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 over granting a 5 000-euros premium for purchasing an electric car. Opponents believe that the Flemish government would do better to focus on public transport instead of cars, especially De Lijn, where quite a few rides are being scrapped, and the greening of the fleet has been slow in coming.

€1,7 or €2,5 for a ride

“I pass for a ticket price increase at De Lijn,” said Lydia Peeters. Prices will remain at April 2022 levels, which means you will pay 2,5 euros for an SMS ticket and 17 euros for a ten-ride ticket.

The main reason is that the transport landscape is undergoing a complete transformation. Rather than providing a dense network of buses, the government is betting on core lines, complemented by neighborhood buses, taxis, and shared mobility.

€24 million price ticket

“Besides, due to the past crises, it is not the time to increase prices for buses and trams. We want to encourage more people to make a sustainable choice and travel by public transport more often,” Peeters said.

In doing so, she countered criticism that with the 5 000 euros subsidy for new e-cars, she is only doing something for car users.

The bill is for De Lijn. The transport company is estimated to see 24 million euros less coming in. “We are going to include that during our budget discussions,” said the De Lijn spokesperson. “The fact that costs are indexed, but revenues are not will inevitably have an effect.”

De Lijn receives 1,3 billion in subsidies annually, while its investment budget increases by 120 million annually.