Bus Operator Ralf Schwertheim Prepares for Soest All Saints’ Fair with Calm Confidence

Bus operator Ralf Schwertheim knows what awaits him with the Soest All Saints’ Fair. he remains completely calm.

Herzfeld (hi) – “We know what to expect,” replies Ralf Schwertheim when asked about the Soest All Saints Fair. Shortly before the largest old town fair in Europe, the owner of the bus tourism company of the same name in Herzfeld appears calm.

The end of the travel season was celebrated at the beginning of November with a joint trip by several of his coaches – the opening is always before Easter. All drivers are now available to the entrepreneur.

For Schwertheim, whose company will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024, upcoming vacations will be scheduled during quiet times anyway. If there are no further absences due to illness, the entrepreneur has 18 employed drivers and a few regular temporary workers at his disposal. That’s enough to transport partygoers to the folk festival in the former Hanseatic city in addition to the usual trips and school traffic.

“We have been going to the fair for many years,” explains the 63-year-old business economist. The planning is routine, the timetables are developed once by Regionalverkehr Ruhr-Lippe (RLG). “At most, we are still fine-tuning the details.” Schwertheim has been taking over regular services for RLG since 1992, including fair services, where its buses go to Lippborg. “The RLG makes the trips to Herzfeld itself because of the high volume. She then uses her articulated buses.”

Family business with 22 buses

The Herzfeld family business has a total of 22 buses. Seven of them are for travel, the rest are school and public buses. They usually take over parts of the R 36 line from Herzfeld to Soest, operate in city traffic and drive to Ense at lunchtime. In the morning between 7 and 8 a.m., everyone who can drive is behind the wheel at Schwertheims, because that’s when the school children are driven to school. First the primary school children from the outer districts, then in the village itself.

The students are driven to the Lippetalschule last, so the starting times of the schools are staggered. “We take other people on the buses with us at the fair, especially in the evening. Those who go to the fair rarely or never sit on the bus,” says Ralf Schwertheim.

“Roundabout” as a lap of honor

According to Ralf Schwertheim, owner of the bus tourism company of the same name in Herzfeld, the call “roundabout” can sometimes be heard in Oestinghausen. Some drivers then do a lap of honor for their fellow passengers in the village center. Overall, the bus service has a relieving effect, says the entrepreneur and remembers earlier times: “When I was a child, it was always cold at the fair and there was often snow and ice. Coming from Oestinghausen, the cars stood in a queue that was a good three kilometers long until Soest.”

You won’t see special flags, like those at the RLG, or the inscription “Funfair Ride” on its buses. His vehicles do not have a holder for the former. “The prices are normal, and there are no special fair tickets,” reports Schertheim. His drivers will be out until 2 or 2:30 a.m. on fair weekend. Once everything has been sorted out and no driver is sick, Ralf Schwertheim goes shopping at the fair himself with friends. The upcoming trips to the Christmas markets in December are still a long way off.