Cheaper Stib passes for part-time workers is rejected

A proposal to make public transport passes in Brussels cheaper for part-time workers and the unemployed has been struck down by the region's government.

Several liberal MPs in the Brussels parliament put forward a resolution calling on public transport operator Stib to adjust its annual season ticket rates for those with no or a low income.

"The Stib has done nothing to accommodate part-time workers or those who work from home," says green MP Celine Delforge.

She compared this with rail operator SNCB, which she said has preferential rates for people who work part-time or do a four-day week.

One passenger told La Capitale newspaper: "An annual pass costs €550. That represented 5% of my income when I was unemployed. Why should the poor pay this much?"

"This is for the government to decide," the Stib said in a statement, adding that it had been told to simplify its fare structure - not make it more complicated.