Omnibus: A giant leap towards efficient, user-friendly and sustainable mobility

OmniBUS, a global multilateral agreement on the international regular transport of passengers by coach and bus developed initiated by the within United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), may be concluded as early as 2011.

In line with the objectives of the global Smart Move initiative to double the use of buses and coaches, the UNECE OmniBUS agreement is a concrete step towards achieving this objective worldwide, as it will make international bus and coach transport more attractive for users and businesses alike. Indeed, it is expected to considerably facilitate international bus and coach transport operations and improve the quality of services offered to passengers, notably by:

harmonising the different types of authorisations required, as well as the applications and granting procedures for those authorisations;
reducing consultation periods for issuing authorisations;
harmonising controls and the duration of bilateral and transit authorisations;
improving services to customers at terminals;
offering priority treatment to international regular bus and coach services and their customers at borders.