Brussels –
The Brussels opposition parties MR and cdH react critically to the announcement of the Brussels government that from 1 July there will be a youth subscription to the STIB of 12 euros per year.
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For David Weytsman (MR), a reduction in the subscription price from 50 to 12 euros will lead to a reduction in investments in public transport or an increase in taxes.
From 1 July 2021, a subscription from the Brussels public transport company MIVB costs 12 euros per year for pupils and students. This measure will take effect in February 2022 for (non-studying) Brussels youngsters aged 18 to 24. According to the Brussels government, the measure should make public transport more accessible.
Unfulfilled Promises
Weytsman refers to the coalition agreement that announced free public transport for Brussels residents under 25 and over 65 in 2020. “Always those election promises about free that are not fulfilled,” he responds.
According to the MR MP, the price cut will somehow be offset by a reduction in investment or an increase in taxes.
Weytsman also refers to L’Echo, which revealed two weeks ago that STIB would lose the right to deduct 100 percent VAT due to free public transport for young people. This would mean that the costs of the measure (in 2021 would be about ten million euros) if STIB had to pay part of the VAT. The additional expenditure, including for all construction sites, could amount to between 48 and 290 million.
Christophe de Beukelaer is also not satisfied with the measure; “It would show a minimum of decency if you explained to the citizen what amateurism has obliged you to convert the promise of free public transport for young people and seniors into a subscription, and then with a delay of one year,” it sneered. Brussels MP for CDH on Twitter to Minister-Pesident Rudi Vervoort.
“The good news is that the VAT administration and budgetary reality obliges you to face reality: there is no such thing as free and devalues the services provided,” he adds.
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