Amsterdam trams & buses will not run in Nieuw-West tonight amid calls for more rioting
Amsterdam public transport firm GVB announced adjustments to scheduled service after an area police commander warned that more rioting could take place in the Nieuw-West district on Tuesday night. The company said three of its tram routes and two bus lines will run a modified route, while one tram and two bus lines will not run at all after rioters a night earlier smashed one of the GVB trams, and detonated fireworks inside of it.
The tram caught on fire at Plein '40-'45 during the continuation of violence in the Dutch capital that has been ongoing since last week. Anti-Semitic slurs could be heard on videos while the fireworks were lit. Last Thursday, football supporters and hooligans aligned with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv were stalked, chased, and attacked throughout the city after the club played a Europa League match against Ajax.
Due to more "expected unrest," the GVB said it was implementing a series of changes at least until 1 a.m. on Wednesday Tram 13 will not run at all during that time. The tram normally connects Amsterdam's Central Station and the Lambertus Zijlplein in Geuzenveld with stops in the city center, and the West and Nieuw-West districts. Bus lines 61 and 63 also will not run their routes, which mainly serve the Nieuw-West district.
Trams 1, 7 and 17 will also run shorter routes. Tram 1 will carry riders between Muiderpoortstation and Surinameplein, line 7 will shuttle between Azartplein and the Postjesweg/Hoofdweg stop, and Tram 17 will operate between Central Station and Bos en Lommerplein. Bus 21 will also operate between Central Station and Bos en Lommerplein, while bus 369 will only operate between Sloterdijk Station and Anderlechtlaan.
In any case, tram 7, bus 21 and bus 369 will not stop at Plein '40-'45, the site of violence on Monday night. Tram 7 and 13 also would normally stop at Mercatorplein, but those stops have been scrapped. That stop has been the site of violence in the past. It was not immediately clear if that was the reason that the GVB was not using buses 15 and 18 at that location, like normal.
Earlier on Tuesday, Amsterdam police team leader Olivier Dutilh testified in court that there were no signals that violence could again break out on Tuesday night. "There is a call, 'Women and children stay at home," he said about messages intercepted by police. "That worries us. A lot."
Harsh messages distributed on social media just before the Ajax-Maccabi football match were also seen as a way to rally people together to violently pursue Maccabi supporters, with an apparent focus on those who were Israeli or Jewish. A debate on the violence started in City Council at noon on Tuesday, and will also be addressed in Parliament on Wednesday.
