In a year’s time, the NS has received almost 2,500 reports via a special WhatsApp number to which travelers can report nuisance. In about half of the cases, action was taken after a message, such as a warning or an arrest.
The NS suggested a year ago the number 06-13181318 available for reports from travelers who feel unsafe or experience nuisance. The reports are received by the safety center of the railways, which makes an inventory of whether action needs to be taken.
Of the 2,485 reports, most were about violating the house rules (446). 300 messages were about harassing passengers or disagreements between travelers. In third place are reports of begging on the train (251). 26 reports were received about corona measures, such as not wearing a face mask.
Accessible
The NS is satisfied with the first year. “Precisely because of corona, the need for the alert was extra great,” says Eelco van Asch of the executive board. “We got fewer travelers, so stations and trains were quieter. That can feel less pleasant. This was the logical moment to introduce the alert nationwide.”
Travelers have also responded positively. Sending a message was seen as less conspicuous and more accessible than going to the conductor. “You can hardly walk up to a conductor to complain if someone in your compartment misbehaves,” reasoned a passenger, “because the perpetrator sees that too and then you just have to wait and see what he does.”
According to the NS, the number of incidents in trains in the A category (threat, violence and spitting) fell only slightly, from 678 in 2019 to 661 last year. The NS calls this a smaller decrease than hoped, given the lower number of travelers in the corona year.
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