Public transport operators launch joint campaign against violence towards staff

Belgian public transport operators including Stib in Brussels have launched a new awareness campaign aimed at curbing increasing violence towards staff.

The four Belgian transport companies - Stib (Brussels), TEC (Wallonia), De Lijn (Flanders) and nationwide rail operator SNCB - recorded almost 6,000 cases of physical and verbal aggression against staff last year, Bruzz reports, which equates to about 16 incidents per day. In Brussels, the average is 2.6 cases per day.

Faced with "this unacceptable situation", the companies are launching a joint campaign to emphasise the importance of mutual respect between their staff and passengers.

“It’s a daily occurrence,” said Stib spokesperson Laurent Vermeersch.

The four transport companies recorded an increase of 5.5% in cases of aggression in 2024 when compared to 2023, which was already a record year with 5,598 cases.

More than a quarter of incidents in Brussels involve physical violence. The other cases invariably involve insults or threats.

In 2024, 780 employees of the four Belgian transport companies were absent after an incident of aggression, adding up to 23,686 days of incapacity for work.

“On a busy day, a dozen people were queuing to buy a ticket when a man pushed past everyone and said to me: ‘It's only for one ticket’,” Stib employee David Haelterman recalled.

“I replied politely that, like everyone else, he had to wait his turn in the queue, or that he could also buy his ticket from the machine if he wanted to.

"In the end, he bought his ticket from the machine, but afterwards he came back to shout abuse at me again and threatened to beat me up, making a beheading gesture with his finger.

"I alerted the security service, who sent a patrol so that I could get home safely after my shift."

TEC driver Céline Baudelet said she had someone with a gun who got on her bus and pointed it at the passengers: “Fortunately, no one was hurt. I tried to handle the situation as best I could by getting the person off the bus and ensuring the safety of the other passengers.”

An SNCB train conductor recalled a time he was confronted by an intoxicated passenger who accused him of stealing his phone. A few days later, he encountered the same passenger, this time with a dozen of his friends.

“He recognised me and 10 of them grabbed me, surrounded me, threw me to the ground,” the conductor recalls. “Once they had my phone, they left.”

The campaign is primarily a call for mutual respect on public transport and compliance with the basic rules that make travelling by public transport more pleasant for everyone.

The agencies launched a similar public awareness campaign last year, though the increase in violence seems to indicate that it has not yet worked.

Discussions with passengers who do not comply with these rules are often the cause of aggression, though sometimes there is no immediate reason at all.

The public transport agencies have already taken numerous measures in the past to combat aggression: additional staff on the ground, a network of surveillance cameras and training for employees who have direct contact with customers, as well as training to quickly recognise and defuse potential conflict situations.

Anyone who does not comply with the rules or behaves aggressively also risks an administrative fine, which can be as high as €500 in the event of a repeat offence. For the most serious offences, such as physical aggression or disruption of train traffic, criminal prosecution is also possible.

The transport companies say that every case of aggression is followed up. In addition to immediate psychological support, they offer their employees legal assistance after every incident of aggression so that they can file a complaint with the police.

In every case, the companies turn to the courts as the injured party and, in the event of prosecution by the public prosecutor, they also bring a civil action.

“Despite our investment in prevention, awareness-raising and enforcement, we can see that it continues to increase, which is very concerning,” said Stéphane Thiéry, spokesperson for TEC.

“This is clearly a societal phenomenon that operators can invest in and support. But we can see that there are limits. Even if we continue to do so, other actors in society will have to take the problem in hand to help and support us.”