TICE bus drivers have "no need to worry", says François Bausch

However, Minister for Mobility François Bausch said employees had no need to worry, telling RTL on Thursday that the goal was to increase the amount of spending eventually, and there were no plans to slash jobs.

A staff delegation posted about the subsidies coming to an end on social media on Wednesday. They also called for open discussions with the Ministry of Mobility on employees' job security and the future of the TICE bus network, which operates in southern Luxembourg. A key point of concern is the potential dismantling of services and jobs.

However, despite Bausch's reassurances, he clarified that any new convention with the bus operator would need to be negotiated with the next government following elections. At present, the state budget sum subsidising TICE amounts to around €36,650,000. Bausch explained a new financing law would need to be passed for around 40 million euros, which he currently could not confirm. "The government guarantees the money for this year and the next, but further than that, the next government will have to decide if they want to carry on with my plan or not."

Bausch believes the public transport network should be "massively expanded" to better serve residents in southern municipalities. Analysis of the national mobility plan for 2035 foresees an additional 70,000 potential journeys, facilitated through CFL, RGTR, Luxtram and TICE collectively. The question remains, however, how that task will be split between TICE and RGTR, which runs alongside CFL and private bus companies. Effectively, RGTR could take over the routes which cross the border, which TICE is not permitted to do anyway, said Bausch.

The minister does not see this as an attempt to save money, as conditions are better for TICE employees than at private businesses. Instead, Bausch views the matter as an opportunity for TICE to push for other routes, which could benefit towns in southern Luxembourg and connect different interchange stations more effectively.

When asked if TICE employees, or potential new hires, could risk worse conditions as a result of any reorganisation, Bausch said he was not responsible for TICE's working conditions, and that the municipalities would have some autonomy in terms of moving employees around.

The convention providing the state budget with around 35.7 million euros a year, but was not considered public, has effectively been cancelled, but this would have happened anyway, Bausch explained. The convention was partly bound to contracts with the public, national network RGTR, but these can no longer be enforced due to a requirement for a European tender.

While the current agreement with TICE will continue until December 2024, Bausch added that negotiations for a new convention had already begun, and would continue once the new TICE board had been assembled following municipal elections.