De Lijn paid €70,000 LEZ fines in 2024

Flemish public transport company De Lijn paid more than 70,000 euros in fines last year for violations of low-emission zones (LEZ), a multiple of the 2,350 euros from 2023. A total of 384 fines were involved. Especially Antwerp and Ghent, together with Brussels, the only three active LEZ in Belgium, were mainly responsible.

In Antwerp, fines went from 9 in 2023 to 155 in 2024, and in Ghent, from 2 to 228. In Brussels, De Lijn received only one fine last year. So, together, they accounted for 70,375 euros in fines.

The fines that De Lijn had to pay for unauthorized diesel buses in the LEZ were on a downward trend. In 2019, it was still over 46,000 euros; in 2022, it was 5,900 euros; and in 2023, it was 2,350 euros, for 13 fines.

For this year, De Lijn has provided an amount of 11,000 euros for LEZ fines. However, it remains to be seen whether that will be enough.

The Euro III buses will be replaced through this year. As of 2026, all these vehicles should normally be replaced, and, therefore, no more LEZ fines should occur.

Opposites

Flemish MEP Sarah T’Joens (Vlaams Belang) nevertheless advocates the immediate abolition of the LEZ. “Not only families and commuters are victims of the antisocial LEZ policy, but even public transport financed with our tax money,” she says.

Green MP Bogdan Vanden Berghe, in turn, concludes that “healthy air is not a priority for the Flemish government.” “Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) should work with De Lijn to ensure that polluting buses are replaced as soon as possible rather than legitimized by fines and annual passes,” he says.

High concentration yesterday in Antwerp

A study by the Independent Health Insurance Funds shows that in cities with a LEZ, the decrease in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations is more substantial and, to a greater extent, in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

When absorbed into the human body, this gas can cause lung damage because it forms nitric acid with water. This gas also affects red blood cells, resulting in reduced oxygen uptake.

Yesterday, the daily average for Antwerp went above 75 micrograms/m³, the highest and most damaging concentration. Generally, Belgium’s air quality remains well below World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Nitrogen oxides also reduce plant diversity and make plants more susceptible to stress.