GERMANY: Transport strikes cost commuters €4.8m a day

Local public transport strikes lead to an increased use of cars, a higher number of traffic accidents, more injuries and higher levels of air pollution, according to a new study by researchers at the Ifo Institute and the University of Passau on strikes in five major German cities.

The study coincides with the week-long strike by drivers for Germany's Deutsche Bahn, their eighth walkout in ten months of wage negotiations and the longest in the rail operator's history.
Freight train drivers stopped work on Monday afternoon and passenger train drivers followed suit early on Tuesday.
Their union, GDL, wants a 5% pay rise, cut the working week from 39 hours to 37 and the right to represent staff such as train stewards.
The Ifo survey, based on research conducted during 71 strikes from 2002 to 2011, said that travel times to and from the workplace rose by 9.3% on average on strike days. A one-day strike in a city prolonged travel time by a total of 91,700 hours, or the equivalent of 2,294 working weeks. This represents costs of around 4.8 mln euros, or four times the average revenue losses sustained by the transport companies affected by the strike, which were estimated at 1.2 mln euros per strike day. The value of total time lost in the 71 strikes studied corresponded to a total of 338.6 mln euros.
According to the study, total car hours operated rose by 15%, while the number of traffic accidents rose by 14% and the number of persons injured increased by 20%. Air pollution grew by 14% and the number of small children admitted to hospital with respiratory problems increased by 11%.