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Wave of illness leads to bus cancellations in Greifswald – now chaos reigns!
Bus cancellations in Greifswald: Waves of illness, staff shortages and limited school traffic characterize the current bus situation.
Wave of illness leads to bus cancellations in Greifswald – now chaos reigns!
In Greifswald, in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district, there is currently a worrying situation in local public transport. Due to a high level of sickness among bus drivers, including long-term illnesses, cancellations often occur. As the Greifswald public utility company announced on Monday, not all trips are fully covered. A sad highlight are days when up to 50 percent of services cannot be staffed, which has a significant impact on passengers' quality of life. Managing director Henrik Umnus outlined the situation clearly: “We have to do everything we can to secure the most important connections,” he continues, “especially school traffic and trips at peak times.” ndr.de reports that ...
What makes matters worse is that not only short-term illnesses but also drivers' vacation periods contribute to the absences. As a result, the dispatcher is becoming increasingly active himself and sometimes takes over driving services, especially during the morning school traffic. In less busy times, more trips are also being canceled in order to bundle the remaining services. Another sign of the shortage: around four new bus drivers are currently being sought and interviews are already underway. Given this situation, the washing service for the buses cannot be maintained temporarily - the vehicles will therefore have to show visible signs of their use. nordkurier.de informs that ...
Serious shortage of skilled workers
The situation in Greifswald reflects a nationwide trend. The whole of Germany is struggling with an acute shortage of bus drivers. It is estimated that there is a shortage of around 20,000 drivers in public transport, a number that could rise to up to 65,000 by 2030 without countermeasures. Also worrying is that 57 percent of current drivers are over 55 and 4,000 to 6,000 retire each year. This demographic development is a direct result of the hiring freezes from the 1990s, which are now taking their toll. In order to attract young drivers, better working conditions are urgently required because the barriers to entry are high: training and qualification costs for bus driving licenses are between 10,000 and 12,000 euros. tagesschau.de points out that ...
As it turns out, the lack of drivers not only has an impact on daily passengers, but could also significantly jeopardize the transport transition and climate protection in Germany. To double the number of passengers, 87,000 additional skilled workers are needed. It remains to be seen how the Greifswald municipal utility company can overcome the challenges and restore the roadworthiness of its bus fleet. It is clear that patience is required while the municipal utilities do everything they can to compensate for the absences due to illness and to maintain service as much as possible. The information for passengers is provided via digital channels in order to always stay up to date.