Starting today replacement shuttle buses are no longer operating via Verlorenkost between the Sint-Pieters’ Station and the Korenmarkt in the Ghent downtown. Since the start of the year a shuttle bus had been running on this route because Tram 1 can no longer complete this journey due to works. New works mean that the shuttle bus service will now also stop. Members of the travelling public who normally use the route will now have to walk part of their journey.
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Thousands face drudge of a walk as shuttle bus between Ghent station and the downtown is axed
Colin Clapson
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At the beginning of this year, the Ghent tram network was revamped: three longer routes were replaced by four shorter ones. Due to works at Coupure Ghent’s busy tram line 1 from Ghent’s Sint-Pieters’ Station to the Korenmarkt (Corn Market) had to be discontinued but passengers could switch a temporary shuttle.
New works mean the shuttle bus too is being axed. "As a result, until mid-July there will no longer be any De Lijn buses in the downtown parts of the city between Sint-Jacobs, Zuid, Korenmarkt, Kortrijkse Poort and Begijnhoflaan," the Ghent Bus Movement complains.
"It is especially a problem for the thousands of residents and students who use that route every day. Dozens of shops no longer have a stop within an acceptable walking distance. In addition, the signs at the station are unclear. People often ask me how to get to the centre," explains Luc Desmedt of the Ghent Bus Movement.
The City of Ghent sent a letter to Flemish mobility minister Lydia Peeters (Flemish liberal/Open VLD) asking for a solution. "(Flemish local transport company) De Lijn says that it does not have additional vehicles, additional drivers or the budget to provide the service," alderman Filip Watteeuw (Green) writes in the letter.
"This is why, we are asking you to provide the budgets so that De Lijn can run a shuttle bus for passengers on what until recently was the busiest tram line in Flanders. De Lijn - East Flanders investigated what the cost would be. The estimate is €500,000 a year."
The letter proved to be of no avail, as a permanent replacement bus service is not forthcoming.