The government equalizes the fare across the different ticket types. The m-ticket in the De Lijn app therefore receives the same price as the SMS ticket and the traditional ticket on a card. The latter two already cost 2.5 euros, although an operator cost of 0.15 euros will be added to the SMS tickets.
The Flemish Network against Poverty regrets that individual tickets are half a euro more expensive, says the organization in its advice in the context of the poverty test. The higher fare discourages travelers on a budget from taking the bus occasionally, it says.
For the rest, the prices of the tickets change only slightly. For example, the ten-ride tickets – in the app and on a card – will cost 17 euros instead of 16 euros from April 1, and the prices for some Omnipas subscriptions for 25 to 64 year olds will go up slightly. The rates for social subscriptions and subscriptions for young people and seniors remain unchanged.
The rate increase is thus limited to 1.9 percent. The Finance Inspectorate would have preferred a stronger price increase, according to documents published by the Flemish government about the decision. High inflation threatens to see a bigger jump at the next rate adjustment in 2023.
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