Qbuzz bus drivers will be campaigning on trips around Ter Apel this weekend. Drivers who are members of the FNV trade union do not take passengers with them. They are protesting the unsafe situation on the bus lines around Ter Apel, which they believe is not being done enough.
The problems in public transport around the asylum seekers’ center have been going on for a number of years. Often these are travelers who refuse to pay for their ride and sometimes become aggressive. Drivers and other public transport employees feel threatened and intimidated as a result. This would mainly concern asylum seekers from safe countries, who have little chance of obtaining a residence permit in the Netherlands.
Several measures have already been taken to tackle the nuisance. For example, there are extra shuttle services between Emmen, Zwolle and Ter Apel, so that travelers to the asylum seekers’ center do not have to transfer. There is also more surveillance by enforcers on the bus lines and at Emmen station. In addition, the municipality of Westerwolde and the State Secretary for Justice and Security Broekers-Knol are looking at ways to allow people who have exhausted all legal remedies to return to their country of origin.
‘Not enough’
According to the FNV trade union, these measures are not enough and permanent supervision must be established after 6 p.m. in the evening. Carrier Qbuzz does not agree because the effect of the last measure, an extra direct bus line between Zwolle and Ter Apel, has yet to be seen. The bus company also wants to do additional research.
The union does not agree with this, so the drivers take the first action. That goes according to RTV North last three days. In concrete terms, this means that the bus drivers do not take people between Ter Apel and the surrounding stations. Passengers are allowed to board on the rest of the routes.
To much people
The asylum seekers’ center in Ter Apel has been in the news several times in recent months. Since August, the center has had a shortage of beds, forcing people to sleep on the floor and on chairs, among other things. At the peak, more than 450 people stayed too many. Mayor Velema van Westerwolde has sounded the alarm several times since then, but the situation is still not resolved.
The municipality has imposed fines on the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) for 60,000 euros yesterday evening known. The municipality thus wants to force COA to adhere to the maximum number of people allowed in the night shelter of the application center in Ter Apel.
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