A staff shortage at transport company Connexxion means that no coastal buses will be running in the Noord-Holland Noord this summer. “Scandal”, says Michiel Gooijer, vice-chairman of Strandvereniging Bergen, Egmond and Schoorl. “The beach belongs to and for everyone, but not everyone can use it this way.”
The entrepreneurs on the beach will hardly notice that the buses are not running, Gooijer expects. “We are certainly running, but it also has something to do with solidarity,” he says. “Not everyone is mobile enough to go to the beach themselves, or to pay for a car or electric bicycle. I think that especially people who have it less easy in that regard will be affected by this.”
Nevertheless, according to Connexxion, not using these buses is the best solution to allow the regular lines to function normally. “It was a difficult decision not to use the coastal buses this year,” says spokesman Rick de Vries. “In the end we made the decision to serve people who take the bus to work and school as best as possible. With this we help as many people as possible.”
The problem has not been solved with ‘two or three extra drivers’, says De Vries. “The services are intertwined, so it is logistically not possible to have drivers drive back and forth on the coastal bus alone.”
According to the spokesperson, the planning is extra difficult to complete because there is now a relatively high level of absenteeism due to illness. “We notice that there is a lot of absenteeism due to illness. In addition, the summer is the point at which many people request holidays. We know that and we plan accordingly. But if the absenteeism is so high, you cannot just bring people back from the Costa Brava,” he says.
In the municipality of Bergen, there are normally local buses to and from the beach. But it is not yet clear whether they will be running according to the normal timetable this summer. “We will discuss this with the board shortly,” says Cor Bakker of the Buurtbus Bergen Association. “We want a lot, but only exist through the efforts of volunteers. They should of course also be possible.”
In addition, the disappearance of the coastal bus creates a ‘difficult package’: “Our bus fits eight people, while on a beautiful summer day there are thirty beachgoers at the stop. This means that our drivers have to leave people behind.”
And that is not always easy, it happens that too many people get on a bus, who then do not want to give up their place. “But then the driver really can’t drive,” says Bakker. “Insurance just isn’t allowed.”
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