Wallonia wants to scrap dirt-cheap TEC fares for young people

The new Walloon Minister of Mobility, François Desquesnes (Les Engagés), wants to rebalance the prices of the public transport company TEC between different age groups.

Currently, 18- to 24-year-olds pay only 12 euros a year for a season ticket, or one euro a month, while 12-17-year-olds pay much more. It is expected that free or nearly free public transportation may end in Wallonia.

Discriminatory

According to the Minister, lowering fares does not increase the number of young people taking the bus in Wallonia, he told Bel-RTL. For 2022, for example, there was a 1.8% increase in season tickets for 18-24-year-olds. Moreover, Desquesnes finds it “very peculiar” and even discriminatory that some “age groups pay full price” and others “not much”.

Desquesnes has commissioned his services to conduct a study on TEC fares, but he believes fares should be rebalanced between the different age groups. A 17-year-old, for example, now pays 281 euros a year for a Horizon season ticket that allows him to travel on the entire network.

And if there is a reduction in fares, it should ensure that more people take the bus. Today, according to the minister, it is mainly pedestrians and cyclists taking the bus, not particularly young people. For example, the money freed up would be better used for new investments in the TEC that everyone can enjoy, such as building new connections.

Over-65s also pay 12 euros annually, but that category would not be eligible for a fare rise; at least, the minister hasn’t said anything about that.

‘Ecological and social step backward’

Ecolo, which pushed for the introduction of the measure in the previous legislature to encourage young people, in particular, to use public transport instead of the car, is anything but enthusiastic about the plans. “We deserve better than an ecological and social step backward,” says co-president Samuel Cogolati.

The faces of the French-speaking Socialists are also on stormy alert. “After attacks on the streetcar in Liège, it is now the users of the TEC who are targeted by the Minister,” said Christie Morreale, the floor leader of the PS group in the Walloon parliament.

At the Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB, young people and seniors pay 12 euros for a season ticket. At the Flemish public transport company De Lijn, 12-24-year-olds pay 215 euros for an annual season ticket—every young person under twelve rides free with De Lijn throughout Flanders via the Buzzy Pazz. Children under six are also free of charge on the entire TEC network.

In turn, the city of Ghent is considering making public transportation free for children under 18.