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Spain bus driver strike: What you need to know about refunds and compensation
Thousands of passengers have already been affected by the work stoppages occurring throughout Spain
The nationwide strike of bus drivers is already causing chaos for thousands of passengers across Spain, with more than 80,000 professional drivers expected to take part in the seven days of industrial action planned between now and the end of the year.
The strike, which began on Monday October 28, is expected to impact intercity and city buses, school transport and other passenger services.
In anticipation of widespread disruption, the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) has issued a statement reminding passengers of their rights, including the right to claim a refund of the ticket price or compensation in the form of a credit if their coach or bus journey is impacted.
What can you do?
If your bus is delayed or cancelled, you can claim a refund of the ticket price or compensation in the form of credit. Furthermore, if the journey was long distance, passengers can also claim compensation that varies depending on the delay suffered and ranges from 50% to 100% of the ticket price.
If you've missed a connection to another means of transport or have lost your reserved accommodation as a result of the industrial action, you can also claim compensation.
The OCU recommends keeping any documents that prove your connection or accommodation reservation.
When and where to claim
You should address your complaint to the transport company within three months of the strike. If the response is not forthcoming or is unsatisfactory, you can contact the land transport arbitration boards, which are dependent on the Ministry of Transport and are present in all autonomous communities throughout Spain.
What impact has the strike had so far?
Early on Monday morning, the very first day of industrial action, the unions insisted that the minimum services agreement meant that services were running “normally” and that there had been no “serious incidents”.
However, eyewitnesses report that bus windows were broken on dozens of occasions, and that crowds and queues were a common sight in the main cities as hundreds of passengers scrambled to catch fewer services, which were operating at around 50% in most places.
The strikes are scheduled to continue on November 11, 28 and 29 and on December 5 and 9, with the potential for an indefinite strike starting on December 23 if no agreement is reached.
Image: Pixabay
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