In 2025, the Brussels local transport company MIVB suffered €4 million worth of damage as a result of vandalism. That is almost as much as the €4.1 million recorded in 2024. However, the amount of damage is almost a fifth higher than in 2022 according to figures released by Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Flemish ecologist Groen). Meanwhile, the MIVB continues to focus on measures to combat vandalism.
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Vandalism causes over €4 million in damage at Brussels local transport company
Colin Clapson
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The figures show that underground infrastructure is particularly badly hit. Damage there rose to nearly 2.3 million euros in 2025, an increase of 18 per cent over the course of a year and had even tripled compared to 2022.
There’s damage to escalators (+52.6 per cent), ticket gates (+47.5 per cent) and fire extinguishers and hose reels (+98 per cent). The cost of removing graffiti in stations also continues to rise: €162,000 in 2025, or a 43 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
According to the far right Vlaams Belang party that requested the figures, the money that the transport company has to spend on repairing damage caused by vandalism would be much better spet if it was invested in comfort, safety and punctuality for passengers.
“Unfortunately, this is part of the general decline in safety and quality of life in Brussels,” says Brussels lawmaker Bob De Brabandere. “Perpetrators too often go unpunished and are not held sufficiently accountable for the damage they cause. We saw this, for example, during the New Year’s Eve riots. Rioters are arrested, but severe penalties are not imposed. That sort of laxity is disastrous,” says De Brabandere, who advocates a “zero-tolerance policy against vandalism and violence on public transport”.
The MIVB is not sitting idly by and is investing heavily in additional security staff and CCTV cameras and is working closely with the police.