Stib moves buses out of North Station over 'deteriorating' conditions

Brussels public transport operator Stib has followed its Flemish equivalent De Lijn and "temporarily" moved its bus stops away from North Station because of health and safety concerns.

A Stib spokeswoman said the situation at North Station, where transit migrants are camped, was being closely monitored. Four bus routes are affected.

"The health situation is deteriorating and to ensure the comfort of our passengers and drivers, we have also decided to act by diverting bus lines," she said.

Regional waste collection agency Bruxelles Propreté says about a dozen of its staff who work in the North Station area will be vaccinated against hepatitis A and B and equipped with overalls and a mask.

Since Monday, De Lijn bus drivers have stopped calling at the underground bus station, after cases of scabies and tuberculosis were reported among some of the migrants staing there.

The Flemish public transport operator said the new arrangements were working well. Buses from Leuven are stopping at Place Rogier, while others are now terminating at Simonis or Bockstael.

Transport users' association TreinTramBus has complained that the changes at De Lijn mean passengers have to pay extra for a Stib metro ticket to complete their journey.

Stib says it is willing to let De Lijn ticket holders use the metro - but it has yet to receive a request from De Lijn to do so.