Public transport
De Lijn will use tour buses in East and West Flanders on busy routes so that students are not left behind at the bus stop because the bus is full. The extra buses will be available from April 15, the first Monday after the Easter holidays, and will continue to transport students until the end of June.
Since the beginning of this school year, certain bus routes have been so busy that students no longer get on the bus on the way to school. The renewal of a fleet of De Lijn buses is experiencing some delays, says De Lijn spokesperson Frederik Wittock. “That is why we have now deployed tour buses on routes where the buses were overcrowded with students.”
From Monday April 15 to the end of June, these buses would run behind the regular bus on various routes in West and East Flanders. If you can no longer fit into an overcrowded bus, hop on to the tour bus behind it. “You must already have a ticket with you, because there is no scanning system on the coaches and you cannot buy a ticket,” says Wittock.
Every stop
The buses drive in convoy to their destination. The coach stops at all stops, because there is no bell to ring. “The coach stops at every stop, so that students are not taken to a place where they should not be,” says Wittock. Will that tour bus not be delayed? “Both buses will take each other into account. The Lijnbus will therefore slow down a bit and adapt to the touring bus.”
A schedule is being devised for next year to tackle the busy routes and overcrowded buses. A new ride schedule cannot be ruled out.