Tickets please: Snap up a De Lijn bus at auction

Transport company De Lijn is selling off some of its old buses at auction, from just €450. Between them, the 30 buses have driven more than half a million kilometres, and the sale is part of the company’s modernisation of its fleet to make it more environmentally friendly.

The Jonckheere vehicles are likely to be popular with people wanting a large motorhome or to strip them for parts – but anyone who buys the vehicles for use on the road in Belgium will have to retrofit the Euro-2 engines to meet emissions standards and remove the De Lijn branding from the outside.

The yellow ticket validating machines have already been removed. “If people want to drive a real De Lijn bus, then they’ll have to come and work for us,” spokesperson Tom Van de Vreken told Belga.

De Lijn aims to use only electric buses on its city routes by 2025 and is increasing the number of hybrid vehicles it operates. As well as the 30 buses, which have been in service since the early 2000s, the company is also selling a number of Peugeot, Renault and Volkswagen vans, cars and motorbikes, for between €150 and €450.

The online auction, run by Moyersoen of Aartselaar, Antwerp province, begins today and runs until 25 February; potential buyers can inspect the vehicles in Hasselt and Leuven before bidding.

Photo: Yorick Jansens/Belga