The Flemish public transport operator De Lijn has never received any complaints regarding the driving behaviour of the bus driver involved in the accident in Buggenhout, Director-General Ann Schoubs reported on Friday.
Four people died in a collision between a school minibus and a train at a level crossing in Buggenhout on 26 May, including the 49-year-old minibus driver, the 27-year-old supervisor, and two boys aged 15 and 12.
The five other children travelling on the bus were seriously injured, but their lives are no longer in danger.
Bus attendants had already complained about the bus driver's conduct, VRT reported, citing anonymous accounts and an email to which the editorial team had access.
The East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office has also stated that it is aware of the complaints, which were forwarded to it the day after the accident.
However, De Lijn, responsible for bus transport in special education, said that the company "only became aware of the complaints regarding the driver's behaviour six days after the accident."
At the time of the accident, the company had only known of two minor speeding violations in a 30 km/h zone, they said shortly after the accident.
De Lijn does confirm, however, that the transport company was aware of a "conflict" between a bus attendant and the deceased driver before the accident in the autumn of 2024. This, however, had nothing to do with his driving behaviour.
De Lijn has now agreed with the other partners involved in student transport that a register of all complaints regarding operators must be kept, which De Lijn can then review, Schoubs explained.
This would allow for faster intervention in the event of problems in the future.
Additionally, Schoubs advocates against viewing the entire sector "as cowboys." "There are many passionate and, above all, professional drivers who keep the buses running," she said.
Earlier, the Federation of Bus and Coach Companies (FBAA) also called for an end to the "criminalisation" of all bus drivers following the accident in Buggenhout.
That organisation also underlined that most drivers "do their utmost every day to bring hundreds of thousands of passengers to their destination safely and responsibly."
