There is no free shuttle bus from Emmen to the registration center in Ter Apel. Today, outgoing minister Mona Keijzer (BBB) visited the Groningen village, where she said she would cancel the plan. “When you get on the bus in the Netherlands, you buy a ticket.”
Last week, the municipalities of Westerwolde and Emmen announced that they would make the existing shuttle bus between Ter Apel and Emmen free for safety reasons. The company said it is ‘very concerned’ about the safety of bus drivers and travelers on bus route 73, where incidents involving non-paying asylum seekers have become increasingly serious. By making the shuttle bus free, bus line 73 should be spared.
During her visit, the outgoing minister also promised that there will be additional boas and compensation for entrepreneurs in Ter Apel and Emmen. Keijzer also wants to significantly reduce the group of safelanders in Ter Apel to fewer than 100 and spread the remaining group among other asylum seekers’ centers in the Netherlands. There will also be extra deployment from the Aliens Police.
Bucket mayor Eric van Oosterhout is still keeping an eye on things. “First see, then believe. We have heard these future plans before. We also made these kinds of agreements with the previous minister, now it must be realized.”