De Lijn tickets paid for with eco vouchers

The Flemish public transport company De Lijn’s bus and tram tickets can now be paid with eco vouchers at the vending machines. This applies to single tickets and De Lijn cards of 10 or 50 journeys. However, for the time being, paying with eco vouchers on the tram, bus, or via the app is impossible.

“We are delighted to be able to accept eco vouchers and hope this will help our customers travel even more easily and be environmentally friendly,” says Ann Schoubs, De Lijn’s top woman. Travelers can pay with eco vouchers from Edenred, Monizze, and Pluxee in De Lijn shops and vending machines.

Valid on temporarily?

Currently, 2,3 million employees in Belgium receive eco vouchers. Employers can grant eco vouchers up to 250 euros per year. Whether the system will last long is uncertain. A leaked super memo by federal formateur Bart De Wever (N-VA) shows that he wants to abolish eco vouchers in exchange for an increase in the value of meal vouchers.

According to the new Flemish coalition agreement, De Lijn will have the autonomy to adjust its ticket prices in the future. As a result, once the measure is in a decree, tickets are likely to go up. The Flemish government will still set the fares only for young people, the elderly, and people with specific needs.

TEC fares also more expensive

The Walloon public transport company TEC may also face a price increase. At TEC, fares have not changed since 2021. However, according to the Walloon newspaper L’Avenir, the board of directors of the OTW, the company responsible for the supervision, strategic planning, and marketing of a group of five regional public transport directorates branded as TEC, will discuss on Wednesday a possible return to fare indexation from next year.

In the proposal currently on the table, season ticket prices are proposed to be raised by an average of 3,62%. The indexation would generate around 2.5 million euros in additional revenue.