Leipzig: Flera personer döda efter bussolycka (2024-03-27)

Auf der A9 bei Leipzig ist am Mittwochmorgen ein Reisebus verunglückt. Bei dem Unfall sind fünf Menschen ums Leben gekommen, wie die Polizei gegenüber RTL bestätigte. Zudem soll es mehrere Schwerverletzte geben. Der Reisebus kam nach Angaben von Augenzeugen aus noch unbekannter Ursache rechts von der Fahrbahn ab und stürzte auf die Seite.

Der Unfall hatte sich gegen 9.45 Uhr zwischen der Anschlussstelle Wiedemar und dem Schkeuditzer Kreuz ereignet, wie die Polizei mitteilte. Die Fahrbahn ist in beide Richtungen voll gesperrt. Das Schkeuditzer Kreuz liegt am Flughafen Leipzig/Halle. Die A9 ist eine wichtige Nord-Süd-Autobahn, die Berlin und München verbindet.

An Bord seien 53 Fahrgäste und zwei Fahrer gewesen.

Accidents

Setra S 431 DT

FlixBus in Prague, heading to Karlovy Vary
In May 2017, the driver of a double-decker bus attempted to drive under a bridge with insufficient clearance, completely ripping off its roof. No passengers were on board.[32]
In May 2018, a bus rolled and crashed near Udine, Italy. There were 43 people on board, of which 26 were injured.[33]
In August 2018, a bus traveling from Stockholm to Berlin crashed in Germany after veering off a highway, seriously injuring sixteen passengers.[34][35]
In December 2018, a bus crashed on a motorway near Zurich, killing two people including the driver.[36]
In May 2019, a bus crashed in Germany. At least three passengers were seriously injured. Initial police findings were that the bus driver was not at fault for the accident.[37]
In May 2019, a bus rolled and crashed into a road safety barrier in Germany. One person was killed and 60 were injured. The local police found early indications the driver had fallen asleep.[38]
In October 2019, a bus rolled and crashed near Bizanet. One person was killed and 17 were injured.[39]
In November 2019, a bus rolled and crashed near Amiens, injuring more than 30 people.[40]
In February 2023, an Uber Eats bicycle courier was struck and killed by a Flixbus coach in Brussels.[41] Two months after the incident, the government and FlixBus were criticized for not moving the bus stop away from the bike lane.[42]
In June 2023, a bus crashed in Avellino, Italy when it swerved to avoid another car, resulting in one death and injuries to 26 passengers.[43]
In July 2023, a bus crashed into another bus in the Czech Republic, killing one of the drivers and injuring 76 people.[44]
In September 2023, a 19-year-old Austrian woman died after the bus overturned near Micheldorf, injuring 20 people.[45]
In December 2023, an overcrowded Flixbus from Vienna, Austria to Kyiv, Ukraine overturned in Trebišov district of the Košice region of Slovakia, injuring 9 passengers.[46]
On January 5, 2024, one person died and 11 others were injured after a Flixbus rolled over on Interstate 87 that bound for New York City from Montreal. [47]
On March 24, 2024, One person died in Italy. The Flixbus Milano-Roma crashed close to Modena[48]
On March 27, 2024, five persons died and 20 others were injured when a Flixbus crashed near Leipzig, after veering off a highway bound for Zürich from Berlin. [49]
Controversies
Working conditions for drivers in Germany
In 2016, FlixBus was accused by a German government agency of forcing its partners to make drivers work excessive hours at low wages.[50] However, official inspections have found that resting, driving, and working hours in the market were much better than some media reports suggested.

Use of infrastructure without toll payments in Germany
Unlike train services and trucks, buses do not pay any road toll in Germany; this was criticized as a "hidden subsidy" by some German politicians in the spring of 2015.[51] bdo, an association of German bus companies, responded that buses pay for infrastructure use in the form of related taxes (ex. mineral oil tax) while billions in subsidies are paid to national rail provider Deutsche Bahn.[52]

Dominant market share in Germany
In August 2016, following the acquisition of Postbus, FlixBus had control of roughly 80% of the German long-distance bus market, a move criticised by various media outlets as a de facto monopoly and harmful to competition. It was also suggested at the time that FlixBus' control of the market could lead to higher prices and less service to smaller destinations.[53][54][55]

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden
In July 2020, a passenger criticized the company for not requiring social distancing on its buses in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic. FlixBus responded that the requirements from the Public Health Agency of Sweden were unclear.[56][57]

Buses inaccessible for wheelchair users in California
On May 14, 2020, the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC) filed a federal class action lawsuit in a California U.S. District Court against FlixBus and other bus operators alleging that buses were inaccessible for wheelchair users and staff was untrained on how to accommodate wheelchair users.[58]

Customer support after bus crash in Italy
Following the crash of a FlixBus coach in Italy in June 2023, FlixBus was criticized by survivors for the lack of support offered, including delays in receiving help from the company and a lack of communication. Passengers said that, despite the seriousness of the situation, their initial compensation offer was a €10 meal voucher "for the inconvenience.”[59][43]