An attack on a De Lijn bus in Brussels triggered a spontaneous strike by fellow staff members, the Flemish public transport company announced on Wednesday.
The bus was targeted in an attack on Tuesday afternoon in the Brussels municipality of Anderlecht, De Lijn confirmed an initial report by Het Laatste Nieuws.
"One of our buses on the R36 route stopped at a red light on the Chaussée de Ninove at around 13:30. A car was in front of the bus and when the light turned green, the car did not move, prompting our driver to honk his horn," explained De Lijn spokesperson, Astrid Hulhoven. "The two occupants of the vehicle then got out and started banging on the bus windows."
The vehicle's windscreen and side door window were smashed and the driver was slightly injured by flying glass, the spokesperson said.
The incident took place on the same day as a symbolic minute of silence to denounce the increase in violence on public transport. The initiative was organised by De Lijn, the trade unions, the federation of coach and bus operators, the passenger organisation TreinTramBus and the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities.
"Following the incident, a spontaneous strike broke out in four depots in the Vlaamse Rand: Meerbeke, Leerbeek, Dilbeek and Anderlecht," added Hulhoven. "Bus services are therefore disrupted in this region."
