According to Unizo, De Lijn has never been able to make up for the drop in passengers after corona, and it does not look like this will change any time soon. This is partly because the public transport company has to make do with budgets that are no longer in line with rising costs, says the organization, which at the same time sees a lack of mobility policy at a political level.
“The ambitions of the mobility policy do not result in the desired modal shift in passenger transport. (…) The number of traffic jams has never been so high while the scheduled buses are empty. However, De Lijn, with its trams and buses, can play a very important role in reducing traffic jams and transporting millions of travelers sustainably and safely. The current situation in which many journeys have to be canceled must be urgently reversed. (…) And that will not work with a constant stream of messages about canceled journeys, maintenance backlog of carriages and tracks and a staff shortage,” Unizo argues.
The organization also sees merit in the introduction of a general smart kilometer tax, and wants this to be included in the coalition agreement next time. “The annual traffic taxes will then be abolished, just like the tax on registration. In this way, those who drive a lot on our roads pay more than those who hardly ever use their car.”