April 10, 2024
The business newspaper De Tijd reports that drivers of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn received a record number and amount of traffic fines last year. Altogether, 2,531 traffic violations were recorded, accounting for a fine amount of over 173,000 euros. Compared with 2022, the previous record year, the number of offenses recorded is […]
March 25, 2024
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn wants to recruit 800 drivers and 100 technicians this year. To this end, it will organize 14 job days, four for drivers and ten for technicians. “During the job days, everyone can get a taste of a job at De Lijn, learn about the terms of employment and […]
February 09, 2024
The Belgian producer of digital display solutions, Q-lite, will install up to 500 digital bus stop displays for De Lijn throughout Flanders. That is what both companies announced on Thursday. These new digital information screens will replace the old stop devices that have reached the end of their lifespan. Q-lite will produce and install the […]
January 29, 2024
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn is pulling plans for self-driving buses in cities off the ice again. A pilot project will be developed in Leuven to have an operational connection by 2026. There is talk of 15 to 20 vehicles in an initial phase, possibly expanding to 80. So, this is not the first […]
January 08, 2024
The storm over Flemish public transport company De Lijn’s new transport scheme has not died. In an interview with the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, top woman Ann Schoubs says that De Lijn wants to raise ticket prices if the Flemish government does not release an extra 100 million euros annually. However, in principle, the Flemish […]
January 05, 2024
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn orders 92 standard electric buses from Chinese bus maker BYD. The order, representing an investment of over 43 million euros, follows the award by De Lijn’s board of directors of a new framework agreement of up to 500 standard e-buses to BYD Europe. The order earned De Lijn a […]
January 04, 2024
From Saturday, Flemish public transport company De Lijn’s new basic accessibility network will be operational. But even before the new timetable – “the biggest transition ever” at De Lijn – goes into effect, criticism is louder and louder. More stops would be scrapped than planned, and the new Hoppin bus network would create greater transport […]
December 06, 2023
The Mechelen court finds Flemish public transport company De Lijn guilty of structural discrimination against people with disabilities. Four wheelchair users had gone to court after their complaints to De Lijn itself were unsuccessful. They will now each receive compensation of 650 euros. De Lijn is studying the verdict and is considering possible next steps. […]
November 28, 2023
De Lijn will order up to 1 600 charging points to charge electric buses in its depots. The Flemish public transport company is placing the order with two suppliers: TM SPIE-Ekoenergetyka and ABB. De Lijn will purchase some 320 to 490 charging points in the first phase, representing an investment of 15,3 million euros. The […]
November 15, 2023
From 6 January, Flemish public transport operator De Lijn will start a new, significant step in the rollout of its primary accessibility network. Buses will be concentrated on lines with higher demand and thus drive less through neighborhoods. In the process, De Lijn will cut over 3 000 stops or about 17% of the total […]
November 08, 2023
Flemish public transport company De Lijn will order 44 articulated electric buses from Italian bus manufacturer Iveco. The delivery of the 18-meter-log buses is expected in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 33,47-million-euro investment. The buses will be equipped with all modern amenities, such as USB chargers, extra-wide screens with stop indications, electric ramps, […]
October 26, 2023
Things are at odds between Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) and Ann Schoubs, director general of public transport company De Lijn. Schoubs had made some critical statements in the media about the company’s inadequate financing. She called the outdated buses ‘cadavers’ and the underfunding ‘a rotting strategy’. In response, Peeters lashed out strongly […]
October 16, 2023
Public transport company De Lijn recently opened a new type of store where passengers can obtain travel info and buy bus and tram tickets. The store is located in the gallery of the Antwerp Central Station, in the Pelikaanstraat. Later, similar shops will follow in Brussels, Louvain, and Ostend. Compared to the previous generation of […]
September 27, 2023
At the behest of Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), public transport company De Lijn will skip two indexations of ticket prices. De Lijn needs to see how to reconcile this in its budget with increasing costs. Business newspaper De Tijd reports this. The news comes just when the Flemish government is facing criticism […]
September 04, 2023
Passenger organization TreinTramBus complains about the ongoing uncertainty and lack of clarity about the number of rides De Lijn is cutting. According to TreinTramBus, the Flemish public transport company is cutting supply in some places more severely than the announced 0,75%. The organization also calls De Lijn’s communication “inferior”. Due to a lack of drivers, […]
August 25, 2023
Staff shortages continue to trouble the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. From 1 September, it will temporarily and structurally cancel certain rides across Flanders due to staff shortages. According to De Lijn, around 0,75% of all journeys are affected. The Flemish transport company stressed that bus lines and school rides will be safeguarded. “The […]
August 18, 2023
In September, Flemish public transport company De Lijn will install bus screens to give drivers a more enclosed steering position. The safety steering position is one of the ten points in the agreed ‘stop aggression’ action plan. Additional inspectors will also be added across Flanders in the coming months. From the end of August, the […]
August 15, 2023
After a young female bus driver was attacked and injured on Wednesday by a woman passenger, unions of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn are planning an awareness-raising action next Thursday, aiming at the thousands of Pukkelpop festivalgoers that are expected. The action was originally scheduled for September but has been brought forward following […]
July 03, 2023
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn started the phased roll-out of its primary accessibility network, Hoppin. The new De Lijn network means changes are taking place at 16 000 bus stops, with some 180 to be abolished and others to be relocated, frequencies changed, or new line numbers appearing. But not everyone applauds De Lijn’s […]
June 07, 2023
Flemish public transport company De Lijn paid 5 900 euros in fines last year for violations in the Low-Emission Zones (LEZ) of Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels. This is according to the figures Green MP Stijn Bex requested. Fines for unauthorized diesel buses are on a downward trend. In 2019, for example, the company still paid […]
May 31, 2023
The impact of the corona crisis at the Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB and the Flemish public transport company De Lijn seem to have turned the sharpest corner now. This is evident from recent figures. Nevertheless, De Lijn, in particular, has had a difficult year due to driver shortages and twice as many canceled trips. […]
May 08, 2023
Flemish public transport company De Lijn is looking for about 600 drivers for all of Flanders. Last Saturday’s job day in Destelbergen (East Flanders) attracted some 30 people who were interested in a job. The job day has been organized now so that the new drivers can start their new job this summer. A bus […]
May 02, 2023
In the first quarter of 2023, 72,8 million travelers used the buses and streetcars of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. That is an increase of 43% compared to the same period last year. De Lijn will also equip all its buses with 3D cameras to count more accurately. Passenger numbers at De Lijn […]
April 26, 2023
In Kortrijk, Belgian’s public transport company De Lijn, in collaboration with the city and the police, has introduced a bus ban for someone who caused a nuisance on a bus. It is the first time in Flanders that this new type of place ban has been applied. The measure means that the person in question […]
April 21, 2023
From 2026, Flemish public transport company De Lijn risks paying an estimated 30 million euros in fines because Euro 6 buses will then no longer be allowed in the low-emission zones (LEZ) in Antwerp and Ghent. To avoid that scenario, Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) is in a crisis meeting with her […]
March 27, 2023
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn plans to buy up to 600 new electric buses. With the new framework agreement, De Lijn wants to green its fleet. Flemish Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) is making at least 55 million euros a year available for the purchase of emission-free buses. Two framework agreements are involved: […]
March 17, 2023
Flemish public transport operator De Lijn continues to face a shortage of drivers. For example, of the 356 drivers De Lijn recruited in 2021, almost a quarter had already left before the end of 2022. So for this year, De Lijn has to look for 900 new drivers all over Flanders. In general, you can […]
March 15, 2023
Last year, the Flemish public transport company De Lijn received 135 reports of sexually transgressive behavior on vehicles or at stops. That is 45 more than the 90 reports in 2021, an increase thus of 50%. This is according to figures requested by Flemish MP Katrien Schryvers (CD&V). Most of the 135 reports (78) were […]
February 16, 2023
Passengers’ satisfaction with De Lijn services is going down again. In particular, the punctuality of buses and trams and the prices charged by the Flemish public transport company are causing less satisfaction. This is according to measurements by market researcher Ipsos commissioned by the Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works (MOW). Exactly 62,3% of travelers […]
January 26, 2023
Flemish public transport company De Lijn has placed a large order of up to 500 electric buses with Iveco, of which 65 articulated e-buses, a first for De Lijn. It’s a tough blow for the Dutch VDL group, which has a new e-bus factory in Roeselare (Belgium) but only gets an order of 75 e-buses […]
January 24, 2023
Public transport company De Lijn has ordered the first 17 electric tram buses for the Spartacus project in Limburg. The decision was made in May last year to shelve the almost 18-year-old plans for a tram connection between Hasselt and Maastricht and replace it by electric buses to be delivered now by Dutch-Belgian bus builder […]
December 28, 2022
Every bus line of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn driving to and from the Brussels Capital Region will, in the future, be recognizable by a new line number. The new combination consists of the letter ‘R’ and two digits. The letter R stands for ‘regional’. The Flemish transport company, which has some 50 […]
December 21, 2022
In recent months, the Flemish public transport company De Lijn had to cancel many planned trips. The reason for it was a shortage of staff. After an intensive recruitment campaign focusing on the largest ‘problem areas’ (Antwerp, Louvain, and the Flemish part of Brussels), De Lijn recently recruited 657 drivers. However, next year, the company […]
October 26, 2022
Spie Belgium will install 252 new chargers for the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. Spie Belgium is the Belgian subsidiary of the Spie Group, an independent market leader in multi-technical energy and communication services, as it claims. Last year, De Lijn signed an agreement with Spie Ekoenergetyka, a new entity, and the result of […]
August 25, 2022
De Lijn’s depot in Genk-Winterslag is currently being equipped with charging stations for electric buses. Public transport company De Lijn has started preparational works to install superchargers. About 20 parking places for buses will be equipped with charging points. De Lijn has an ambitious plan to offer its customers 100% emission-free public transport as of […]
August 19, 2022
Public transport company De Lijn has put one of its old depots in Lochristi at the disposal of NostalBus, a non-profit organization that collects, restores, and maintains historical buses. Twelve buses from the period between 1977 and 1991 will be used again for events. To celebrate the collection’s new accommodation, NostalBus will organize an open-house […]
July 12, 2022
Flemish public transport company De Lijn has decided to opt for the PSI eBus charging and depot management system from the German PSI Transcom. The PSI software package will control the charging processes of the electric buses and monitor all movements of the buses in De Lijn’s depots. The contract represents an amount of € […]
July 04, 2022
Public transport company De Lijn is going through a small revolution: the company will get more autonomy as of 2023. It will be free to put together its offer and define its fares. Until now, all fare changes had to be submitted to the Flemish government. At the same time, De Lijn’s partners will play […]
June 15, 2022
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn launched a new campaign on Tuesday to convince people to travel more by bus and tram. The campaign specifically focuses on sustainability and reducing CO2 emissions and does so under the slogan “Join us on the journey toward less CO2”. For the campaign, De Lijn’s electric buses, of […]
June 01, 2022
Things aren’t going well for Flemish public bus operator De Lijn. As a result of the coronavirus, the numbers for passenger traffic lie about 40% lower than before the pandemic. It caused, among other things, a loss of 6 million euros. Like in 2020, the Flemish government absorbed this impact with an extra corona allowance. […]
May 05, 2022
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn invests 1,5 million euros in buying three tram simulators. So tram drivers no longer have to attend their practical training lessons alone in real trams and traffic situations. In the future, part of the training will be given virtually. De Lijn trains about 200 tram drivers annually. Some […]
April 27, 2022
Corona has turned the world upside down. Many people work from home and will probably keep doing so in the future. Others are still commuting but not necessarily daily. Our moving behavior has become more flexible. Public transport company De Lijn wants to meet the changing expectations of its customers. That is why it temporarily […]
April 22, 2022
Flemish transport company De Lijn will order 99 electric buses worth 66,5 million euros next year. The delivery of the new buses should allow the old diesel buses, Euro 3 and 4, to be put aside by 2025. The Brussels transport company MIVB/STIB must also renew its fleet of buses that run on thermal engines: […]
March 31, 2022
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has launched procedures to purchase hundreds of electric buses, possibly up to 1 250. It involves buses of all sizes, ranging from 8 to 24 meters in length. De Lijn confirmed this on Wednesday, following the European Tender Journal publications. De Lijn’s ambition is to make its fleet […]
March 10, 2022
Public transport company De Lijn has introduced a new way of providing real-time traffic information via Google Maps. Since Wednesday, passengers of De Lijn can check whether their bus or tram will be on time or delayed via Google Maps. Until now, they could only check timetables, but now they get the actual times of […]
March 02, 2022
Ghent is the third Flemish city to introduce silent and emission-free e-buses from public transport company De Lijn. The buses will be used on line 6, between ‘Gent Watersportbaan & Mariakerke Post’ as of Tuesday. The e-buses in Ghent are products of VDL. They have a 200 km range, and they will be charged overnight […]
February 15, 2022
The Flemish public transport company, De Lijn, will increase its fares as of April 1st. And it’s not an April Fool’s joke. The cheapest ticket for a one-way trip will become a quarter more expensive, and the so-called ‘m ticket’ will go up from €2 to €2,5. The government wanted to bring the different fares […]
February 14, 2022
Johan Sauwens (Trots of Bilzen), Mayor of Bilzen and former Flemish Minister, is the new chairman of the Board of Directors of public transport company De Lijn. The Flemish government decided this on Friday, on the proposal of Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld). Sauwens, who was one of the founders of De Lijn in […]
January 31, 2022
Public transport company De Lijn temporarily offers favorable fares for those who travel from a Park-and-Ride zone to the city of Antwerp. Users of one of the Park-and-Ride (P+R) zones can park their cars and comfortably continue their trip by bus or tram. Travelers can opt for a monthly subscription (€35) or a ten-ride ticket […]
January 21, 2022
The Flemish public transport company, De Lijn, has permanently lost 10% of its passengers due to corona. In 2021, De Lijn transported 42% fewer passengers than in pre-corona times, and 2022 will probably fall short of expectations. “Some of our customers have definitely chosen for other means of transport,” says Ann Schoubs, director-general of De […]
December 16, 2021
Public transport company De Lijn has applied for a permit to exploit a depot for 40 electric buses in Wissenhage, Ghent. The number of e-buses will increase considerably in the coming years, and they all will need charging and shelter. The site in Wissenhage is 14 hectares and will become De Lijn’s largest depot. The […]
December 03, 2021
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has ordered 60 electric buses from Van Hool and VDL, the best bidders in the public tendering procedure. The purchase is part of De Lijn’s long-awaited greening program, with an emission-free fleet and infrastructure by 2035 as the goal. The buses will be delivered from the last quarter […]
November 08, 2021
Flemish Mobility Minister, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), wants to accelerate the greening of public transport. She will reserve 65 million euros a year for it as of 2023. The decision was taken following the recent climate conference. Before the end of this year, public transport company De Lijn will order 60 fully electric buses, and […]
July 15, 2021
Flemish public transport company De Lijn has approved the purchase of 44 new plug-in hybrid buses. According to Belga, apart from that, another 280 hybrid buses will be transformed into e-hybrid buses. “Those buses represent the next step in emission-free transport in city centers,” said Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld). By 2035. […]
June 22, 2021
In the Oostakker district of Ghent, activists closed a bus stop with a black cloud on Monday in protest against the new transport plans of Flemish public transport company De Lijn. According to the activists, the Flemish government and De Lijn plan to close 5 000 Flemish bus and tram stops in 2022. Street Without […]
June 08, 2021
Multiobus in Tienen, a group of private bus companies who joined forces some years ago scaling up to prepare for the future, shows the Flemish public transport company it is working for as a subcontractor how you can actually run a fleet of twelve fully electric city buses today. De Lijn itself is testing merely […]
June 02, 2021
On Monday, the board of directors of De Lijn approved an order for 350 electric buses, including charging infrastructure, an investment that will cost the company between 190 and 230 million euros. Quiz question: how many electric buses are currently being operated by Belgian public transportation company De Lijn? As it appears, not many. Out […]
May 21, 2021
There seems to be no end to the story of the delay of the e-buses in Flanders of public transport company De Lijn. Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) reported on Thursday in the Flemish Parliament that the dossier was on the agenda of De Lijn’s board of directors on Wednesday. Still, it was finally […]
May 12, 2021
In Antwerp, de Flemish public transport company De Lijn started on Tuesday deploying five electric buses. This is part of the pilot project that already started in Leuven in September 2020. Ghent, too, will soon be getting some e-buses. “We hope to find out in particular how the buses behave in the field and how […]
April 15, 2021
In the future, De Lijn must again become more customer-oriented and greener. These are the spearheads of ‘Vision 2030’, the renewal plan of the new Director-General Ann Schoubs for the Flemish public transport company that she presented on Wednesday. One condition is that the Flemish government invests substantially more in De Lijn. Customer satisfaction at […]
