The municipality of Zonnebeke demands 30,000 euros from De Lijn, although she calls that amount symbolic. “It is only part of the damage the municipality has suffered. As a municipality, we must offer sustainable public transport, but this has no longer been possible since the introduction of the new transport plan.
For months, proper service proved impossible,” Mayor Koen Meersseman told our editors. “The subsequent adjustments were mainly made by subcontractors who drive on those bus lines.”
“For us it is actually important: if you see an error, that it is recognized and that the necessary measures are adjusted to correct it. So that those school children, those parents, and those residents are not struggling there for four or five months to get to school by public transport.”
“Also important for other municipalities”
The mayor points out, for example, that young people in Zonnebeek receive a significant discount if they purchase a bus subscription, thanks to an agreement between the municipality and De Lijn.
We will know on December 16 whether the municipality of Zonnebeke will succeed, when the judge will pronounce a verdict. But Meersseman suspects that the ruling could be important for other cities and municipalities that faced the same problems.