Published March 19, 2026 — last updated March 19, 2026
Public transport across several German states was disrupted on Thursday as bus and tram workers staged walkouts, forcing commuters to seek alternative travel options.
The union Verdi said Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt were among the worst affected. In Munich many buses and trams stayed in depots. North Rhine-Westphalia saw its second local transport strike this week, and further tram action is planned in some areas on Friday. Verdi said industrial action in parts of Saxony-Anhalt is expected to continue through Sunday.
Regional and suburban rail services run by Deutsche Bahn and other rail operators were not affected.
The strikes are part of a broader round of collective bargaining in Germany’s public transport sector that has entered its fourth month. In most states the dispute focuses on working conditions — including working hours, break lengths and minimum rest periods between shifts. Verdi deputy chair Christine Behle said talks are still at an early stage in many regions.
Some states have already reached agreements: Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein have concluded deals, while Hesse, the state that includes Frankfurt, has negotiated a compromise that is being put to union members for approval. Negotiations are also continuing in Berlin, where a new round of talks at the capital’s main transport operator has begun.
Separately, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told broadcaster ARD that Germany has recorded roughly 30,000 migrant turnbacks at its borders since the current government took office. He said the figure underlined the need to keep border controls in place; the temporary internal controls were extended in February for six months until mid-September. Dobrindt argued the stricter measures help detect smugglers and marked a policy shift, but added he hoped new EU asylum rules due to take effect in the summer, together with stronger protection of the EU’s external borders, could make it possible to end the internal checks.
In other news, German mathematician Gerd Faltings was awarded the 2026 Abel Prize for his work in arithmetic geometry. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters praised Faltings for introducing powerful tools that reshaped the field and resolved major longstanding conjectures. The 71-year-old, a former director of the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, previously received the Fields Medal in 1986.