26.06.2023 - Article

This study focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on the working conditions and health of bus drivers in Switzerland.

We know that during the COVID-19 crisis, bus drivers were particularly exposed to the risk of contracting the virus. However, there is still a lack of information on the relationship between this risk and working conditions. This is why we chose to focus on this population. The study uses the same questionnaire as previous research, allowing for a direct link with other data, particularly regarding working conditions.

Most studies on COVID-19 have focused on contamination risks and associated factors for the general population or clearly at-risk subgroups (e.g., patients with comorbidities, the elderly). However, few studies have examined the impact of the health crisis on working conditions. During the pandemic, it was more urgent to understand contamination risks than to evaluate the effects of the crisis itself on working conditions.

The objective is to determine how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the working conditions of bus drivers in Switzerland since the beginning of the pandemic.

We took advantage of the fact that we had already conducted an online questionnaire in partnership with unions to add specific questions about COVID-19. This was part of a broader questionnaire that examines the health of bus drivers.

Bus drivers faced a deterioration in their working conditions, such as the accumulation of overtime hours, longer workdays, and last-minute replacements of colleagues. They also reported that their health had worsened due to these poor working conditions. While companies took measures to manage the crisis, the drivers expressed dissatisfaction with how their employers handled the situation. When asked to rate their companies on a scale of 1 to 6, following the Swiss school grading system, the average score was barely a 4.

Due to staffing shortages in public transport during the pandemic, working conditions deteriorated, impacting employees' health. It is crucial that companies and policymakers, in general, are better prepared to face such crises in the future.

The strengths of the study are that we gathered responses from across Switzerland, allowing us to compare different regions of the country. The subjective questions provided a clear understanding of how individuals felt the crisis impacted them. However, one limitation is the lack of objective comparative data on their working conditions before and during the pandemic, which would have allowed for more in-depth analyses. As it stands, the study remains descriptive; we cannot be certain that these conclusions are shared by all bus drivers in Switzerland.

This study helped reveal the impacts associated with the pandemic in the bus transport sector.

We will not continue research on COVID-19, sincerely hoping that the worst is behind us. The next logical step is to continue studying this population to better understand their working conditions and how these can affect their well-being, health, and overall quality of life. Setting up a cohort study, which would follow the same bus drivers over several years, would allow us to respond more quickly in case of unexpected issues. We would have previous data on the individuals and could compare it with updated data to identify changes and understand their origins. This could even encourage positive changes in the health and job satisfaction of bus drivers.