A bus operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn has been shot at while it was driving through the Brussels municipality of Koekelberg. De Lijn has confirmed that the incident occurred after it was first reported by the bus driver on his Facebook page. The R14 Brussels-North to Aalst service was driving past the Elizabeth Park in Koekelberg when it was shot at by an air rifle.
Bus driver Gino Heyvaert wrote on his Facebook page that “My first day at work has stopped halfway on a low”. Gino, who is also a singer that uses the artist’s name of Gino Verano, went on to write that “At around 20:05 my R14 Aalst to Brussels-North bus was shot at while I was driving down the bus lane next to the Elisabeth Park in Brussels. It was hit 5 or 6 times, including 3 times on the windows. The police and the prosecutor’s office are here. What is the world coming to?”
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn confirms that the incident occurred. De Lijn’s spokesman Marco Demeling told VRT News that “It is indeed the case that a bus was shot at on New Year’s Day. The driver had the reflex to stop the bus safely on the side of the road. He was deeply shocked. No one was injured in the incident”. The police and the prosecutor’s office are investigating the incident.
Stefaan Laroy of the socialist public sector union ACOD told VRT News that "Fortunately, this kind of thing doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it leaves a deep impression of all drivers. Before we were pelted with cans of cola and eggs or stones. Now air rifles are being fired at us".
Measures
Drivers are demanding measures be taken to address the issue of safety. However, ACOD says that this is easier said than done. Mr Laroy told VRT News that “Neither De Lijn nor the union can do anything about this. We can’t do anything that will stop this. This goes far beyond any measures that the company could take. The issues are known and there are already frequent checks carried out in collaboration with the police. We hope these checks will now be stepped up."
De Lijn has also been struggling with a shortage of drivers for years. “Particularly in Brussels, vacancies hardly get filled. Incidents like this result in hardly any drivers being found that want to work on routes to and from the capital”, Mr Laroy said.