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TRAVEL NEWS

Where are public transport strikes taking place this week in Germany?

Public transport passengers around Germany should expect delays and some cancellations this week, as 90,000 employees from local transport companies are striking on various days from Monday to Saturday.

Published: 26 February 2024 11:11 CET
Updated: 27 February 2024 11:28 CET
transport strikes
Trams in a depot in Frankfurt during an earlier local transport strike on February 2nd. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Helmut Fricke

Trade union Verdi has announced that actions are planned across Germany this week with the most strikes scheduled for Friday, March 1st.

This is the second time this month that public transportation workers have stopped work across Germany, following strikes that took place on February 2nd. That’s in addition to a number of regional transit strikes throughout the month as well.

Generally the number of strikes will ramp up through the week. Bavaria is the only German state where no strikes are currently scheduled.

READ ALSO: More local public transport strikes called across Germany

Strikes begin in Berlin and the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein

In Berlin strikes have already begun. An initial strike started at 3 am, and lasted until 2 pm, on Monday.

Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) passengers can expect delays and cancellations of buses, the U-Bahn and trams in the city.

According to the Berliner Morgenpost, however, BVG has announced that all transport lines are still in use despite the strike. Some bus lines have longer waiting times, and individual U-Bahn trips are cancelled. Ferries are not affected by the strike.

After Monday’s initial BVG stoppage, a wider ranging Berlin strike is expected on Thursday February 29th and Friday March 1st, which will coincide with a climate strike called for by Friday’s for Future. The strike in Berlin lasts all day Thursday and is due to end on Friday at 2pm. 

Work stoppages by bus drivers in Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein are also already underway. A Verdi spokesman estimated the cancellations in bus services on Monday morning are at about 85 percent in this region. 

strikes

A sign at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz on Monday morning warns that there could be delays until 2 pm due to the strike. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

Strikes in Bremen, Hamburg, and Lower Saxony

In Hamburg, buses and subways are expected to strike on Thursday and Friday (February 29th and March 1st). The S-Bahn will continue to run as usual. 

In Bremen there will be a strike on Wednesday (February 28th). Bremerhaven, however, is not to be affected.

In Lower Saxony, local strikes will take place on different days. In Göttingen it will start on Wednesday, whereas other cities are expected to strike from Thursday. 

Those who may be affected in Lower Saxony are advised to check with their local transport companies.

Strikes in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, and North-Rhine Westphalia and Hesse

By Monday afternoon, warning strikes are expected also in Saarland and in the Trier region.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, companies have called for a strike on Thursday, February 29th and Friday, March 1st.

In Hesse a strike is also scheduled for March 1st. Restrictions are expected to impact bus, road and U-Bahn traffic.

Further strikes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, several local transportation companies already went on strike from the 21st to 22nd of February.

But municipal companies throughout the state have called for another strike on March 1st. Neubrandenburg is the one exception where no strike is scheduled.

Some strikes in the south 

Bavaria is spared from travel blockages, as it is the only German state where no strikes are announced this week.

On the other hand, those in Baden-Württemberg should expect a strike on March 1st, and further strikes may be announced by Monday afternoon.

According to Taggeschau, Verdi said it “will announce our strike days in good time so that passengers can prepare for them”. The union added that until then, no strike effects are to be expected in Stuttgart and Esslingen. 

Generally, actions are not expected to be planned for Baden-Württemberg until the end of the week.

Why are transport workers striking again?

Sign reads'Warn-streik'

A “warning strike” sign in front of the entrance to the depot of Kieler Verkehrsgesellschaft at the beginning of February. Verdi is calling on all employees of public bus companies to continue a series of warning strikes until the end of service on Friday. Photo by picture alliance/dpa | Axel Heimken

Those who depend on public transportation to commute to work or for their daily errands will likely experience some service disruptions this week – specifically on Friday. March 1st in most places.

Many passengers may be wondering why public transportation workers are striking again for the second time in a month.

Berlin’s BVG transport association told the Berliner Morgenpost that the strike was “completely disproportionate and irresponsible with regard to our passengers”. But Verdi says the strike is mainly about improving the working conditions and relieving the burden on transport employees.

In addition to the introduction of a 35-hour week, the union is demanding that the length of shifts be limited to a maximum of ten hours. They also want the minimum rest period between shifts extended to twelve hours.

Bus drivers and transportation workers across Germany suggest that the burden of the job has gotten worse in recent years as more workers leave the profession.

“Many of my colleagues leave the profession within two years,” Mathias Kurreck, a bus driver who has worked with BVG for 17 years, told The Local. He cited long shifts with few breaks, and not enough time off to spend with family as being among his biggest concerns.

READ ALSO: Why Germany is being hit by strikes almost every day

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TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

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