Security increased on Amsterdam bus routes after crime wave

Amsterdam public transit operator GVB are permanently deploying extra security guards on buses, at bus shelters and at end stops, especially in Amsterdam-Noord where five bus drivers were violently robbed over the past three months. This decision was made during a meeting between the transport company and union FNV on Tuesday, AT5 reports. GVB will also post more and better cameras at the final stops and on the buses. And bus shelters will now always be staffed by at least two people. The transport company hope that these measures will reduce the number of robberies while they are waiting to transition to cashless payments. State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure and Environment made 10 million euros available to tackle violence on public transport. Regional transporters want at least half of that money allocated to them. Currently most of it is going to NS, while regional buses and trains deal with just as many violent incidents, the five regional transit operators wrote in a letter to Dijksma.