As of: March 6, 2024, 6:25 p.m
By: Felicitas Breschendorf
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From March 7th, some people will have to switch back to cars because of the strike at Deutsche Bahn.
Are you finally tired of public transport?
From Wednesday, the GDL train drivers' union is on strike again, initially in freight transport.
From Thursday morning at 2 a.m. to Friday afternoon at 1 p.m., train cancellations may also occur in passenger traffic.
The strikes at Deutsche Bahn seem to have no end.
Passengers are annoyed.
The car, the climate-damaging alternative, could become more attractive.
BuzzFeed News Germany,
a portal from
IPPEN.MEDIA
, asks two traffic experts for their assessment.
Transport experts see no “sustainable consequences” of the rail strikes on driving behavior
Rail strikes lead to many people switching to cars at short notice - this time too.
“On Monday, demand for rental cars in Germany recorded a significant increase,” said the booking platform
Check24
.
“On average across the country, 368 percent more rental cars were booked than in the previous week.”
In the long term, the question arises as to whether some Germans will soon be so annoyed that they will forego the train altogether.
The number of cars recently rose to more than 49 million, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) announced on Monday.
Could the strikes lead to even more?
Transport scientist Oliver Schwedes tells
BuzzFeed News Germany
: "I don't assume
that
the strikes will have lasting consequences." His point of reference is the pandemic: The slumps in Deutsche Bahn's traffic did not lead to a change, but have now started again Pre-corona level.
Always just strikes? An expert answered this question negatively last summer (2023).
“Acceptance in society for the strikes is too high”
Civil and environmental engineer Jürgen Follmann, who researches traffic planning at the University of Darmstadt, has a similar opinion.
He doesn't believe that more people who have just taken the train or bike will suddenly get into the car.
However, his reasoning is different: "The acceptance in society for the strikes is too high to result in long-term changes in the choice of means of transport and disadvantages for climate protection." There is
frustration, but more in relation to the company, the Deutsche Bahn.
“Deutsche Bahn simply ignores its problems.
This goes down poorly with society, which is well aware of the shortcomings that have existed for years.
On the other hand, we have respect for Claus Weselsky (the GDL chairman, editor's note) for how he stands up for his union,” Follmann tells
BuzzFeed News Germany.
Just recently, Deutsche Bahn came under criticism for handing out high bonus payments to executives despite being unreliable.
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Strikes could make Deutsche Bahn more popular in the future
According to transport experts, the rail strikes should not make voices against cars any louder.
On the contrary.
“If there had been more strikes in the past, there would be more train drivers today,” says Schwedes.
Back in the 1990s: “The GDL should have gone on strike when it was a matter of saving money on the railway and dismantling around 3,000 kilometers of rail.” Then local public transport would probably be in better condition today, which would mean more people taking the train could have moved.
According to Follmann, the current strikes could also have positive effects.
“Passengers suffer more in the long run from the lack of staff than from the temporary strikes,” he says.
Trains are often canceled or arrive late due to illness of locomotive drivers.
That's why many people don't have a good opinion of Deutsche Bahn.
If the GDL ultimately ensures that these problems are solved, that could ensure approval.
Follmann says: “If the train were more reliable, then more people would choose it.”