Only a fifth of fare-dodgers pay their fine
Startling figures have emerged revealing the impunity with which fare-dodgers take Belgian rail for a ride. At present only one in five people fined for fare-dodging on Belgian rail is paying his or her fine.
Jasper Jacobs
Last year 334,134 fare-dodgers were identified and fined by Belgium's state-owned rail service. Only 73,187 people proceeded to pay their fine. The scale of the problem was revealed when the far right lawmaker Barbara Pas quizzed the mobility secretary. Ms Pas fears that the Belgian justice department does not see extracting payment of fines as a priority.