Brussels metro to introduce ticket checks on exit

Metro passengers in Brussels will have to scan their ticket to leave the station from this week - as the Stib extends its "check-out" policy which already applies to pre-metro journeys.

Seven stations on the metro network will require passengers to scan their Mobib card on exit as well as entry, and every metro station will require it by next April.

The first stations are Josephine Charlotte, Gribaumont, Roodebeek, Tomberg, Vandervelde, Belgica and Stuyvenbergh.

Passengers who cannot get out of the station can press an emergency call button. The affected stations will have more staff present during the introductory period.

A Stib spokesperson said: "Until now, it's been possible for people to board a tram without a valid ticket, and then connect on to a metro without having to show their Mobib card.

"Fare evasion costs us millions of euros a year - an amount that could be better spent improving the service."