Many transport companies have a hard time finding enough drivers. Now you can advertise strengthened by fresh forces.
Marco Völklein Marco Völklein
Born in 1974, native of the Rhine-Neckar region. The study of journalism, politics, and Economics in Munich, in parallel, training at the German journalist school (DJS). Diploma degree in 1999, then editor of the Abendzeitung and ADAC motor world, since the spring of 2008, an editor at the süddeutsche Zeitung.
The father of Kismet Aksu operates a Kiosk at a Central tram stop in Mannheim. Depending on which layer drives the 30-Year-old exactly and on what line it is on-the-go, holds her father regularly on the lookout for his daughter. “He is very proud of me,” says the tram driver. A young woman with an immigrant background, in the control a-ton train. “At the beginning,” says Kismet Aksu, “my father was very skeptical.”
but grew rapidly. For ten years, Kismet is operating Aksu for local traffic, the Rhine-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (RNV) in Mannheim. First of all, you had learned an office job, but then quickly noted: “I want to go on a streetcar.” The great vehicle, the contact to the customer that had you irritated. And: “Every day is different.” So she switched to the RTO. Took three months training in the company’s own driving school, then it went out into the grid.
public transport companies to entice in demand for beginners
A newcomer, such as Aksu is not only in the Mannheim public transport. Anywhere in the Republic of traffic operations staff are looking not only for metros and trams, but also bus drivers and train drivers. They rely more on newcomers and women. In Essen, the Ruhr rail sticks Recently, posters in several languages to find a bus driver. In Munich, the transport advertises with the Slogan “More life” to employees. Pictures show people enjoying their free time – such as at the lake. In the Text of the operation promises to be a “excellent service, plan design,” which leave plenty of free, well-predictable time. And in the East, the railway operator has Agilis on its trains following a spell of brushes: “the locomotive and the curlers do not fit together?
a tram driver Kismet Aksu.
(photo: N. Haubner/RNV)
At us already!” The demand for drivers is huge. However, in the Situation of the company were complicit, says Mira Ball from the trade Union Verdi. Because of the economic pressure setting, stop in many local Establishments for a long time, others divided the driving in subsidiaries, with a significantly lower salary level. So also in Mannheim. The RTO was established many years ago as a joint company of several transport companies in the Rhine-Neckar-Region, especially the cost (and the thought: to press the wages). Now, many veteran driver of change in the coming years in retirement – and need to be replaced by young workers. In addition, many cities want to expand in the coming years, the supply of buses and trams, in some cases significantly, in order to their transport to get in trouble. Additional drivers can’t find enough inside and the driver, it could be tight Casinomaxi with the turn of the Traffic in German cities. And alone over the regular three-year vocational training of young people to the FiF, to the “specialist in driving”, as the profession is, will not be to cover the huge need in the short term.
The Union is therefore trying for some time now, due in part to strong collective wage increases to improve the situation. Also, some companies have realized that they need to do something in order to be more attractive – particularly for willing to Change, can earn in other industries, sometimes significantly more. So the RTO has agreed, for example, according to personnel chief Steffen Grimm an in-house collective with Verdi, according to which older employees receive 55 additional days to the busy shifts, the better to cope with. At the end of his career, some of the staff to be so inclusive vacation on a good 80 days off per year.
However, complain to staff about working times, especially on the “shared services”. The fall, because the peak times are in the transport layer in the early Morning and late afternoon; controls who has a shared service, usually in the Morning, Bus or train through the area, then a very long Pause and then re-ran. Thus, the Service is often far into the night.
driving staff was not appreciated for a long time value
Many companies tried, therefore, to the employees in the transport service “more appreciation”, as Grimm says. Executives admit now that they had dealt with the driving personnel step in the past “often mothers”. Over many years of operation has been trimmed for maximum efficiency, try it now, by means of longer breaks or reversing times of the pressure on the employees of lastebasse, to soften a little.
And were formerly stocked in many places, rest rooms for drivers furniture with discarded seat from the administration, has launched the RNV, a pilot project: by the end of 2019 drivers should shape is located inside and the driver’s lounge in the Depot in Edingen (between Mannheim and Heidelberg) in responsibility completely new. More such projects will follow, says Grimm, as well as a new service, clothing, the profession of “upgrade”.
Kismet Aksu loves her profession, as she says. Who is driving with her through Mannheim, realizes that she is highly focused on the road. Children appear by the roadside, out takes you a little bit of thrust, wet Leaves on the rails, spread them by the push of a button Sand under the car and slows down gently. You must observe the signals, as well as the delay display. “This variety I like,” she says. “I can’t think of any other profession.”