Bus strike impacts 200,000 commuters in Helsinki

A bus strike interrupted the public transport in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland on Thursday, affecting about 200,000 commuters, local media reported.

The 24-hour work stoppage staged by employees of the bus transport company Nobina, which carries out about 40 percent of the public transport in the Helsinki metropolitan area, started at 3 a.m. on Thursday and will end at 3 a.m. on Friday.

Esa Sauvola, traffic inspector at Helsinki Regional Transport Authority, told Finnish national broadcaster Yle that the strike would hit as many as 200,000 commuters across the metropolitan area.

There are only about 15 percent to 20 percent of the normal volume of Nobina's buses on the roads, noted Sauvola.

The reason behind the strike was that a shop steward at the company was prevented from attending a meeting between managers and an employee on Tuesday, Auror Kiser, chief shop steward explained to media.