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Access gates in Brussels metro are ineffective
Up to 100 people per hour slip through the gates of Brussels metro stations, thereby avoiding paying for their ride, according to a report by journalism students at Erasmus University College.
The Brussels metro system is set up so that passengers must pass through an access gate in order to enter the station, which opens when the passenger scans his ticket or pass. But people are often able to sneak through the gates.
The journalism students wanted to know how many people were riding the metro without paying. They set up hidden cameras in three Brussels metro stations and filmed for one hour. In that time, about 100 people managed to pass through the access gates at each station without scanning a ticket.
"It doesn’t surprise me at all that it’s happening, but 100 is a lot," student Ruben Lambrecht told TV Brussel. The Brussels public transport company STIB/MIVB is also surprised by the high number. "We do need to curb this problem as much as possible, although it will be difficult to control completely,” admitted a spokesperson from STIB/MIVB.
Comments
The best metro system to follow is in London whereby the passenger has to tap card/insert ticket going IN and again when going OUT (so there are 2 checks). The turnstiles do not allow more than 1 person to pass through at a time. There are also metro guards/agents standing near every major metro station. How difficult is that to follow????????? The stupid plastic "doors" in the Brussels metro system is not a deterrent and too slow. Belgium should learn to copy what works and not try to create something new which, in the end, is inefficient and costly.
Completely agree. Even in Lyon, France, there are guards at the entrance of the turnstile. When I visited London, I was really surprised to see that nobody was trying to sneak in the metro and the one time I saw somebody at Paddington do that, some officers were running after him. What I love in Brussels too is that 10-12 agents will congregate in one stop to check tickets. How stupid is that?
Most annoying,,,I see this every day,,,no control!