Marleen Quurk, a 26-year-old university student, sits in the driver's cab of a Rhein-Neckar-Verkehrsgesellschaft (RNV) tram in Mannheim during the semester break.
She accelerates, and then brakes the train, actively observing her surroundings.
"Driving a tram is a completely different feeling than driving a car," she says. "Because you don't have the opportunity to avoid obstacles, you have to take a very forward-looking view."
A driving instructor stands next to her and corrects her driving style when necessary.
RNV uses students in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen as tram drivers.
Local transport companies also do so in Dresden, Magdeburg and Nuremberg.
RNV has used students as temporary drivers since the 1990s - initially to fill gaps in the work schedule, but increasingly to offset a shortage of workers and hopefully bind employees to the company from an early age.
Unions and business associations approve of student drivers
Students taking up jobs as tram drivers is generally seen by other workers as a positive move, a spokesperson for the Verdi trade union told DPA.
"Currently, every person who comes in addition to the permanent workforce is a relief for those who are already working," they explained. For example, drivers are less likely to be called in on their off days when there are more trained drivers.
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This was also the perspective of the Association of German Transport Companies, who told DPA that "staff is scarce and every lever is being pulled to adapt to shortages".
The passenger association Pro Bahn also endorses the concept - so long as new drivers are carefully trained.
Federal chairman of Pro Bahn, Detlef Neuß said: "In principle, student drivers have a positive impact by ensuring fewer failures in public transport, but such a measure is only safe if the training is thorough.”
In Mannheim, student drivers learn the basics of the job in two months: how to read and follow signals, how to brake, and how to control the trams which weigh several tons.
The same training would be given to tram drivers who come later in life as career changers. But according to driving instructor Thierry Erbert, students can be trained a bit more quickly because, "students who come to us are already in study mode from the university".
The basic prerequisite for driving trams is being at least 21 years old, having a class B driver's licence with no points in the region where you drive and a clean police clearance certificate. There are also hearing and vision examinations.
According to the Association of German Transport Companies, there are currently around 17,300 tram drivers nationwide. At RNV, there are a total of around 1,200 tram drivers and 25 students.
An ‘extraordinary’ job
Marleen Quurk is enthusiastic about her job as a tram driver: "It's something extraordinary". Raised in Lübeck, she is getting to better know the city of Mannheim by tram, “and the income is also important to me."
The hourly wage starts at €18.56 – with bonuses for night shifts, and holiday and Christmas bonuses.
The training is also fully paid.
One reason tram drivers are decently remunerated is that the responsibility on them and the demands on their concentration are so high. With a top speed of 80 kilometres per hour, trams take about 90 metres to come to a stop, making it important to react fast.
"I think that you really need one hundred percent concentration for this," Marleen Quurk said about the work.
Quurk is open to becoming a tram driver in the long term - perhaps in addition to an office job.
"My brother was already a bus driver, my grandfather a bus driver. And now I wanted to do something a little different," she said, adding, "My family is thrilled."
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