Possible bus strike threatens winter holiday chaos

print this

A possible strike by bus and lorry drivers affiliated with the Finnish Transport Workers Union (AKT), which might start on Sunday evening, would disrupt the winter holiday plans of many Finns.
      Next week schools in the south of Finland are closed for the annual winter holiday, also known as the “skiing holiday”. In addition to long-range buses, the stoppage would bring local and regional bus services to a halt in many areas.
      Mediation efforts continue in the dispute on Thursday. If no actual settlement is reached in the dispute, there will be attempts to persuade the union to postpone the strike for two weeks.
     
In the Helsinki region, only Helsingin Bussiliikenne, which is owned by the City of Helsinki, would continue to operate. Buses operated by companies contracted for many other routes would not run. Helsinki Region Transport says that some areas would be left completely without public transport services.
      However, about half of journeys in the area are on local trains, trams, and the Metro.
      In many other large and medium-sized cities and towns, local transport is completely in the hands of private bus companies which would be affected by the strike.
     
The possible AKT strike would also affect fuel service at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. However, the airline Finnair expects that planes could be tanked up normally.
      The other home-based airline, Blue 1 predicts that there would be delays, and that after a couple of days, there could also be cancellations.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Threatened transport strike could have serious knock-on effects (15.2.2010)

Links:
  Transport Workers´ Union AKT
  Helsinki Region Transport

Helsingin Sanomat