Belgian public transport operators turn their backs on X

Advertisers may have returned, and the value may be valued again at 44 billion dollars, but individuals and companies continue to abandon social media platform X.

For example, De Lijn, NMBS/SNCB, TEC, and MIVB/STIB, each with a separate message on the same platform, have stated that they are leaving X. The main reason seems to be that the Belgian public transport companies feel the social networking site is no longer in line with their values since US billionaire Elon Musk took over.

X: Terminus

Precisely at 10 a.m. on Thursday, the four public transport companies announced their departure via their channels on X. “We are leaving X. This communication channel is no longer in line with the values of NMBS/SNCB,” the railroad company, accounting for some 116,000 followers, reported in its perhaps last X message.

“Endpoint reached: we will no longer be active on X (Twitter),” wrote the Flemish transport company De Lijn, good for 94,600 followers. The Brussels MIVB/STIB, with nearly 173,000 followers, kept it at “We are leaving X/Twitter.”

However, their spokesperson also justified the action, saying that “the reach of our messages was falling, and the number of interactions or private messages with users was also falling.” The Walloon public transport company TEX, the smallest of the four, with some 1,000 followers, wrote: “TEC on X, that’s over.”

However, all four stress that travelers can still reach them on other channels, including Facebook and Instagram. They also communicate through their own website or app.

The toll of Musk’s take-over

In recent months, many organizations have already left X, formerly Twitter. Owner Elon Musk has been controversial since he backed US President Donald Trump. He also leads a department (DOGE) in the US, making massive cuts in government services.

Moreover, in the past German parliamentary elections, Musk had expressed his support for the far-right AfD party and the far-right Romanian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu. Musk himself has 220 million followers on his X account.

The far-right Vlaams Belang party says it has “no sympathy” for the public transport companies’ decision. “Banning communication channels because the owner does not suit them is not good governance,” believes Chris Janssens, the group leader in the Flemish Parliament.

“There are enough problems with public transport, and it is essential to communicate this on as many channels as possible to serve the citizens. Merely trying to score virtue points does not improve things for the traveler.”

Brussels deputy Aurélie Czekalski (MR) also criticized the decision.