Brussels’ public transport agency STIB has issued over 400 fines to non-mask wearers and has said inspections will be intensified in the coming weeks.
Since the general mask mandate came into force on 4 May and until late October, ticket inspectors have issued 439 fines to violators.
The number does not include fines issued by police, since STIB ticket inspectors can fine commuters over mask violations when they are conducting checks alone.
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“We carry out around thirty daily checks throughout the entire network,” STIB spokesperson Cindy Arendt told BX1. “In total, that amounts to almost 1,000 monthly inspections."
If checks are conducted with the police, it is up to the latter to issue a sanction, Arendts said, adding that STIB would be double down on inspections in the coming weeks.
The figures come after figures released by Brussels Mayor Philippe Close revealed that police in the capital had handed out more than 13,000 sanctions since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
A majority of the sanctions concerned violations to mask mandates, to the ban on gatherings of more than four people, and those caught flouting the 10:00 PM or taking part in so-called ‘lockdown parties.’
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
