As many as 50% fewer bus stops in some Flemish municipalities from Saturday
On Saturday 6 January the Flemish public transport company De Lijn rolls out the second phase of its Basic Accessibility Plan. According to an article in Wednesday's edition of the daily ‘De Tijd’ the plan will see dozens of municipalities in our region left with between a third and a half fewer bus stops than has hitherto been the case.
The second phase of the Basic Accessibility Plan is by far the most important step in De Lijn’s efforts to concentrate on offering bus and tram services in and between centres of population and other areas where demand for public transport is greatest.
While this will mean an improved service for many, some in outlying and rural areas will be left with a reduced service or be reliant on De Lijn’s ‘Belbus’ service, an on-demand taxi-bus service that has to be reserved in advance. Furthermore, many Flemings, particularly those that live in rural areas will have to walk much further in order to reach their nearest bus stop.
3,800 fewer stops
De Tijd calculated that across Flanders, there will be a net decrease of 3,800 stops. More than 6,100 bus stops will be scrapped, while more than 2,300 new stops will be added. De Tijd’s calculation is based on data from De Lijn's website. Previously De Lijn had said that there will be a net decrease of just over 3,200 stops.
From Saturday almost two-thirds of Flemish municipalities will see a decrease in the number of bus stops. The decrease will be greatest in West Flanders, Limburg Province and in the Flemish Ardennes, in the south of East Flanders. 30 of Flanders’ 300 municipalities will lose more that one-third of their bus stops, while in 15 municipalities more than 40% of bus stops will be scrapped from Saturday. The East Flemish municipality of Zele is the hardest hit with 60% of the bus stops there being scrapped from Saturday. In Laakdal (Antwerp Province) and Koekelare (West Flanders) half of the bus stops will be scrapped.
Passengers’ association “deeply concerned”
The public transport passengers’ association TreinTramBus says that it is deeply concerned. The association’s Kees Smilde told journalists that "It remains to be seen which passengers will benefit from this. In any case we expect chaos and a tsunami of complaints."
Previously, both De Lijn and the Flemish Transport Minister Lydia Peeters (liberal) had promised to closely monitor the impact of the changes and to make adjustments where necessary.