In September, Flemish public transport company De Lijn will install bus screens to give drivers a more enclosed steering position. The safety steering position is one of the ten points in the agreed ‘stop aggression’ action plan. Additional inspectors will also be added across Flanders in the coming months.

From the end of August, the suppliers will deliver the first batch of 400 screens, and from September, the installation of those screens in De Lijn’s 2 250 buses will start.

Step-by-step rollout

“The number of vehicles with a safety control station will thus be steadily increased,” says Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld). “New vehicles are already equipped with shielded steering positions anyway.”

The action plan also provides for more controllers on public transport. Several additional controllers have already been recruited and started up across Flanders recently, but additional controllers will also step up on De Lijn buses in the coming months.

Additional inspectors

For example, in Hasselt, where trade unions launched another campaign to stop aggression against bus drivers, two employees will start as inspectors in October, and a third will be scheduled in January.

“Moreover, De Lijn is continuing its efforts to recruit additional inspectors,” says Ann Schoubs, director-general of De Lijn. “An extensive recruitment procedure will be running in the coming months. That recruitment procedure will take all the necessary time.”

Serious problem

Verbal and physical violence against De Lijn staff has been a problem for some time. In 2022, there were 338 acts of physical aggression against drivers and controllers at the company.

A roundtable in July resulted in a 10-point plan to work toward increased safety of drivers and controllers. One of those action points is the accelerated rollout of bus safety steering booths.

De Lijn has been struggling with an exodus of drivers in recent years. Rising aggression against staff is certainly not playing into the company’s hands in this regard.