Coach drivers do not seem to be following the rules as required results of a major inspection show. During the inspection coaches, local transport buses and taxis were all checked . The inspectors made few remarks about taxi and local transport bus drivers. Among coach drivers, on the other hand, only a small minority were fully compliant.
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Coach drivers checked in Bruges: 'Barely 3 out of 28 were fully compliant'
Colin Clapson
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Last week, several government departments joined forces to carry out checks on passenger transport. The police, the tax department, the employment agency, local transport company De Lijn and the social inspection were all involved. A total of 231 De Lijn drivers, 81 taxi drivers and 28 Belgian and foreign coaches were checked.
The results are striking to say the least. All De Lijn drivers had their driving licences on them and were sober. All taxi drivers also passed the breath test and were able to present all on-board documents. But among coach drivers, hardly anyone was completely in order. In most cases, the problems were minor. "Some drivers didn't have the right papers or permits on them," says Lien De Poorter of Bruges police, "or hadn't filled in their journey sheet, even though this is compulsory. There were also drivers who did not respect drive and rest times, were not wearing seat belts or were using their mobile phones while driving. Of the 28 tour buses checked, only three were found to be fully compliant."