Complaint overview
The ILT publishes data every 2 years on passenger complaints, sanctions imposed and any other measures taken to enforce the regulation.
| Year | Number* | Reason | Sanctions* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 2020 | 0 | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 2021 | 0 | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| 2022 | 1 | Cancellation | Not applicable |
* In 2019, the complainants were referred back to the travel operator, and the complaints were resolved by the travel operator. In 2020, few if any bus and coach journeys took place due to COVID-19. The complaint received in 2022 related to an Italian travel operator and was handled by the Italian supervisory authority.