The crisis surrounding student transport in special education has been resolved for the time being. Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) has taken charge of the file and is putting forward a proposal that will allow De Lijn to continue to operate all planned journeys for the next two school years.
Journalist at HLN
LOOK. “Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) has reacted painfully,” says Hannelore Simoens
As a result, no journey is canceled. Not 139 million euros will be released, but 150 million euros, the amount that De Lijn needs. “The uncertainty among thousands of parents and children can be removed,” says VTM NIEUWS journalist Hannelore Simoens.
The problem appears to have been resolved over the next two school years. This summer, Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) will present a new vision statement for a reform that should take effect in the 2028-2029 school year. It is unclear what impact that reform will have on supply.
Outrage about more than 200 bus journeys
De Lijn currently contributes approximately 11 million euros annually from its own resources to get all students to school. Without additional resources, hundreds of rides were in danger of disappearing, with major consequences for vulnerable students and their families.
The plans immediately met resistance within the Flemish government. Both CD&V and Vooruit made it clear that the cancellation of journeys was difficult for them to digest and that the issue had to be discussed again. Flemish Minister of Welfare Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) spoke out clearly. She called canceling bus rides “a very bad idea.”
“Vulnerable children have to get into school, and it has to cost what it has to cost,” Gennez said. According to her, the signal within the government was clear that a solution had to be found.
Diependaele whistles De Ridder back
While Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder (N-VA) emphasized on Thursday that it had previously been agreed that De Lijn would receive 139 million euros for the organization of student transport, the file came under increasing political pressure. De Ridder already indicated that the issue would be discussed again within the government due to its sensitivity.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Diependaele himself developed a proposal to unblock the file. That proposal was discussed today at the Flemish Council of Ministers. Diependaele received sufficient support within the Flemish government. “At the N-VA they realized very well: this must be resolved very quickly. We really cannot come across as so antisocial and so insensitive,” says Simoens.
That is quite painful: being rebuffed by your own Prime Minister, by your own government
Diependaele’s intervention also means a political defeat for Minister of Mobility Annick De Ridder. According to Simoens, her position is being rejected by her own Prime Minister. “That means that Annick De Ridder’s arm has been twisted. And that is painful for her: being rebuffed by your own Prime Minister, by your own government.”