Many bus services operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn in Antwerp and the surrounding area are not running as driver at the Mortsel Bus Depot have gone on strike. De Lijn warns passengers of severe disruption to services both in Antwerp City and elsewhere in Antwerp Province.
Big disruption to services in and around Antwerp as bus drivers at Mortsel Bus Depot go out on strike
Published:
De Lijn’s Jens Van Herp told VRT News that 90% of the busses that opperate out of Mortsel Depot have returned there and that there is a big impact on services. Passengers are advised to check on De Lijn’s website or its app to see which services are still running.
“Mortsel Bus Depot is a very large depot and serves both the city of Antwerp and the wider region. The strike was not announced in advance, so we were unable to arrange alternative services”.
Buses operated by subcontractors are still running as normal.
Discontent over cuts
The socialist trade union ACOD that represents some of the drivers at the depot says there is widespread discontent that some services that are particularly important to drivers are being cut. The scrapping of bus route 31 in particular has caused a great deal of resentment.
“Route 31 is a shuttle bus that runs from Berchem station to the Mortsel depot and takes drivers to the location where they are due to start their shift” says ACOD’s Geert Vermunicht told VRT News.
“There is also a handover point in Hoboken where they travel to in company vehicles. These are being scrapped too. This means that the drivers will have to make their own way to the handover points using their own transport. This news has not been well received”.