This Bus in Brussels Is Playing Customized Messages Around Town to Make Locals Smile

A bus in Brussels is bringing loved ones something a bit more personal than a Zoom call.

Locals in the Belgium city have been messaging the “Voices of Brussels” bus and recording a message for their loved ones. If the message is selected then the bus will then pull up outside the recipient's home and play the voice recording from its loudspeakers.

“It can really have an impact on a lot of people, especially the older ones who do not have access to technology,” Lorena Sanchez, whose children sent a message to their great-grandmother with the bus, told Associated Press. “It brings something very special.”

So far, the bus company has received more than 750 requests, to send messages like kisses blown or requests to become a godparent.

To send an audio message to a loved ones, the people of Brussels need to log onto the Messenger app and chat with @LASTIB. They then record their message (which can be words or perhaps even a song) and then write down the person’s name and their address.

The bus company has a few rules, like they won’t play mean messages or any containing explicit. And the shorter the message, the more likely it is to be selected. The company is trying to maximize on how many messages it can deliver.

The final planned day of “Voices of Brussels” is Friday, April 24. The bus will roam around the capital region from 5 to 8 p.m.

The Belgian government extended its lockdown until May 3, although small shops have been allowed to open in limited quantities. Leaders are expected to announce plans for lifting lockdown on Friday, according to The Brussels Times. Large public events, including summer festivals, have been canceled until August.

Belgium has over 42,000 cases of coronavirus, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.