Around 650 taxis were demonstrating on Tuesday morning, both in Brussels and on the Brussels Ring Road. The information came in an assessment by the spokeswoman for the Brussels-Ixelles police, Ilse Van De Keere, communicated around 8.20 p.m. Some tyres had been burned by this time.
The federal police spokeswoman said that roadblocks are in place on the E40 in Groot-Bijgaarden in the Brussels direction, on the E411 in Jezus-Eik towards Brussels, on the ring road between Huizingen and Beersel, between Ruisbroek and Anderlecht and on the viaduct Vilvoorde-Machelen. Tyres were burned in Ruisbroek. Firefighters were called to put out the fire.
Ilse Van De Keere is indicating that the taxis are occupying different places on the Inner Ring, particularly at the Porte de Namur, Louise and the Sainctelette exit of the Leopold II tunnel. As part of this demonstration, a tyre has also been burned. Traffic has almost been brought to a standstill on the Inner Ring. Police advise opting for the metro and the train. Public transport is mostly unaffected. The STIB organization has specifically indicated delays around the Porte de Namur, with significant delays on bus routes 58 and 50.
The taxis are demonstrating against the Taxi Plan, currently in the pipeline for the region and opposing the granting of “limousine status” to Uber vehicles.
The Brussels Times
