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The Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) affair has another incredible chapter: the management team wants to disappoint the faltering public transport company.
In the spring, VIEW went public that after the Postbus bite, not only the SBB and the Bern BLS went too far in taxpayers’ wallets, but the VBL as well. The Central Swiss wanted to keep their misconduct covered up. But VIEW revealed: Lucerne had raised too much more than 16 million francs.
Meanwhile, after admitting its guilt, the VBL was suddenly no longer willing to reimburse the 16.7 million Swiss francs that had been demanded of it. And now this: with the exception of the representative of the Lucerne City Council, Martin Merki, all the members of the board of directors throw in the towel. VBL director Norbert Schmassmann has also offered to resign.
Advantage of abused knowledge
The trigger for the drivers of the Lucerne transport company to hit the emergency brake and want to get out is an external investigation report that the city council and the business audit commission (GPK) had commissioned for the excessive payments received from the VBL.
At the end of the report, he had been given access to the management of VBL to comment on the seemingly strong allegations against him. They were “given a legal hearing”, as it is called in legal German.
But Schmassmann, the chairwoman of the VBL board, Yvonne Hunkeler and Co., used her knowledge to protest the report at city hall. Because the investigation report has not yet been officially completed and is not yet public, the Lucerne city council did not want to hear about the protest.
The board of directors and the director must take responsibility
In their explanation of why board members are offering to resign and one board member has already resigned, the renegade management team wrote that they expected the city government to approve the reimbursement of the more than 16 million francs. . But the city council does not want to relieve the board of directors of its responsibilities.
In fact, by saying goodbye to the transport company, the management team tries to save itself from possible legal consequences: or the VBL board of directors recognizes the debt of 16.7 million Swiss francs, which would be equivalent to an admission of guilt. But that could have criminal consequences for him.
Or the board of directors does not expressly acknowledge the debt and returns the money anyway. You then have to face the charge of paying 16 million francs without basis, which is also legally sensitive. That is why the VBL management chose to exit through the emergency stop.
Only the others are heading to the court
Either way: the behavior of the people of Lucerne is unique in Switzerland. No other fallible company has resisted reimbursement for so long. In the case of the Postbus bite, charges have even been brought against six former employees of the yellow giant.
