De Lijn will not index an SMS ticket and the ten-journey card until February 1, 2025. Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) is blocking the demand from the coalition partners to increase the tickets next year. “I agree with a price increase on tickets at De Lijn.”
Prices remain at the level of April 2022, when an SMS ticket cost 2.5 euros and a ten-journey ticket cost 17 euros. The main reason is that the transport landscape is in full transformation. Rather than providing a dense network of buses, the government is focusing on core lines, which are supplemented with local buses, taxis and shared mobility.
“In addition, due to the past crises, it is not the time to increase prices for buses and trams. We want to encourage more people to make a sustainable choice more often and to travel by public transport,” says Peeters. In doing so, she counters the criticism that with the subsidy of 5,000 euros for new electric cars she only does something for car users.
The bill is for De Lijn. It is estimated that the transport company will receive 24 million euros less. “We will include this during our budget discussions,” says the spokesperson for De Lijn. “The fact that costs are indexed, but not revenues, will inevitably have an effect.”