Cases of verbal and physical violence against bus and train employees have increased sharply. A new campaign aims to ensure more respect. The Minister of Transport holds all travelers accountable.
Christina, who does not want to be identified by her last name, has been working at DB Regio for 33 years. The train attendant has been stationed in Saarbrücken for nine years. But on this day everything is different. When Christina checks a passenger who has the wrong ticket and she wants to issue him a new ticket instead, he stands up and starts kicking her.
“It came out of nowhere,” says the 52-year-old. Luckily, a few men rush to her aid and hold the attacker, who gets out one stop later. “I was really shaking, even after so many years of professional experience,” says Christina. “After that, it took a lot of effort for me to continue my work.”
“Really bad attacks”
Christina’s example is not an isolated case. The number of physical injuries against bus and train employees has tripled in recent years, reports Martin Burkert, head of the railway and transport union EVG. “These are really bad attacks. We had 3,200 physical injuries last year,” said Burkert.
In the first half of 2023 alone, there were 7,500 days of illness caused by physical injuries. This shows how dramatic the situation has now become. “Unfortunately, we have also had deaths in such attacks,” said the EVG boss.
People threaten and spit on
According to statistics, the number of verbal attacks – including spitting and threats – on employees, for example on buses, trains or at train stations, has increased even more. “In the last ten years we have seen a fivefold increase in verbal attacks and assaults. Unfortunately, the trend is increasing.”
Last year there were around 14,000 verbal attacks in DB Regio’s regional transport alone. There is also a high number of unreported cases, as around 70 percent of incidents are not even reported by staff. “We are insulted almost every day,” complains train attendant Christina. “I have thick skin there. But it’s not pretty,” she says. You have to put up with a lot in this job.”
Nationwide posters
But that is exactly what needs to change. The new #moreAttention campaign, which has now been presented by the Federal Ministry of Transport and the EVG union, is intended to help. Nationwide, posters on trains and at stations in the next two years are intended to ensure more respect for bus and train employees, for example more “train politeness”.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing hopes that the posters will send a “signal to society”. “Together we identified many problems that affected me,” said the FDP politician when introducing the campaign.
Various reasons
EVG boss Burkert analyzes the reasons for the increase in verbal and physical violence in bus and train transport. After restrictions imposed by the mask requirement during the corona pandemic, the rush for the 9-euro ticket would have led to “employees experiencing overload and aggressiveness on the trains increasing,” said Burkert. “And of course being unpunctual on the trains also makes you more aggressive.”
The Transport Minister is of course also aware of the dissatisfaction of rail customers. “But that’s not the fault of the employees,” emphasizes Wissing. “These are technical reasons that lead to delays. We are working on that elsewhere.” But it is unfair to take out the frustration on employees who cannot do anything about it.
Violence as a reason for Shortage of skilled workers
There is great hope that the level of violent attacks will decrease again, also in order not to further exacerbate the increased labor and skilled labor shortage. “There are currently a large number of advertisements running, but we have too few applicants,” says Ralf Damde, Chairman of the General Works Council at DB Regio. “There are people who stop and say, ‘I can’t do this anymore’. And others who don’t even apply,” he says. “You have to take the issue seriously so that this job becomes attractive to people again.”
The railway and transport union EVG is committed to new ways to better protect employees, such as the use of body cameras that can be switched on at the start of disputes. Transport Minister Wissing is open to this, especially since these have already been successfully tested. Self-defense courses are also offered for railway staff – and there are project stations that have already been equipped with more cameras.
Even a “Hello” can help
This increases the clearance rate, reports EVG boss Burkert; However, this is not protection against attacks. “We need public attention,” emphasizes Burkert. Wissing calls for shared responsibility for more protection. The minister sees all bus and train travelers as having a shared responsibility. “It is important that we perceive this as a task for society as a whole and take action against it. The problem cannot only be solved by police officers paying attention everywhere.”
Everyone must behave decently and can thereby make their own contribution. It is also important to support employees in conflict situations, for example “by using a calm tone when we observe something like this and informing fellow travelers that we find the tone inappropriate.”
Train attendant Christina’s wish is even simpler: “That people would say ‘Hello’ to me sometimes. I’m human too.” She spends ten to 14 hours on the road every day, also working on weekends and in recent years even at Christmas. “We’re doing a tough job here. Just take out your headphones when I’m checking. And show a little more respect for each other.”