The next round of warning strikes in public transit is scheduled for this week—Munich is once again affected, and with it, FC Bayern and its Champions League match against Atalanta Bergamo on Wednesday evening.
According to the Verdi union, public transit vehicles are set to remain in their depots on Thursday in at least six federal states, including Bavaria. In Munich, however, the strike is set to begin a day earlier—and is likely to last longer than a single day. According to Verdi, Munich’s municipal public transit employees are called to strike from 11 a.m. on Wednesday until 4 a.m. on Friday. According to the Munich Transport Authority (MVG), disruptions to subway service could begin as early as Tuesday, as control center and passenger service staff have already been called to a full-day warning strike on Tuesday.
As things stand, the majority of buses, subways, and trams will still be in service during Wednesday morning’s rush hour, but not after 11 a.m. And that is likely to cause a few more wrinkles on some foreheads on Säbener Straße, as the Champions League round of 16 second leg is scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Allianz Arena.
Fans of FC Bayern, as well as those of Atalanta Bergamo, will therefore have to brace themselves for a more difficult journey to and from the stadium. This repeats the scenario from early February, when Bayern Munich’s Cup quarterfinal against RB Leipzig (2-0) was also affected by a strike at the Munich public transit system. At that time, however, the MVG managed to keep subway line 6 running on a special schedule—thus ensuring a smooth trip to the Allianz Arena.
It is currently unclear whether this will be the case again this time. “As with the last strikes, the priorities are on lines 20 and U6,” the MVG announced, but also noted that “subway, tram, and bus service will be severely limited” for the entire duration of the strike. So the U6 as well? That likely depends on how many drivers heed the strike call. In any case, Verdi expects a strike participation rate of over 70 percent. But no one knows for sure at this point. S-Bahn service, however, is not affected, as it is operated by Deutsche Bahn.
This is unlikely to dampen Bayern fans’ enthusiasm, though—after all, following their 6-1 rout in the first leg in Italy, they already feel they’ve secured a spot in the quarterfinals. Strong interest and, consequently, a potentially sold-out stadium with 75,000 spectators seem quite likely, which, conversely, is likely to make coordinating the arrival and departure of the numerous fans under strike conditions a major challenge.
At least the strike ends on Friday, so Bayern’s Bundesliga match against Union Berlin on Saturday will not be affected by the strike.
