Light rail vehicles and trams will remain in the depots. As Stadtwerke spokeswoman Silke Elbern told the General-Anzeiger, the timetable on the bus lines will be reduced to about one third of the other services. On that day, no buses of the Stadtwerke Bus und Bahn (SWB) will commute, but only buses of subcontractors who provide services for SWB anyway.

SWB have published a special timetable on their website. On 23 bus lines, the subcontractors are operating despite the warning strike, but much less frequently than scheduled according to the normal timetable. These lines include:

Line 600, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 608, 609, 610, 611, 632, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638, 640, 884, Line SB60, T650, T651 and T652.

"We expect the buses that are running to be more crowded than usual," Elbern said. He said there would be no special preference for certain routes that serve schools, hospitals or large businesses. There would be the journeys that would also be served by the subcontractors according to the regular timetable. This is why some bus routes run at a tighter frequency than others.

For particularly important dates, the public utility company advises people to organise their journeys on that day with alternatives to bus and train.

According to Verdi, the warning strike affects not only SWB but also the Cologne public transport company, which operates the city tram lines 16 and 18 between Bonn and Cologne. According to the union, the Rhein-Sieg-Verkehrsgesellschaft (RSVG), which organises bus services in the Rhein-Sieg district on the right bank of the Rhine, will also be affected by the strike.

RSVG is also operating all routes and journeys that are subcontracted. On some RSVG lines they are only in operation at certain times of the day, for example early in the morning or in the evening. These journeys will also take place on Tuesday. Lines 163, 164,502, 504, 505, 507, 510,511, 512, 513, 515, 516, 517, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 527, 529, 531, 532 will be operated all day Tuesday, 533, 536, 539, 550, 551, 553, 555, 556, 557, 558, 559, 561, 564, 565, 566, 567, 568, 570, 571, 572, 573, 576, 577, 578, 579, SB51, SB52, SB53, SB55. According to RSVG, individual journeys on these lines may also be cancelled. RSVG points out that the mobility guarantee does not apply during a strike.

Not affected is Regionalverkehr Köln (RVK) in the area on the left bank of the Rhine, whose drivers have house contracts and no collective agreements. Trains operated by Deutsche Bahn and National Express are also expected to run according to the normal timetable.

For commuters, a warning strike in local transport announced with advance notice is no excuse for delays at work under labour law. "The employee is the one who bears the travel risk," says Nathalie Oberthür, a specialist lawyer for labour law in Cologne. Employees are responsible for arriving at work on time. Employees may risk a reduction in pay or even a warning. A delay due to a strike is only legitimate if it is a sudden work stoppage that no one knew about in advance.

By announcing the strike in advance, parents and pupils had enough time to "organise an alternative way to get to school", as Vanessa Nolte, spokesperson for the Cologne district government, emphasised when asked. However, it always depends on the individual case. The length and danger of the route to school, the location of the home and the school as well as the transport connections could be used as excuses for delays. "In this respect, no generalised statement can be made," said Nolte.

In addition to Verdi, the Komba union has also announced work stoppages for Tuesday. The office of citizen services will be affected. For the day, the construction work for the Weiberfastnacht parade on Thursday in Beuel will be suspended. The Komba expects longer waiting times in the citizens' offices and the foreigners' office.

The special timetable with travel times can be viewed via the direct link SWB.

(Original text: Philipp Königs and Andrea Ziech / Translation: Mareike Graepel)