The head of Flemish public transport operator De Lijn has criticised further funding cuts planned by the Flemish Government, warning that public transport is gradually deteriorating.
De Lijn director-general Ann Schoubs made comments in an interview with De Standaard published on Wednesday.
De Lijn has faced years of budget cuts. Its operating budget stood at €717 million in 2010, compared with €527 million in 2026 when adjusted for inflation, according to De Standaard. This means the company has lost around a quarter of its operating budget in real terms over 16 years.
At the beginning of the current Flemish Government's term, De Lijn was promised an additional €325 million as part of a plan to increase its funding. However, the latest budget agreement reduced that amount to €137.5 million.
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The company's government funding will also fall by €80 million next year. De Lijn is expected to compensate for the reduction by generating additional revenue, including through measures against fare evasion.
Schoubs said the Flemish Government's decision to continue cutting public transport funding did not match the challenges facing the region.
With the current budget, she warned, Flanders would not meet its goal of encouraging more people to use sustainable forms of transport.
Schoubs also criticised the government's continued financial support for regional airports, which Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder (N-VA) has defended.
"That money comes from the same pot as ours," Schoubs told De Standaard. "What goes to one cannot go to the other. The government has to make choices. We can only observe them."
