STB salaries and criteria I didn't know about. How porters and bus drivers were paid in Old Bucharest
The appearance of public transport in Bucharest, 150 years ago, when horse-drawn trams appeared on the streets of the city, also brought with it a kind of working class elite.
When the electric tram also came into use, the Vatmans were considered “public road employees”.
The uniform was compulsory – and impeccable, and they were considered guarantors of safety and modernity, being among the few who operated complex “electric machinery”.
In the interwar period, with the expansion of STB, the number of employees of the old Bucharest transport company increased, and their status was strengthened through social benefits unique for those times.
STB has built entire neighborhoods for employees (such as the villa-type homes in the Vatra Luminoasă area or the housing park on Lânăriei street). They were modern houses with gardens given to model employees.
And the STB union was one of the strongest in the country. Employees had access to their own hospitals, holiday camps and mutual aid homes.
Read, on B365.ro, what the salary criteria were and how the porters and bus drivers in Old Bucharest were paid.
