Coalition divided over De Lijn cuts
Parties within the Flemish governing coalition are divided over planned savings at public transport operator De Lijn. Vooruit and CD&V want the cuts to be reviewed, while N-VA continues to defend them. The debate took place on Wednesday in the Flemish Parliament.
"Back to the drawing board," said CD&V MP An Christiaens, calling for the plans to be reconsidered.
Extra savings
In January, it became clear that De Lijn must find an additional 5.5 M in savings, on top of the 30 M already announced. The company has since outlined how these reductions would be divided among the regional transport councils. These councils consist of local authorities.
De Lijn has presented each council with a proposal explaining how the savings could be achieved. Several councils have reacted negatively, including those in the Flemish Ardennes.
During the parliamentary debate, Vooruit and CD&V called on Flemish mobility minister Annick De Ridder to reconsider the approach.
"Cutting buses without an alternative is impossible," said Els Robeyns (Vooruit). "If all regional transport councils vote against this, the minister will have to go back to the drawing board."
Christiaens agreed. "The way the cuts are currently being imposed, take it or leave it, is absolutely unacceptable," she said.
Government stands firm
De Ridder defended the decision. She said the savings focus on routes with very low passenger numbers. According to her, the average occupancy on the affected lines is eight passengers.
"Can we continue to justify this in budgetary difficulties? No. These lines are not part of basic accessibility," she said.
She added that local authorities still have room to suggest adjustments within the regional transport councils. At the same time, she stressed that savings are required across all policy areas. "When I hear some say that De Lijn should be completely spared, you also have to have the courage to say where the money should come from," De Ridder said.
No delay possible
Opposition parties pointed to the visible differences within the coalition and asked the government to postpone the cuts to allow for further discussion.
Both De Ridder and Flemish minister president Matthias Diependaele (N-VA) rejected that request. The savings have already been included in this year’s budget. Even if the schedule remains unchanged, the measures will not take effect until 1 June.
"There's no arguing with this," Diependaele said. "This decision was made with nine ministers present, all of whom were fully aware of the decision they were making. I understand that local authorities are struggling with this; they are at the forefront of the process. But I believe we need to look at the whole situation at a meta-level. We made the least painful choice, by affecting only 0.2 per cent of passengers."
Regional impact criticised
That argument prompted further criticism from CD&V.
"With that line of reasoning, you repeatedly end up in the regions with the fewest inhabitants," said Robrecht Bothuyne (CD&V). "I'm from the Flemish Ardennes; no region needs to cut back any more. We have to swallow 16 per cent of the austerity measures, even though we only represent 1.8 per cent of the budget."
Opposition parties have announced that they will table motions to reverse the cuts. They hope to persuade Vooruit and CD&V to support their proposal in the coming vote.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO BELGIAN FREELANCE
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