TICE: understanding the 2,019 cancelled services in 2026

Between 5 January and 2 October 2026, TICE recorded 2,019 services cancelled in full or in part. The data distinguish between causes, periods and driver call-ins, without directly measuring the journeys disrupted for each passenger.

The southern sections of déi Lénk are calling for a protest outside TICE’s headquarters in Esch-sur-Alzette on the evening of Thursday 12 November. At the heart of their criticism is the reliability of the network: a parliamentary reply details 2,019 services cancelled in full or in part, and the measures taken to keep other journeys running.

2,019 services affected over a specific period

From 5 January to 2 October 2026, 225,183 services were scheduled on the TICE network. Of these, 2,019 did not run or ran only in part, representing 0.90%. The figure covers operational journeys between their starting stop and terminus: a service interrupted along the way is therefore also included.

This total is an indicator of scheduled services, not a count of people left waiting at a stop. Nor does it show how many passengers missed a connection, or which routes or times were most affected. The distinction matters in everyday life: an average across the entire network does not necessarily describe the experience of a particular journey.

The data provided by TICE to Mobility Minister Yuriko Backes also give a breakdown by day of the week. On weekdays, 1,555 of 178,455 services were cancelled, or 0.87%. At weekends, 464 of 46,728 were cancelled, or 0.99%. These proportions are close, with a slightly higher rate at weekends over the period counted.

The recorded causes cannot be reduced to staff shortages

TICE classifies cancellations into five categories. Organisational problems top the list, with 708 services: 419 on weekdays and 289 at weekends. The category covers a wide range of events, such as accidents, traffic jams, demonstrations or road closures. These examples describe what the category may cover, not events established for each of the services concerned.

Significant delays come next, with 585 services, including 552 on weekdays and 33 at weekends. Here, the term does not refer to all delays on the network: it means situations where the delay becomes significant enough for a service to be cancelled. Staff problems account for 369 services (287 on weekdays, 82 at weekends), bus problems for 345 (285 and 60), and passenger-related problems for 12, all on weekdays.

Recorded cause	Weekdays	Weekends	Total
Organisation	419	289	708
Delay resulting in cancellation	552	33	585
Staff	287	82	369
Buses	285	60	345
Passengers	12	0	12
Total	1,555	464	2,019

These categories make it impossible to reduce cancellations to a single explanation. Staff problems account for part of the total, while organisational causes and delays together account for 1,293. This classification shows what TICE recorded; it does not separately measure the effect of each cause on a particular route or journey.

Call-ins on days off

The parliamentary reply counts 1,320 driver call-ins between January and September 2026: staff members whose scheduled day off was interrupted to cover services. The figure refers to call-ins, not 1,320 different drivers; the same person may be counted more than once.

TICE links how often this happens to the level of sick leave: when the available staff reserves are no longer sufficient, the network relies more heavily on call-ins. This explanation from the operator concerns how the service is organised and provides no information about individual medical circumstances.

TICE also estimates that, without these call-ins, 6,600 services could theoretically have gone unoperated. This is an estimate based on an average of five services per call-in, not a number of services actually cancelled. Comparing it directly with the recorded cancellations would therefore mix two different measures.

Political mobilisation, separate from how the network operates

The southern sections of déi Lénk have called for a demonstration outside TICE’s headquarters in Esch-sur-Alzette this Thursday evening, ahead of the next meeting of the syndicate’s committee. The party also says it intends to hand committee members a file of complaints and requests collected as part of its “Bring back the buses” campaign. The call comes from the political party, not the transport network.

In her reply, the minister notes that TICE is an intermunicipal syndicate and does not fall under her ministry. The figures used in the document come from TICE and were then provided by the minister in response to a parliamentary question.

To understand what an overall figure means for a particular journey, it would be necessary to examine routes, timetables and partial cancellations in greater detail. The data presented here do not allow for this level of analysis. They nevertheless provide two useful points of reference: the overall proportion of services affected remains below 1% over the period counted, while the recorded reasons cover organisation, delays, staff, vehicles and passenger-related incidents.