For the first time in the current rail tariff conflict, the train drivers’ strike is lasting a full weekend. Many people do not see themselves as being affected by the strike, as a survey shows.
The strike by the German Locomotive Drivers’ Union (GDL) will also lead to significant restrictions on long-distance and regional transport over the weekend.
Anyone who is dependent on the rail these days as a football fan, day tripper, partner in a long-distance relationship or as a weekly commuter needs an alternative. The strike is not scheduled to end until Monday evening at 6 p.m. According to Deutsche Bahn, it will at least take until Tuesday morning for everything to return to normal. It is the first time in the ongoing collective bargaining dispute that a strike by the GDL lasts the entire weekend.
Impact on strikes is limited
But according to a survey, the level of concern among citizens is limited. Only one in five respondents feels the current restrictions in rail traffic, as a Yougov survey commissioned by the German Press Agency found. For more than 75 percent, however, the strike has no impact. The institute interviewed around 2,000 people for the survey between January 23rd and 25th. It is representative of the population aged 18 and over.
Even if the collective bargaining dispute drags on for weeks, it will only affect a minority of those surveyed. More than two thirds said in the survey that they had not planned a train trip in the next few weeks and were therefore not influenced by possible further strikes.
The numbers reflect the general traffic behavior of citizens. According to the Federal Environment Agency, only around a fifth of the total transport performance in Germany in recent years has been accounted for by the so-called environmental network, which also includes the railways. So significantly fewer people regularly take the train than by car.
Sports fans in particular have to replan
Handball and football fans are most likely to feel the effects of the strike at the weekend. The final weekend of the European Handball Championship will take place in Cologne. Those fans, teams and officials who have to travel from the main round venue Hamburg to Cologne are particularly affected. The German Handball Association and the European Handball Federation appealed to fans at the beginning of the week to find “joint solutions”. “It is recommended to form carpools and use common portals for this purpose,” said the associations.
In the Bundesliga, the GDL strike is likely to have an impact, among other things, on the arrival and departure of spectators for the match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FSV Mainz 05 in the evening. The railway explicitly asked all football fans to allow enough time for their journey and to find out about travel options and alternatives in advance and shortly before they start their journey. Eintracht Frankfurt is adjusting the stadium opening time due to the special conditions: the stadium opening will be brought forward by one hour to 5:30 p.m., as the club announced.
Mainz fans should mainly travel by fan bus. Things are also likely to be complicated for supporters with the other games on the day. According to a railway spokeswoman, around 100,000 fans use the train every weekend to travel to Bundesliga games.
Also a nuisance for weekly commuters
Anyone who works in another city during the week is also at a disadvantage if he or she usually takes the train home. There are also a lot of Bundeswehr soldiers on Deutsche Bahn’s long-distance trains on the weekends who don’t want to spend their days off in the barracks. They also need an alternative.
Of those currently affected according to the Yougov survey, almost a third stated that they had canceled leisure appointments due to the strike or that they were sticking to the planned trip but using a different means of transport. Around a quarter postponed their travel plans before or after the current strike. Another quarter had to cancel work appointments.
The majority has no understanding of strikes
Even if, according to the survey, only a minority is affected by the GDL’s strike, a majority rejects the industrial action. More than 60 percent of those surveyed have little or no understanding of the measures. Only eleven percent can “fully” understand the train drivers’ strike.
Source: Stern
