Public transport in three cities will also stop in brief protest against worker abuse

The main public transport companies in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague will all stop their vehicles for three minutes on Saturday due to the assault of train personnel last weekend, a spokesperson for the RET transport firm in Rotterdam said. The GVB in Amsterdam has said that all public transport will stop in the capital for three minutes, matching the plans first announced by national train operator NS.

A conductor in an NS train between Delft and The Hague was kicked, hit, and pushed down the stairs by a group of young boys on Saturday. The engineer was also struck. A boy was arrested on Sunday for assault. He was released on the same day but is still considered a suspect in the case, according to police.

NS, Arriva, Keolis, and Connexxion have already announced that they will stop all trains at 10:30 p.m. The transport companies want this to show that they will not accept violence against their staff.

“Sadly, we also see the increase in violence towards our employees,” said GVB director Claudia Zuiderwijk. “This happens daily, and we are shocked by it. It affects us greatly when we hear of people in public sector jobs getting attacked.” The director added that she sees this as a change in society, which bothers them as a public transport company.

While all Amsterdam public transport will stop, RET has yet to determine whether buses, trams, and subways will be stopped. "We are still looking into what is possible from an operational standpoint," the spokesperson for RET added. The HTM system in The Hague will join the protest.

“Safety is the biggest priority, also for us as a regional transport company,” a statement from Arriva read. The transport company thinks that taking action like this is a necessity. “But what we need will not be reached by only raising awareness. We need a strong cooperation between transport companies, our clients, and the ministries involved.”

Regional bus companies are still discussing whether they will stop public transport for three minutes on Saturday night, a spokesperson for Connexxion said.

ProRail, the company responsible for the railways, said that they understand the message the companies are trying to send. “We support this protest because the violence has to stop.”