De Lijn tickets to become 18% more expensive

Flemish public transport company De Lijn will pass on the index of recent years in the fare framework. Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) confirmed this in the Flemish Parliament. Usually, an average ticket becomes 18% more expensive in April, so a ride will no longer cost 2.5 euros but 3 euros.

With the hefty 1rease, the government and De Lijn are catching up after two years without indexation under former Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open VLD). Her indexation ban, and that of the then government in which the N-VA also sat, would have hit an estimated 30 million euro hole in De Lijn’s budget.

TreinTramBus calls the fare increase “out of proportion.” According to the passenger organization, the government should first work on “reliable public transport” before raising prices.

Young and elderly may be spared

That the fare autonomy for De Lijn was coming and that for the first time, the transport company would be allowed to set its ticket prices, except for social fares, was already decided by the previous government in 2022. But in September 2023, then-Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters directed that De Lijn skip two indexations of ticket prices. The transport company had to see how to reconcile that in its budget with rising costs.

The main reason for this non-indexation was that the transport landscape was transformed by introducing new transport plans through basic accessibility/Hoppin. Moreover, after the COVID-19 crisis, Peeters did not think it was time to raise prices for buses and streetcars.

“We want to encourage more people to make sustainable choices and travel by public transportation more often,” Peeters said. This also countered the criticism at the time that with the 5,000 euro subsidy for new EVs, she only wanted to do something for car users.

The new Minister of Mobility, De Ridder, has confirmed in parliament that De Lijn will be allowed to apply the index increases of recent years, accounting for 18% to 19%. “Those contours are there, and a decision will be made on Friday if all goes well,” De Ridder said.

“We are looking at whether we can do something extra for the 18-—to 24-year-old group. For those with an increased allowance, prices will be monitored by the government.” Government party Vooruit is also calling for the elderly to be spared. At vrt.news, the minister also pointed out that NMBS/SNCB, TEC, and MIVB/STIB did adjust their prices to the index.

“Incomprehensible and unacceptable”

In any case, the opposition in the Flemish Parliament does not like the plans to increase fares. “The number of stops is falling, the number of drivers is falling, the number of buses in good condition is falling. De Lijn’s service is dramatic and continues to deteriorate, yet this government has dared to raise ticket prices by a fifth. That is incomprehensible and unacceptable,” says Flemish MP Bogdan Vanden Berghe (Groen).

According to Vanden Berghe, the price increase is also at odds with what is needed to encourage people to use public transportation. “This policy scares people away from public transport, while we just want more people to be enticed to take the bus or streetcar more often,” he said.

PVDA floor leader Jos D’Haese also has no sympathy for the planned fare increase. “Raising De Lijn’s ticket prices by 20% at a time when service is deteriorating, and you are never really sure if a bus will show up, that is incomprehensible,” says D’Haese on X.

“Out of proportion”

Stefan Stynen, president of passenger organization TreinTramBus, calls the fare increase “out of proportion.” According to Stynen, the government should first work on “reliable public transport” before raising prices. “Especially if we look at the quality problems and if you see how often travelers are waiting for a streetcar or a bus that does not come,” Stynen said on Radio 1.

Stynen thinks the government would be better off implementing a more limited increase of, say, 10% and first working on improving the reliability of public transport. If reliability and quality improve, travelers will “happily” pay a little more, is the reasoning.

The TTB chairman fears that travelers will drop out if they suddenly must pay a fifth more. “And then you may end up with no additional revenue at the end of the ride.”

Underfunded for years

De Lijn has been complaining about underfunding for years and has not been given any additional money by the Jambon government. The current Flemish government does make a one-time extra 400 million euros available for clean buses, which means that by the end of the legislature, one bus out of every two should be new. However, that catch-up will not be enough to be 100% electric by 2025, the target of De Lijn.

Over 3,200 bus stops were eliminated last year, 17% of the total number. During the first 11 months of 2024, De Lijn consequently recorded 14,121 complaints about supply.

The Flemish transport company is also struggling with a shortage of old buses and about 150 drivers, forcing it to cut some 2,5% of its supply. Annual figures for 2024 are not yet available, but during the first five months of 2023, more than 19,000 bus trips were canceled.

In 2019, De Lijn counted 340 million passengers, in 2023 there were 286 million.