Drivers of De Lijn, linked to the Overijse depot, stopped work on Friday after two colleagues faced aggression in the Brussels municipality of Etterbeek and were taken to hospital for treatment.
The aggression happened on lines 343 and 348. According to De Lijn and the unions, the incident is part of a larger problem of increasing aggression.
"On Friday in the late afternoon, a driver received was hit by a passenger out of the blue," De Lijn spokesperson Marco Demerling told Bruzz. "A fellow driver then came to the rescue, but was bitten by the aggressor."
Emergency services and police quickly arrived at the scene and both drivers were taken to hospital for treatment. In response to the case of aggression, some of the drivers' colleagues connected to the depot in Overijse stopped work.
Daily occurrence
"Normally there is very little aggression in this region, but it has been increasing recently," said ACLVB delegate Martin Vastersavendts, who strongly condemns the incident. "It goes from one case of aggression to the next. It is a daily occurrence."
On Friday evening, both lines 343 and 348 of De Lijn were severely disrupted. Since Saturday morning, the buses have been running normally again.
"We obviously strongly condemn this case of aggression," Demerling adds. "Every incident is one too many. There is a social problem of aggression, especially since Covid-19. We are all seeing that, including STIB and TEC."
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Unions are also seeing an increase in aggression since the Covid-19 period. "During the pandemic, travellers did not pay anymore and therefore not much control is done," said Vastersavendts. "Some drivers are still doing their job as they should and they want the passenger to pay."
To combat the aggression problem, De Lijn is looking at the possibility of equipping inspectors with bodycams, and the transport company plans to hire 67 new controllers.
