Despite a 7% growth in trips in 2024 on the Brussels public transport network, passenger numbers are still below their peak in 2019, according to the latest STIB/MIVB 2024 annual report.
Passenger numbers in 2024 totalled 402 million, more than a million a day. This is compared to 376 million in 2023, a significant growth year-on-year.
However, these passenger levels are still below the pre-pandemic passenger journey figures in 2019 of 434 million. To return to 2019 levels, the company plans to focus on providing more vehicles, increasing safety, and improving stations, according to a STIB spokesperson.
To capture more income, STIB also carried out 1.7 million ticket checks in 2024, 21% more than the previous year.
The latest report comes alongside confirmation from STIB CEO that Metro Line 3 construction will take longer than planned, following cost overruns and other project setbacks.
Also featured in the annual report is news that STIB saw a decline in income from travel passes year on year, despite an increase in the cost for some passes. Both annual and 10-trip passes went up by 8% in 2024.
However total direct income which includes single tickets increased to €226 million from €214 million.
Overall net income per passenger trip was down in 2024 to 59 cents per trip from 77 cents in 2023. Satisfaction among passengers remains high with 78% of passengers giving the company 7/10 for satisfaction.
