De Lijn to introduce instalment plan for annual travel passes

Flanders’ public transport operator De Lijn is to introduce an instalment plan that will allow travellers to spread the cost of its annual passes.

De Lijn’s annual passes, which cost €319 for adults and €212 for youths, can represent a steep financial hurdle for travellers on a tight budget.

It’s why travellers will soon be allowed to pay for their annual passes by way of an instalment plan. The announcement was made by Flemish member of parliament Gwenny De Vroe as part of on-going negotiations about De Lijn’s new management contract with the Flemish government.

“An instalment plan can be a welcome measure for travellers who don’t quite qualify for a reduced rate or discount,” De Vroe said on the Sunday news show De Zevende Dag.

At the moment, travellers who aren’t able to cough up the full sum of an annual pass in one go are forced to purchase a monthly pass €49 or three-month pass of €124. Those are more expensive than the annual passes in the long run.

“An instalment plan will make bus travel passes financially accessible to more people,” De Vroe explained.

Photo: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck

Written by Linda A. Thompson