Regional transport will be almost completely flat for the next five days. Trade union FNV expects this because of the great enthusiasm among bus drivers and train staff to strike. Pupils and students arrange their own transport by car or take lessons online.
The chance of a bus ride from a train station to a nearby suburb or village seems minimal next week. Trade union FNV expects almost all of its members to participate in the five-day strike in regional transport. In total, 13,000 people work in the sector, mainly bus drivers. Seventy percent of them are union members and are expected to stop working.
High workload
As a result, so many bus and train rides are canceled that regional transport is completely at a loss. “I therefore no longer think it is responsible to continue driving some buses, whose drivers are not going on strike. Because then everyone wants to get on that one bus,” says Marijn van der Gaag, director of FNV Regional Transport.
The main reason for the strike is: the high workload of staff in regional transport. According to Van der Gaag, one in five drivers is sick due to ‘extremely irregular shifts’.
For the time being, only NS trains run between Monday and Friday. You can also use public transport in the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. They have a separate collective agreement. However, the people who operate the buses and trains of Arriva, Transdev, Qbuzz, EBS, Keolis, RET Bus, Hermes and Connexxion are on strike.
Online teaching
One of the regions hit hard by the strike is Limburg. There are normally a relatively large number of Arriva trains and many people depend on the regional bus. But education continues as usual, also for the 11,000 MBO students of the Gilde Opleidingen in Limburg. Several students already have a driver’s license and can arrange a car. Some teams of teachers are considering teaching online, according to a spokesperson.
The same sounds can be heard at other school institutions in Limburg, but also in the Achterhoek. During previous strikes, students also came to school, for example by being taken by their parents, teachers carpool. Student club LAKS sees that the supporters are still waiting for it all, intend to take the bicycle or call in mothers and fathers.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.