Regional public transport strike in Gelderland, Noord-Brabant, Limburg

Today is the third day of strikes in regional public transport. On Thursday, employees of the public transport companies in Gelderland, Noord-Brabant, and Limburg are laying down their work in protest for a better collective bargaining agreement.

Marijn van der Gaag of trade union FNV expects a great willingness to strike.

Carrier Arriva warned travelers in Noord-Brabant and Limburg to take disruptions and cancelations of buses and trains into account. In Gelderland, the transport company expects to run the regular timetable. Hermes warned of cancelations in Noord-Brabant. The company asked PSV supporters to look for alternative transport if they wanted to go to the Philips Stadium on Thursday evening. The Eindhoven club will play a Europa League match against Norwegian FK Bodø/Glimt. The carrier wants to prevent nuisance on the bus lines to the stadium as much as possible.

On Wednesday, regional public transport workers went on strike in Utrecht and Noord-Holland. On Tuesday, the strike happened in Flevoland, Zuid-Holland, and Zeeland. Tomorrow they will strike in Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, and Overijssel. The relay strikes are a run-up to a national strike on Friday, September 16. On that day, the unions expect no intercity buses or regional trains will run anywhere in the country.

Friday’s regional public transport strike overlaps with a strike by NS workers. Dutch national railway NS said it would cancel nearly all trains on Friday, though it will try to run some trains to Schiphol airport.

NS workers will strike in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Dordrecht, Almere, and the area surrounding Schiphol Airport - shutting down a very busy and interconnected region. NS said it was, therefore, not possible to carry out any scheduled service.