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KVG warns: Driver shortage will lead to drastic changes from December!
KVG is expanding the emergency timetables in Lüneburg from December 1, 2025 due to a lack of staff. Important changes in bus transport.
KVG warns: Driver shortage will lead to drastic changes from December!
From December 1, 2025, bus traffic in Lüneburg will experience noticeable changes. How Lüne blog reports, the KVG is expanding its emergency timetables due to an acute shortage of staff. This measure applies until the end of the year and includes possible short-term trip cancellations, which could influence planning for many commuters.
The decision to adjust the timetables is a response to an increasingly urgent shortage of skilled workers in transport companies. According to a study by the German Economic Institute, over 54,500 bus and tram drivers in Germany will soon leave the job market. Four out of ten employees in this area are older than 55 years.
Changed routes and timetables
The changes affect several bus routes in Lüneburg. Line 5003 will temporarily not offer repeater trips from Monday to Friday and will instead run every 30 minutes during the week, while hourly service is planned on Saturday. Lines 5004 and 5005, which run between the central bus station/train station, Goseburg and Ochtmissen, will in future be provided every hour with a connection to the metronome KVG bus explained in detail.
A 2-hour service with a connection to the metronome will be introduced for line 5006, and line 5007 will remain as an alternative. Line 5009 will also run every hour, although school-related arrivals and departures will remain. There are special changes to line 5010, where all trips on Sundays are canceled, while the daily hourly connections from Monday to Saturday remain.
Line 5011 will be reduced to every 30 minutes during the week, with specific trip cancellations in the early morning hours. Line 5013 continues to operate every hour from Monday to Saturday with a connection to the metronome, while line 5014 also runs every 30 minutes between Lüneburg and Wendisch Evern. Unfortunately, route 5016 is being discontinued completely and alternative routes via routes 5012 and 5014 are available.
Future outlook
Looking ahead, KVG plans to hire around 100 employees on behalf of MOIN from January 2026, while the prospects for the remaining 350 employees remain unclear. The company now has to operate a total of 13 city bus routes in the Lüneburg city area, where the adjustments and staff shortages have a significant impact on everyday operations.
In addition, the KVG is taking part in the “Safe on the go in the hvv” campaign, which aims to promote safer exits in the evenings. This is another step to address the challenges of staff shortages in the industry, which, according to the Future public transport network will continue to intensify.
The many facets of the transport transition present mobility in the Lüneburg region with a number of challenges that need to be overcome. It remains to be seen what long-term solutions will arise from the current shortage of skilled workers, which will probably continue to concern us in the coming years.