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Public transport strikes: Which parts of Germany are affected on Tuesday?

The Local Germany
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Public transport strikes: Which parts of Germany are affected on Tuesday?
"Nicht einsteigen“ (don't board) reads a sign for an Abellio train at Erfurt's main train station. Workers from the company participated in Tuesday's strike. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Martin Schutt

Bus and train drivers around Germany - mostly in two southern states - are continuing to walk of the job on Tuesday in an ongoing battle for higher wages. Here are the regions and routes affected.

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Bus strikes in Baden-Württemberg

Union Verdi called for workers in private bus companies in the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg to walk off the job on Tuesday, as part of an ongoing negotiation for higher wages. 

More than 800 strikers - mostly drivers - at about 25 companies are taking part in the action. 

City buses are either cancelled or delayed in the cities of Schwäbisch Hall, Reutlingen, Göppingen, Heidenheim, Waiblingen, Ludwigsburg, Backnang, Bietigheim-Bissingen and partly in Karlsruhe, Geislingen, Boeblingen and Plochingen.

In addition, local bus drivers are walking off the job in Tübingen, as well on intercity lines which run between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe area, in the Schwäbisch Hall area and in the Reutlingen/Tübingen area.

Rail replacement bus services - in place between Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt and Waiblingen until June 9th due to construction - will not be affected, according to a Deutsche Bahn (DB) spokeswoman.

Verdi called the strikes after failing to reach compromise in the second round of collective bargaining for approximately 9,000 drivers of private bus companies on May 9th. 

The union is demanding an increase in monthly pay of at least €500 as well as trainee pay of at least €250 a month for a period of twelve months. 

While Verdi struck a deal with public-sector transport operators in April for a 5.5 percent wage increase and tax-free lump sum for workers, it's still negotiating on behalf of private-sector workers, meaning that Germany's airports also continue to be hit with the actions as security workers there tend to belong to this group.

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A third round of negotiations is scheduled for May 20th.

READ ALSO: German public sector workers clinch 5.5 percent pay rise

Regional train strikes in Bavaria

At the 11th hour on Saturday, state-owned Deutsche Bahn reached an agreement with transport union EVG in order to avoid a 'megastrike' which was set to take place from Sunday at 10 pm until Tuesday at midnight. 

But some of the other 49 transport companies that the union represents still decided to go ahead with the action, and are continuing to strike all day Tuesday.

Until midnight on Tuesday, almost all routes operated by the Bayerische Oberlandbahn (BOB), Bayerische Regiobahn (BRB) and Meridian have been cancelled. 

"Not even a handful of train drivers are driving," a spokesperson for the EVG told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. 

According to the rail union, around 300 workers are currently on strike.

The three operators are owned by Transdev - the second-largest bus and rail operator active in Germany after Deutsche Bahn. The strike will primarily impact services in the south of Bavaria.

Bayerischer Oberlandbahn in Warngau

A regional train run by the Bayerischer Oberlandbahn stops near Warngau. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lennart Preiss

READ ALSO: Train services disrupted in Bavaria as regional workers go on strike

The main routes affected on Tuesday are those running between Aichach / Ingolstadt and the Allgäu region, i.e. services from Augsburg via Friedberg to Ingolstadt and Aichach (RB13), from Mering to Gessertshausen (RB67), from Augsburg to Kaufering (RB69), Bobingen or Marktoberdorf (RB77), Weilheim (RB67) and to Schongau (RB67). 

The BRB trains to Landsberg and Lengenwang were running sporadically again as of Tuesday.

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Other regions affected

There were also delays on regional trains travelling between Thuringia and Lower Franconia in Bavaria due to the actions.

At Erfurter Bahn (EIB), which operates local rail services between Gemünden, Schweinfurt, Bad-Kissingen and Meiningen, and between Schweinfurt and Gemünden, trains were only running every two hours. 

Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn in Brandenburg and operator Abellio in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt are also on strike.

EVG is currently in the process of renegotiating its collective agreement for the majority of rail workers in Germany.

To counteract the high cost of living, the union is demanding a 12 percent pay rise for its workers, or a minimum of €650 per month.

EVG represents 230,000 workers across some 50 transport companies, 180,000 of which belong to Deutsche Bahn.

READ ALSO: Could Germany still see more rail disruption after cancelled 'megastrike'?

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