Rising number of fines on Brussels’ buskers

An increasing number of buskers and beggars on public transport in Brussels are being fined and ejected from the vehicle. New figures show that last year the number of people being fined for busking on the network rocketed from just 12 in 2012 to 128.

An Van Hamme, spokesperson for Brussels’ transport authority MIVB, explained the massive rise: “We received 50 complaints last year about the presence of buskers. Many people are irritated by loud music that they feel is intrusive when they are reading or chatting with other passengers.”

Busking is allowed at a number of Brussels underground stations, but only those designated by MIVB.