Stib to scrap bus lines 27 and 33 from March

Brussels public transport operator Stib will remove two of its bus lines, 27 and 33, from the network from 2 March, as part of service adjustments and overall cost-saving measures.

The changes mean that bus line 27, which currently runs from Pléiades in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert to Place du Luxembourg via Montgomery, will no longer operate.

Line 33, one of the shortest bus routes in Brussels travelling between the city-centre shopping districts of Louise and Dansaert, will also be discontinued.

The line, which connects upper and lower Brussels in about 20 minutes, was launched in 2018 as the city's first fully electric bus service.

Stib said the network reorganisation aims to optimise services for passengers and respond to new travel patterns across the capital.

“Our analysis of passenger numbers today shows that these journeys can be efficiently provided by other lines on the existing network.” a Stib spokesperson said.

Some other bus lines will be adjusted to preserve the connections affected by the cuts, such as an extension on bus line 61 which currently runs from Brussels-North station to Montgomery and will be extended to the former 27 terminus at Pléiades.

These changes come at the same time Brussels is expanding its public transport fleet, adding 18 new trams, 36 electric buses and 14 other buses.