The number of fare dodgers on Lijnbusses is rising sharply

In four years time, the number of fines for travelers without a valid ticket is sometimes twenty times higher. In Kortrijk, for example, barely 28 fines were issued to travelers without a ticket in 2018, compared to almost 600 last year. It is also increasing in the other West Flemish central cities such as Bruges, Roeselare and Ostend. Flemish Member of Parliament Annick Lambrecht (Vooruit) explains the increase: “There are actually far too few checks and if there have been any checks, we see that the fines are not always collected. If we look throughout Flanders, we see that there is about one inspection per day per municipality. That is far too little.”

De Lijn acknowledges the problem and will soon deploy more employees to check passengers.