To avoid overcrowded buses during school peak hours, the Flemish public transport company De Lijn will be strengthening coaches from private companies from Monday. About 120 private buses will be used, good for about 250 trips per day, said Anneliese Meynaerts, spokeswoman for De Lijn.
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Since the start of the school year, De Lijn has been using the maximum number of buses at times when many students go to school or return home. Despite this, there were already reports of overcrowded buses on many lines. And there will probably only be more students on the bus in the coming weeks, with the weather getting worse, light and dark earlier.
The solution to free up extra capacity was found with the private coach and bus companies. Many private buses have come to a standstill due to the corona crisis and are therefore available. The Flemish government has released 12.5 million euros to allow the extra buses to run until the end of December.
After a tendering procedure, around 120 private buses will be deployed from Monday. They will ride behind the De Lijn bus with an inscription ‘reinforced ride’ and will therefore follow the same route with the same stops. Only when De Lijn’s bus is largely full, travelers can get on the private bus.
Just like on De Lijn buses, a mouth mask is mandatory on private buses from the age of 12, you must board at the back and have a valid ticket.
De Lijn admits that not all journeys for which a tender was issued have been completed. “The tender did not include a bid for all journeys,” said spokeswoman Meynaerts. “A second round is underway now, more reinforcement runs should follow in the course of next week.”
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