9 Dec '14

Transport authorities offer no compensation during strikes

Summary

Both Brussels’ and Flanders’ public transit authorities have announced that they will not reimburse pass holders for lost service due to strikes

 

NMBS will compensate pass holders

Public transport in Brussels was still feeling the effects of yesterday’s strike, as most trains arrived and left stations 10 to 20 minutes late this morning. Monday’s action, one in a series of provincial strikes leading up to the national strike next week, took place in Brussels and Flemish Brabant.

Both Brussels’ transport authority MIVB and Flanders’ De Lijn were also at a standstill yesterday, as both announced that passengers who lose a day of use of their passes cannot apply for compensation.

The provincial strikes and the national strike next Monday ensure that most holders of transport passes will find themselves unable to use public transport twice in the month of December. However, the two authorities argue that the lack of service was not caused by them, but by the unions.

“In the past we gave out ‘sorry passes’, but that was when the strike originated within MIVB,” explained spokesperson An Van Hamme. A spokesperson for De Lijn agreed that the strike “fell outside of our responsibility”.

Rail authority NMBS, meanwhile, said that pass holders will be compensated on demand, providing their train was either 60 minutes late or failed to arrive at all. Anyone who bought a single ticket after the strike was announced, however, will receive no compensation.

In related news, the Brussels bike-hire system Villo! saw twice as many rentals during yesterday’s strike than on any normal Monday, though not as many as on 6 November, when demonstrators took to the streets of the capital. “It looks as though people made other arrangements this time around,” commented a spokesperson.

The company warned, however, that services next Monday could be disrupted by strike action taken by Villo! staff themselves. The free smartphone app AllBikesNow can help find the best place to pick up and drop off a Villo! bike.

Photo courtesy Jopparn/Wikimedia

Both Brussels’ and Flanders’ public transit authorities have announced that they will not reimburse pass holders for lost service due to strikes.

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MIVB

As the largest urban public transportation authority in Belgium, MIVB operates the metro, tram and bus system in the Brussels-Capital Region as well as 11 other municipalities on the outskirts of the city.
History - MIVB was launched in 1954, when the Belgian state, the province of Brabant and 21 Brussels districts joined “Les tramways Bruxellois” (The Brussels trams), dubbing the new venture the “Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel” (Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company).
Award - In 2011, the European Foundation for Quality Management awarded the company its “Recognised for Excellence 4 Star” label, which rewards companies for good management approaches.
Innovations - The MIVB has introduced significant changes in recent years – such as entrance gates in the metro to discourage fare dodgers, a Noctis line of night buses, new metro stops in the outer reaches of Brussels and a complete overhaul of its existing metro lines.
18

tram lines

242

surface area covered by MIVB in square kilometres

2

stops across the Brussels-Capital Region and in de Rand, or belt, around Brussels

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