Böblingen (dpa/lsw) – With the expiration of the last Corona rescue packages, the bus company association WBO sees the basic supply in local transport in danger. The new managing director of the Association of Baden-Württemberg Bus Operators (WBO), Yvonne Hüneburg, told the “Schwäbische Zeitung” that she did not know of any member companies that the number of passengers had returned to the level they were before the pandemic. “This income is missing. Not every company will be able to maintain the current offer.”
It will be particularly difficult for companies that manage bus routes on their own, i.e. are not bound by a service contract with the public authority, such as the district. “This still affects about 30 percent of the offer in Baden-Württemberg, especially in the countryside,” said Hüneburg. “If the public sector doesn’t open the tills here and order additional transport, I don’t even know whether this basic service is guaranteed.” Bus operators have high fixed costs for staff and diesel. “This is life-threatening for commercial traffic.”
Hüneburg also complained about a large staff shortage in the bus industry. Baden-Württemberg is currently short of 2,500 bus drivers, private and municipal companies combined. “The drivers are already having to work a lot of overtime. So there is actually a lack of staff just to drive the current timetable. Not to mention a traffic turnaround.”
