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Bus drivers and regional train crews across the Netherlands have walked out on Wednesday. This is the first in a planned series of weekly strikes after talks on a new collective labour agreement broke down. The effect on travellers depends on the region. Some services are running as usual, while others are mostly cancelled.
Why the strike is happening
The unions FNV and CNV called the strike after talks on a new collective agreement (cao) for public transport broke down. Train drivers, bus drivers, and office staff at companies like Arriva, Keolis, Qbuzz, Transdev, and EBS have been asked to stop work. The unions say the employers’ proposals would make conditions worse. They are asking for a 9.5 percent pay rise over two years and better terms for older staff. Employers say they have limited financial room and need to keep public transport affordable. The unions warn that if employers do not make concessions, they will strike on a different day each week from now on.
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What is running, and what is not
The situation is very different depending on the area. Here is an overview of Wednesday morning:
Amsterdam city transport (GVB) and The Hague city transport (HTM): running as normal. These are not part of the regional-transport (streekvervoer) agreement and so are not affected.
Rotterdam: no buses, but trams and metros are running.
Utrecht: around a quarter of buses appear to be running, with fewer tram services.
Noord-Brabant: the hardest hit, with only around 10 percent of buses running.
Twente and Limburg: roughly 70 percent of buses running.
The Achterhoek: no cancellations.
Arriva trains in Limburg: not running.
Other Arriva trains: running to schedule, including Zwolle to Emmen, Almelo to Hardenberg and Zutphen to Oldenzaal.
Regional lines in Groningen and Friesland: no cancellations.
Check before you travel
One important thing to note is that operators cannot always say in advance which services will run. Keolis says on its website that it only knows “shortly in advance” which buses and trains will operate, and Transdev says it does not yet know what will be possible. Arriva and other operators advise travellers to check the journey planner (reisplanner) shortly before leaving.
Since the unions plan to strike on a different, unannounced day each week before Christmas, this unpredictability will likely continue. Travellers who rely on regional buses and trains should check their route on the day and have a back-up plan if possible. The national rail company NS is not part of this dispute, so trains on the main network are running as usual.