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STRIKES

Where public transport strikes are taking place in Germany this week

Passengers travelling on local public transportation in Baden-Württemberg are facing major disruption as strikes take place. Strikes are also affecting other areas including Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony.

Published: 18 April 2024 16:39 CEST
Updated: 19 April 2024 15:31 CEST
Due to a strike, there is no train running at a Stadtbahn stop in Stuttgart.
Due to a strike, there is no train running at a Stadtbahn stop in Stuttgart. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bernd Weißbrod

It’s not a good week for those taking public transport in many parts of Germany, as various strikes have been called. 

All day on Thursday and Friday, local public transport was set to come to a standstill in parts of Baden-Württemberg due to strikes amid collective bargaining negotiations for around 6,500 employees. 

Trade union Verdi called for workers in seven cities to stage a ‘warning strike’ starting early on Thursday morning, resulting in a large number of buses, trains and Stadtbahn services being cancelled. 

Local public transport companies in Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Heilbronn, Freiburg, Baden-Baden, Esslingen and Constance are affected by the action. 

But it’s not just southern Germany affected. Bus drivers with private operators are also on strike in Rhineland-Palatinate this week. The cities of Koblenz, Worms, Zweibrücken and Mainz are affected, as well as intercity traffic in many regions.

There is also a partial strike on local public transport in Saxony. Disruption is to be expected in Dresden, Zwickau and Chemnitz. 

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

What’s happening in Baden-Württemberg?

Verdi said it expected major disruption to local public transport on both Thursday and Friday as collective bargaining rounds continue. 

More traffic was also expected on the roads due to the strikes. At rush-hour in Stuttgart, roads were more packed than usual. 

The Stuttgarter Verkehrsbetriebe (VVS) said on its website that the “buses and light rail of SSB AG, as well as the buses of the SVE in Esslingen, are affected.

“S-Bahn, regional trains, secondary railway lines, buses in the network districts and replacement rail buses are not affected.”

Stuttgart city centre

Stuttgart’s city centre. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Marijan Murat

In Freiburg there are no trams on both days and only a few buses running, such as lines 15 and 32.

There are no city buses or trams in Heilbronn. However, the regional bus service and the SWHN night service called “Buddy” are not affected.

From Thursday morning, city buses in Constance were also at a standstill and the car ferry to Meersburg was not running.

In Karlsruhe, AVG light rail services are not affected by the strike.

Many school leavers will have to look for alternatives. That’s because the strike coincides with the start of the end of school year examinations, known as Abitur in Germany. 

Exams including biology, history and French are taking place on these two days.

Due to the industrial action, students in Baden-Württemberg are allowed to arrive up to 30 minutes late for Abitur exams, but there will be no cancellations.

READ ALSO: German public transport strikes taking place across Germany

What’s happening elsewhere in Germany?

Since Wednesday, very few buses have been running in districts in Saxony due to a strike called by Verdi, that’s due to end early on Sunday morning. 

Those affected include local transport companies in Dresden, Görlitz, Meißen, the Regiobus Mittelsachsen GmbH, the regional transport Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains and Zwickau as well as in parts of the cities of Chemnitz (Euro Traffic Partner) and Plauen (Straßenbahn-Bus GmbH).

There is still no all-clear for the strike involving private bus companies in Rhineland-Palatinate. Anyone who relies on the bus here will have to look for alternatives this week. Verdi has called on all members who are employed by a private bus company under a collective agreement to go on strike for a week – and it doesn’t end until the early hours of Monday, April 22nd.

In Mainz, the strike affects the DB Regio Bus Mitte bus lines.

But it’s not just cities affected. Transport in many regions in Rhineland-Palatinate, such as the Westerwald, the Southern Palatinate and the Bernkastel-Wittlich district, is also at a standstill.

This comes amid a wave of strike action in Germany, which has been going on for months.

But in North Rhine-Westphalia, commuters can breathe a sigh of relief – at least for now. Verdi has agreed to arbitration proceedings to try and reach a decision in the collective bargaining negotiations. Strikes have been suspended for the time being since Wednesday.

Most recently, strikes in Düsseldorf, Essen, Bielefeld, Mönchengladbach, Krefeld and Bochum, among others, led to significant disruptions in public transport.

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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