The Brussels public transport authority Stib/MIVB carried 434 million passengers in 2019, an increase of 4% and 16 million more than in 2018.
Over the course of a decade, the number of people travelling by bus, tram and metro increased by 50%.
The three services divided up the total number thus: 38% travelled by metro, 36% by tram and 26% by bus. However those figures only show how the voyage was started; many trips involve more than one mode of transport.
The 2019 increase of 4% matches that of 2018. The previous year, in 2017, passenger numbers topped 400 million for the first time.
Notable in 2019 was that the number of passengers travelling in off-peak hours increased. New electric and hybrid buses came into service, the map of bus routes was extended and new tramlines 8 and 9 came into service. As well as its coverage of the Brussels Region, the Stib also with the reorganisation of bus line 65 to Machelen now served more destinations outside the region than before.
The growth, according to spokesperson An Van hamme, is the result of “the problems of traffic congestion and a growing awareness regarding the climate.”
“We are not going to rest on our laurels,” commented Brieuc de Meeûs, CEO of the Stib. “We are prepared for the many challenges that await us, in taking the development of public transport further, and in establishing the Stib in her role as an essential player in sustainable mobility in Brussels.”
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
