Mobility minister asks mayors to issue bus ban in case of aggression

Flemish Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) is asking the mayors to act against aggression on De Lijn buses, with a bus ban as the big stick. This measure already exists, but in a letter to the mayors, the Minister brings this possibility more widely to their attention.

In 2023, De Lijn received 2,039 reports of physical and verbal aggression against its drivers and inspectors. Not only employees but also travelers became victims of verbal and physical aggression and nuisance. The figures for 2024 are expected to be even higher.

Minister De Ridder emphasizes that safe public transportation is crucial for her. “There should be zero tolerance against aggression on public transport,” she writes in the letter.

Little known

In February 2023, a 9-year-old boy from Kortrijk received a bus ban, a first for Flanders. For two months, the young man in question could not take the bus on the route between Kortrijk station and the stop at the school gate, which was his specific route.

In a letter that Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder sent yesterday to all cities and municipalities, she points out the possibility of imposing a bus ban. A mayor in Flanders can temporarily ban a person behaving aggressively from taking a bus through a police order.

The sanctioning official can punish a violation of the bus ban, which is always limited in time and in one’s own municipality, with a GAS fine. “This measure provides an important tool for enforcement, but I note that it is little known,” writes De Ridder.

The minister also notes that a bus prohibition is only possible with good cooperation between police districts, De Lijn, local authorities, and possibly also guided youth work. The latter applies, for example, in the case of school pupils of compulsory school age. Supervised youth work can provide follow-up to prevent truancy and work on a sense of guilt.

No bodycams before 2027

In a letter dated December 2024, after another incident of aggression on a bus, the union ACV asked Minister De Ridder for maximum protection for controllers and drivers.

It also asked that a second man be deployed on every vehicle, mainly on evening runs and in so-called ‘difficult’ areas. In doing so, the union also denounced the fact that drivers too often must ride in outdated vehicles without a locked steering station or cameras.

The new federal coalition agreement envisages bodycams for safety personnel on the tracks and train conductors on the lines with the most incidents. Flanders has already announced that it wants to use that legal framework for the personnel of public transport company De Lijn.

The introduction of bodycams on public transport will not happen before 2027, but according to De Ridder, there will be more closed control stations and additional inspectors.