Vandalism prevention tour bus in Gent
At the CIVITAS ELAN press conference at the annual Consortium Meeting in Gent, the partners were in for a treat. The new Trammelant bus was launched as part of the anti-vandalism project by the public transport Company ‘De Lijn’. Trammelant literally means hassle or fuss. The Trammelan is the prevention tour bus for youngsters and is co-financed by CIVITAS.
This bus will travel from school to school to raise awareness about the consequences of vandalism. This is done in a playful rather than pedantic way. An educational film is shown on the bus and pupils have to guess the price of possible misbehaviour. For example they have to guess the price for replacing a broken window, a stolen fire-extinguisher, a vandalised seat or removing chewing gum. They can also spray some graffiti, but afterwards they have to remove it themselves and experience how hard that is. At the end of the session, the instructor sets up an evacuation exercise. The smoke machine transforms the inside of the bus into a thick mist and pupils have to try to get out as fast as possible. The lesson to be learned is not to throw their schoolbags around the bus.The bus is the first of its kind. After a testing period and evaluation, the public transport company De Lijn may decide to install such a bus in each Flemish province.
Author: Patty Delanghe
