German deputies pass coach deregulation plan

摘要

Budget-minded Germans will benefit from a new privately run, long-distance coach routes from next year after parliament voted to scrap anti-competition barriers dating from 1931. Deputies in Berlin approved the groundbreaking legislation, which largely scraps the ban designed to protect the state-run railway. It allowed German operators to serve foreign destinations but domestic workings were limited mainly to routes linking the former West Germany and West Berlin. "We are freeing the German coaching market from its fetters/ says transport minister Peter Ramsauer. 'A coach journey is much cheaper than travelling by car and citizens will save money'