An apparatus for diverting a stream of articles, the apparatus including a first conveyor belt conveying a stream of articles along a conveying surface, a second conveyor belt disposed parallel to the first conveyor belt and having a conveying surface, and a carrier arranged to travel along a path parallel to the first and second conveyor belts. A first drive mechanism drives the first conveyor belt at a first speed in a first direction, and a second drive mechanism drives the second conveyor belt at a second speed in a second direction opposite to the first direction. A diverter element is affixed to the carrier and extends across at least a portion of the conveying surfaces of the first and second conveyor belts to divert articles in the stream on the first conveyor belt onto the second conveyor belt. A differential drive mechanism drives the carrier at a speed and in a direction that depend on the first speed and the second speed. The differential drive mechanism includes a first rotating member receiving input based on the speed of the first conveyor belt, a second rotating member receiving input based on the speed of the second conveyor belt, and a differential gear arrangement operationally connected to the first and second rotating members.