Hunglish.orgHow was day one of the great 2010 BKV strike in Budapest? Read on to find out...
Written by Scott Savoie
So yesterday was the first day of the public transportation (BKV) workers’ strike and so far it hasn’t been so bad.
BKV called for a strike to begin on Tuesday, but either management covered or scabs were brought in, or something, because in the city center the strike was barely noticable. Traffic was worse as more people drove, but the buses and metros ran.
Here were some of the differences I observed:
• The new bus drivers didn’t smoke as much.
• The new guys weren’t reading newspapers.
• The new guys drove a bit faster.
• The new guys weren’t as drunk.
Okay, so I was kidding on that last one. I have no idea how sober any of them were.
So if you were thinking of rearranging your schedule in Budapest because of the strike, don’t bother. Things are about the same, maybe a little slower. BKV can be fairly erratic anyway.
I didn’t see any ticket collectors, either, which could be even be considered an improvement.
Perhaps the uncertain economic environment and the winter season upon us caused many drivers not to strike. If it was management taking over, we can expect a huge drop in service if the managers actually have to do the crummy work that they manage.