The bus company FlixBus announced this week that it will be offering free rides to anyone travelling to one of the 450-plus climate protests taking place in Germany on Friday, September 20, and Friday, September 27. 

Free tickets for climate protestors with FlixBus

If you were thinking of attending a climate change demonstration in Germany in the coming weeks, FlixBus is offering to reimburse the cost of your ticket if you travel with them. “We want both our customers and our employees to take part in the global strike movement for a sustainable future,” said managing director André Schwämmlein. 

The long-distance bus company, which is the largest in Germany, announced the incentive on Monday, at the same time as it unveiled plans to become completely carbon-neutral by 2030. Even FlixBus employees are being encouraged to attend, with the company granting them permission to miss work on Friday if they wish to protest. 

Traveling to a #GlobalClimateStrike on Sept 20 or 27? #FlixBus wants to thank you by reimbursing the cost of your trip! Visit https://t.co/DkTiHT9KXN for full rules of participation. (Don't forget to offset your CO2 when purchasing your FlixBus ticket!) #GoGreen #greentravel pic.twitter.com/UXM3TDIBWJ

— FlixBus (@FlixBus) September 16, 2019

September 20: Global Day of Action

The protests taking place in Germany this coming Friday are part of a global day of action, initiated by Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement. So far, strikes are expected to take place in more than 2.000 cities in 129 countries across the world, with more than 450 demonstrations in German cities alone. 

The decision to call a global strike on September 20 has been met with widespread support, despite the disruption it is expected to cause. German organisations like Greenpeace, Brot für die Welt, the Protestant Church, the trade union Ver.di and the German Cultural Council have all encouraged people to attend. The timing is particularly significant, as Friday is when Germany’s so-called “Climate Cabinet” is expected to unveil their new package of climate-change-fighting measures.

Over 450 climate demonstrations planned in Germany

The day’s action will largely consist of peaceful protests and marches. The largest, which will assemble at midday at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, is expected to attract up to 10.000 marchers, according to estimates by the police. Other groups such as Extinction Rebellion are also organising mass road blockades to disrupt traffic across the country. 

The protestors are demanding more ambitious action from politicians worldwide in order to reduce global warming to less than 1,5 degrees compared with pre-industrial times, as laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Although the day of action is labelled a “strike”, anyone working in Germany should be careful about missing a day of work without permission: from a legal point of view, the protest is nothing more than a demonstration. To be on the safe side, therefore, if you wish to take part, we would recommend taking a day of holiday leave on Friday, or striking outside of your usual working hours.