Economic council calls for integrated public transport across Belgium
The Central Economic Council, a body comprising representatives of employers and trade unions, is calling on Belgium’s governments to move towards an integrated public transport system for the whole country.
The council points out that public transport accounts for only 7 per cent of journeys in Belgium and represents just 13 per cent of kilometres travelled, roughly the same as 20 years ago.
“To make public transport truly attractive and user-friendly, the Central Economic Council has therefore long advocated the removal of obstacles to the implementation of an integrated public transport system,” the council said in an opinion.
"Continuing to fund four different systems is no longer justifiable from a budgetary perspective or in terms of accessibility for passengers"
“In such a system, public transport presents itself as a coherent and efficient whole thanks to the integration of ticketing, pricing, services, information and route planning.”
Tram, bus and metro services are operated separately by each of the three regions, with the railways a national competence. According to the Council, “continuing to fund four different systems is no longer justifiable from a budgetary perspective or in terms of accessibility for passengers”.
A single system costs less than four separate systems, it says, while offering greater ease of use for passengers.
“With a single integrated system, passengers no longer need to familiarise themselves with four different ticketing systems to make a journey involving connections between the transport modes of different operators.”
© PHOTO BELGIAN FREELANCE
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