De Lijn to get extra resources for more staff and greening its fleet

The new Flemish government has decided that the Flemish public transport company De Lijn will receive additional funds to green its fleet and will also be allowed to decide in the future to raise fares. However, it is not clear exactly how much extra money is going to De Lijn.

In addition to substantial investments in streetcars and buses, De Lijn will receive additional funds to hire additional staff to drive these buses and streetcars. Aggression on public transport will also be dealt with more harshly.

Fare autonomy

Along with those hefty investments in streetcars and buses, the new Flemish governing parties N-VA, Vooruit, and CD&V also foresee a growth path for De Lijn’s operating funds by the end of the legislature.

“We are accelerating the greening and modernization of the fleet, which ensures higher passenger comfort, a contribution to a sustainable modal shift, and the achievement of climate goals,” the 203-page coalition agreement reads.

To give De Lijn more strength, fare autonomy will also be introduced by January 1, 2025, at the latest, so that the public transport company will have maximum freedom in setting prices then.

In other words, more expensive tickets are likely. The Flemish government will still determine only the social, income-related fares and the framework for the target group policy.

More separate beddings

Furthermore, a new public service contract with De Lijn must be signed by 2035. That contract must, for example, provide certainty about resources and guarantee the fleet’s greening. De Lijn will be evaluated on output and given more freedom, while the transport plans in the various regions will also be evolved just to correct the blind spots in those controversial plans.

Better public transport flow must also be achieved by focusing on more bus lanes, separate bus and streetcar beds, and smart traffic lights. More punctuality is also needed.

More accessible stops must be provided more quickly for people with disabilities. Undeclared passengers will have to fear tighter controls at De Lijn, and in addition to the arrival of a physical access control at the pre-metro stations in Antwerp, the collection of fines will also be optimized. This extra control should also increase the safety of drivers and passengers against aggression and vandalism. “We have an absolute zero tolerance about aggression against drivers,” the note says.

The new Flemish government also wants an agreement with the federal government so that there will no longer be legal obstacles to body cams for inspectors and drivers. Every De Lijn bus and streetcar will also get surveillance cameras.

Furthermore, a sale of De Lijn’s participation in Cambio and Blue-bike subsystems will be examined.

De Ridder succeeds Peeters

In 2023, De Lijn’s annual budget rose from 860 million euros to 1,2 billion euros. In its last proposed memorandum, De Lijn asked the next Flemish government to pay at least 300 million euros annually, including greening the fleet and maintaining the infrastructure.

The new Minister of Mobility and Public Works for the next five years will be Annick De Ridder (N-VA). She succeeds outgoing minister Lydia Peeters (Open VLD).

De Ridder, once one of the “coming ladies” at the Flemish Liberals and a former consultant wind turbines for Fernand Huts’ Katoen Natie, has a law degree and has been Antwerp’s Alderman for port, urban development, spatial planning and patrimony since 2018. It is her first ministerial post.