Safe on the Road
At De Lijn, the safety of our employees, passengers and other road users is paramount. We’re also working all the time to further improve safety on and around public transport. We do this through the 'Safe on the Road' action plan – which has been part of an integrated safety policy since 1999.
Four pillars
The 'Safe on the Road' plan is based on four main pillars. Through the plan’s integrated approach, we respond to objective lack of safety (the chance of becoming a victim of an incident) and to subjective lack of safety (feelings of insecurity) experienced by passengers, potential passengers and employees in and around public transport
Pillar 1: organisational measures
We integrate the safety policy into De Lijn’s operational activities.
Since 2009, there have been Lijn inspectors to ensure that travel is kept safe and easy for everyone. They also help guide travellers during events, provide assistance after an incident and so on. Lijn inspectors first work as drivers for De Lijn for a while in order to gain the necessary experience.
Thanks to the built-in GPS track-and-trace system in the Lijn inspection vehicles, dispatching – our traffic control unit – can see where the Lijn inspectors are, contact them and send them where they are needed.
We deploy companions on trams and buses to help travellers and victims of aggression.
De Lijn is simplifying its tickets and constantly expanding the options for purchasing them so that they are accessible to everyone.
You can easily plan a route with the help of various communication channels such as the real-time information boards, the app and the route planner.
Pillar 2: Technical and preventive measures
Technical solutions and preventive measures help to ensure safety.
Cameras on the vehicles act as a deterrent and help to identify incidents and perpetrators. If you are the victim of an incident, request the images by reporting what’s happened to the police.
A flexibly screened-off cab protects our drivers if they feel threatened. By lowering the top part of the door, they can increase contact with passengers.
If you see the message ‘SOS politiehulp gevraagd’ (‘SOS police assistance requested’) on a tram or bus, notify the police. Mention the location and the vehicle number – the four, five or six digits on the front and back of the vehicle.
Lijn inspectors can impose fines if certain rules of conduct are violated. Read more about their powers and the fines.
Pillar 3: training
We teach our employees to spot aggression quickly and use the right techniques to deal with it. In this way they can handle explosive situations, but also act in a customer-friendly manner and engage in dialogue with customers.
Pillar 4: collaborations with external parties
Unsafe conditions can be encountered not just in and around public transport, but outside it too. That is why we have a partnership with the following parties.
Local authorities deploy their municipal guards or urban security officers at times and places specified by De Lijn.
School spotters are young school leavers who gain work experience while they are finishing their schooling. They work in the general vicinity of schools and thus act as a link between local government, schools and public transport.
The target group for outreach workers often seek refuge in and on public transport.
There are structural and ad hoc arrangements with the police, e.g. regarding the exchange of information, training given by De Lijn to aspiring police officers, training given by the police to De Lijn, joint actions and so on.
The judiciary takes tougher action in the event of violence against certain professional groups, such as drivers, companions, Lijn inspectors and ticket office workers in public transport. This was enshrined in law in Article 410bis of the Criminal Code on 27 December 2012.
Lesson packs:
Secondary schools can use an educational communication pack from De Lijn.
There are also general lesson packs for primary schools that also cover safety.
Social Safety Management System (SoVIB)
How do we decide on the deployment of these measures?
A scientifically based instrument measures and analyses data on aggression and nuisance behaviour in and on public transport.
Our Social Safety Management System comes up with a list of priority areas. These are places where – at certain times – an increased concentration of incidents occurs. A priority area of this kind is often temporary, shifting in time and space.
Below you will find the general results per quarter with the number of reports, incidents and policy focus incidents, their most common forms and times and the number of priority areas.
