Which land transport rules apply to your business

"Land transport" spans road, rail and pipelines, and the rules depend almost entirely on what you move and how. A haulier, a bus operator, a minicab firm, a train operator and a pipeline operator are different businesses with different regulators — the Traffic Commissioner and DVSA for road, local councils for taxis, the Office of Rail and Road for rail, and the HSE for pipelines. What they share is a common set of workplace duties.

Start with the duties every land transport business shares, then follow the guide for your kind of operation.

Every land transport business

Whatever you operate, start with the universal workplace duties — health and safety, accident reporting, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.

• Set up and run a safe land transport operation — the shared spine for every operator

Work out which rules apply

Find the description that best fits your business. If more than one applies, follow every guide that is relevant.

• You move goods by road (HGVs over 3.5 tonnes, or vans over 2.5 tonnes used for hire or reward on international journeys) — you need a goods vehicle operator's licence and must meet the DVSA driver, tachograph and maintenance regimes. Start with Get an operator's licence for goods vehicles and the goods vehicle compliance guidance.
• You carry passengers by bus or coach — Run a bus or coach business: licensing and compliance (PSV operator licence, bus registration, accessibility, Driver CPC).
• You run taxis or private hire vehicles — Run a taxi or private hire business: licensing and compliance (council vehicle, driver and operator licensing, DBS).
• You move passengers or freight by rail — Run a rail operation: licensing and safety (ORR licence, safety certificate or authorisation, network access).
• You transport products by pipeline — Operate a pipeline: safety and environmental duties (pipeline safety, COMAH, environmental permitting).

Confirm you have covered everything

Whatever you operate, finish with the land transport compliance checklist to confirm your obligations are in place before you begin or continue trading.