From 28 September, MIT.BUS GmbH - a subsidiary of Stadtwerke Gießen - will be deploying additional staff as communicators on the Line 1 buses. Among other things, the new employees will be available to passengers as contact persons. The concept behind this was presented on Friday, 25 September.
Increasing residential development, a new school location and the opening of a branch of the Hessian initial reception centre have significantly changed the environment along the entire route of Line 1 in recent months. Passenger numbers on the buses on this route have risen sharply and there have sometimes been conflicts between passengers and drivers or ticket inspectors or between passengers themselves.
"In order to take account of the changed requirements and to increase passengers' sense of safety, so-called communicators are now being used in the coaches on Line 1," explained MIT.BUS Managing Director Mathias Carl at a press event last Friday. The subsidiary of Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG), in cooperation with the JobCenter Gießen, is recruiting five new employees for this purpose, who were trained accordingly between 21 and 25 September. Joachim Kühn, Head of Giessen City Council at the Giessen JobCentre, commented: "We are delighted to be implementing this project together with MIT.BUS GmbH. In this way, we are offering people without employment a new perspective."
Helping and mediating
The task of the communicators will be to be available to passengers both inside and outside the buses as a point of contact and to intervene to de-escalate difficult situations. "Our new employees should recognise potential tensions in good time and take countermeasures early on or request support if necessary. They will also help passengers get on and off the bus, provide information on fares and timetables and, if necessary, support the drivers with ticket checks, for example," summarises Mathias Carl.
The communicators will mainly be deployed in teams of three to accompany the buses on Line 1, particularly during the evening hours. The project is currently limited to route 1 and is limited to two years. However, Mathias Carl points out: "We are planning to deploy the new employees on other sections of the route if necessary."
Safety through training
The most important criterion when selecting suitable applicants was a high level of identification with the task. "The most important thing for us is that the applicants are highly motivated and really want to make a difference with their work," emphasises Mathias Carl.
They also received special training in coordination with the police
special training courses. Matthias Ganz from the Central Hesse Police Headquarters explains: "In order to prepare the communicators for their work, they underwent specific training courses with us. The training content included communication training, and the new employees were also taught about legal issues and correct behaviour on the bus. This also included various de-escalation strategies."
The training also covered intercultural skills and the current fares and timetables. Regular information sessions and refresher training courses are planned for the coming months.
Anyone who encounters the communicators in future can contact them at any time with questions. Passengers will be able to recognise them immediately by their light blue waistcoats.