De Lijn convicted for discrimination against wheelchair users

The Antwerp Court of Appeal has convicted Flemish public transport operator De Lijn for violating the region’s decree on equal opportunities and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Four wheelchair users took the company to court in 2023 after filing a complaint regarding 16 incidents that occurred between 2018 and 2023.

The incidents included drivers not stopping at bus stops and vehicles being inaccessible due to a lack of the necessary equipment to deploy the access ramp.

The court ruled that De Lijn was guilty of discrimination by refusing to make reasonable adjustments. The Flemish public transport operator then appealed against the ruling, which was then upheld by the courts on Monday.

In its judgment, the court emphasised that "it is clear from all 16 complaints upheld that a pattern can be identified in which it is made more or less systematically difficult, if not impossible, for the wheelchair users concerned to use the public transport organised by De Lijn".

The Court of Appeal added that De Lijn’s responses to the numerous complaints were "rather standard responses and that the measures mentioned therein are neither substantiated nor accompanied by any evidence of their effective implementation and/or monitoring".

As a result of this week’s ruling, De Lijn has been ordered to pay €1,300 per incident to the four complainants.