It is extremely embarrassing for a German state capital like Wiesbaden to see the force with which its municipal transport company crashes into a wall.
Instead of silently organizing efficient bus transport for up to 60 million passengers a year, ESWE Verkehr has been generating a never-ending stream of less than glorious headlines for years: The return of the tram, which ESWE advocated, failed miserably due to its unconvincing communication strategy due to the vote of the citizens .
The high-deficit bicycle rental system was discontinued after a short time because it was not tailored to the conditions in Wiesbaden.
The hydrogen buses are also not suitable for Wiesbaden because the depot is overwhelmed with the maintenance of three different drive systems.
For years, other locations for depots should have been identified in Wiesbaden.
An omission that is now taking its toll, as Wiesbaden needs more than 300 buses to meet passenger demand.
And there is simply not enough space for them.
Finally, a managing director was sacked without notice because he had promoted a dubious system of favoritism and cronyism with the works council at the time, as well as the arbitrary granting of allowances and bonuses.
Not without diesel for years to come
The working atmosphere among the approximately 1,100 employees is still not what the new management would like.
There are 100 bus drivers missing, so that the state capitals have had to make do with the Saturday timetable as the regular timetable for months.
Not to mention the failure of the ambitious plans to be the first German transport company to transport passengers completely emission-free.
For years to come, Wiesbaden will not be able to do without diesel buses.
Getting ESWE Verkehr back on track is an almost impossible task.
The granting of a special bonus is nothing more than an encouraging signal to the employees.
It will not significantly improve the working atmosphere.
ESWE Verkehr lacks a clear strategy for the future that the company can implement with political backing.
ESWE reacted to the failure of the Citybahn just as helplessly and helplessly as to the shortage of skilled workers.
The head of traffic will have to get his act together soon.
Or hand over the task to another member of the magistrate.