As a result of the measures announced in Monday’s ‘September Declaration’, the Flemish public transport company De Lijn will have to cut costs by an additional 30 million euro. The public transport passengers’ association TreinTramBus (TrainTramBus) is angry about the cuts and says that the Flemish Government is failing to keep its word with regard to public transport in our region.
30 million euro additional cuts at De Lijn, passengers’ association says government “has failed to keep its word”
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TreinTramBus is not happy to say the least with the news that De Lijn will have to make a further 30 million euro in cuts.
"The Flemish Government is breaking the commitments it made last year in the coalition agreement. This stipulated that De Lijn's operating budget would increase annually from 2026 onwards", TreinTramBus said in a statement released on Tuesday. The passengers’ association says that it understands the Flemish Government’s desire to keep the budget in check. However, “This must go hand in hand with ambition in its approach a towards sustainable transport policy”.
"There are some sacred cows urgently need to be sacrificed in order to achieve this. It is truly no longer justifiable that billions of euro are being spent on the Oosterweel Link project in Antwerp. There, funding continues to flow in generously, while public transport is being stifled”.
Road charging
TreinTramBus calls for the urgent introduction of road pricing on our region’s roads. "It's urgent that more people use public transport and leave their cars at home. This modal shift will only succeed if the Flemish authorities make motorists responsible for their car use, while at the same time investing in public transport”, TreinTramBus’ Peter Meukens explains.