Public transport free in Brussels during big climate march

Anyone heading to the climate march on Sunday can take Stib public transport in Brussels for free or take advantage of the weekend rate for a train ticket. Tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in the march, organised by the Coalition Climat.

Stib will be free for everyone on Sunday, 10 October, from noon to 19.00. The decision was made, according to a spokesperson, to make it easier to get to the march and to remind citizens that public transport is a sustainable mobility option.

As for the SNCB, its weekend ticket offers a 50% discount on weekday rates. The rail service will also increase the number of trains travelling to Brussels from other cities to accommodate all the extra passengers.

COP26 around the corner

The march, dubbed Back to the Climate, is the first to take place in Brussels since the coronavirus crisis broke out. It is being staged a few weeks ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26. Coalition Climat has mobilised NGOs, unions, youth organisations and neighbourhood coalitions to take to the streets. “The message is simple,” says coalition chair Nicolas Van Nuffel. “We expect ambitious, united and coherent measures.”

The march begins at North Station at 13.00. It will head to Cinquantenaire, where closing speeches will take place at around 16.00. These will include speakers from Wallonia, who lost everything in the summer floods, and women from Ecuador, witnesses to illegal exploitation of the Amazon Forest.

On Friday, meanwhile, primary and secondary schools across Belgium will stage their own protest called Wake Up for Climate. More than 70 schools have already signed on. What they do is up to them, as long as they deliver a clear message to their local and regional politicians.

Photo ©Julia M Free/BELGA