MIVB increases service to 40 routes, as talks at De Lijn collapse

Brussels public transport authority MIVB is increasing the frequency of buses on 40 lines beginning on 23 February. The changes come to peak and off-peak services as well as weekends.

During peak hours, there will be more frequent service on lines 20, 28, 34 and 78. In off-peak hours the changes affect lines 12, 13, 14, 20, 42 and 95. Peak hours are extended for lines 36, 60, 61, 71, 88 and 89. Buses from Brussels Airport will travel later, until 00.15 instead of 23.00.

Trams 31 and 83, which run only in the evening, are being scrapped, while the popular trams 81 and 83 will run every 15  minutes after 20.00. Full details of the changes can be viewed online.

In related news, talks between unions and management at the Flemish public transport authority De Lijn over the implementation of cost-cutting measures have broken down. “The ball is now in the management’s court,” commented Jan Coolbrandt of the ACV union.

Unions are angry that De Lijn is not proposing an income guarantee for members of staff affected by the authority’s plan to reduce services on Sundays, due to come into force on 1 May. The union threatened actions “in every region and in every depot” if a solution could not be found in the joint committee, where labour issues are worked out at the company level.

photo courtesy Tram 24/Wikimedia