When Nobina took over bus traffic in Söderort, Huddinge and Botkyrka at the end of January, there was chaos with delayed and 190 departures just the first day. On Monday, an IT failure at the company caused disturbances in traffic throughout the country.
Several regions, including Värmland, Skåne, Stockholm and Västernorrland, flagged for delays. IT-Stolet also hit Norway, Finland and Denmark. You are now waiting for answers to the investigation what this was due to.
Now bus drivers to TV4 testify the news about the chaos that has been since Nobina took over bus traffic and some 70 electric buses would be phased in overnight.
– From the first day it became a hell for all bus drivers. Nobina bought bad electric buses that break all the time, writes a bus driver in an email to TV4 News.
The driver may have to wait for help for 40 minutes
Before Nobina took over, it was Keolis who took care of the bus traffic Söder like Stockholm. The bus driver, who wants to be anonymous, says that the drivers could get in touch with Keoli’s traffic management in just minutes if the bus had problems and the traffic management changed the bus in minutes.
– When came Nobina there was chaos. If the driver has problems and wants to contact Nobina’s traffic management, the driver must wait for answers and notification between 20-40 minutes, the bus driver writes.
He criticizes that Nobina’s traffic management does not help the driver in the situation and “forces the driver to continue with a broken bus, which is dangerous”.
David Erixson, Nobina’s press manager, rejects the criticism and believes that the traffic management is staffed by knowledgeable staff around the clock, but Stockholm traffic can sometimes be difficult to access.
– The buses are technically complicated machines and when they are brand new it takes a while for them to be phased in. So unfortunately, it is not uncommon for childhood diseases on brand new buses – whether it is electric buses or biodisel, he tells TV4 News.
Criticism of pressed working days
The bus drivers also believe that they get too short breaks, only two to five minutes break for five hours driving time, which means that they do not have time to take a leg stretch or go to the toilet.
Prior to Nobina’s entry, the trade union Kommunal examined the new working conditions formerly the bus drivers. It was already criticized then that the drivers get longer between kissing breaks and testified to a rebellion among the bus drivers.
– Because of lots of problems, many of my colleagues want to stop driving. Already, I and other drivers have started looking for another job, writes the bus driver.
He also criticizes that those who start in the garage and end in another place receive no compensation for the trip home by Nobina, which was previously received by Keolis.
– It is important for us to point out that we apply the Swedish collective agreement that applies to the industry and that we follow it to the point. This sounds like a dissatisfaction with the collective agreement itself, but it is obviously important to listen to the criticism that exists, says Nobina’s press manager, David Erixon.