Chaos in Cottbus local transport: Numerous bus routes are canceled!

Chaos in Cottbus local transport: Numerous bus routes are canceled!

The wheels are standing still in Cottbus today - the city's bus routes are massively affected. Cottbusverkehr announces numerous absences due to staff sickness reports. Passengers have to prepare for hardships as many popular connections are not running. Lines 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 33 and the replacement service EV1 are particularly affected, all of which take them on different routes through the city.

Many passengers are annoyed by the lack of information at the stops and on the display boards. After all, Cottbusverkehr had already pointed out possible outages on social networks on Sunday, but many of those affected do not seem to have received or seen this information. The company is trying to be more transparent, but the current situation is causing confusion and dissatisfaction.

Affected lines in detail

• Linie 13: verkehrt zwischen Gelsenkirchener Allee, Groß Gaglow und Gallinchen.
• Linie 14: verbindet Kolkwitz mit Sachsendorf.
• Linie 15: fährt vom Bahnhof nach Sielow.
• Linie 16: startet ab Stadthalle und fährt nach Gallinchen.
• Linie 17: geht von der Schule Groß Gaglow nach Kahren.
• Linie 20: verbindet Zuschka und Döbbrick.
• Linie 33: fährt ab Gablenz.
• Ersatzverkehr EV1: nach Schmellwitz-Anger.

The failures are not the first for Cottbusverkehr. As early as October 11, 2024, there were again massive disruptions in city and regional traffic, also caused by a staff shortage in connection with absences due to illness. Here, too, passengers had to adapt to a number of canceled journeys on various lines, including several trains on lines 10, 12, 19, 42 and 43. The city asks its passengers for their understanding and has provided the current timetables and information about the cancellations in the customer centers at the main train station and in the city promenade. Frequent updates can also be found online on the Cottbusverkehr website and in the VBB “Bus & Bahn” app, as niederlausitz-aktuell.de reports.

A look at the staff shortage

The Cottbus traffic failures are part of a larger problem in local public transport throughout Germany. The shortage of personnel, especially for bus drivers and train drivers, is one of the central issues that can also be felt in other regions such as Nuremberg. The transport companies there are looking for new employees in order to meet the increasing demands. By 2030, Germany is expected to need an additional 100,000 employees in driving services, as highlighted in a report on br.de.

The current situation in Cottbus is reflected in a broader context. The hope for a future-oriented transport transition not only requires new concepts, but also a good hand in recruiting. Without a solution to the staff shortages, local public transport in many cities appears to be at risk of meeting the ever-demanding needs of passengers. In Cottbus, all that has been left for passengers to do so far is to show patience and hope for an improvement soon.