“Mobility poverty”, “no pasaran”, “dramatic”,… De Lijn’s new transport plan continues to cause dissatisfaction everywhere in East Flanders, it became apparent during the provincial council on Wednesday. The majority and opposition jointly ask De Lijn to work on the objections. “We all know that the transport plan is problematic, from Meetjesland to the Flemish Ardennes.”
Councilor Kenneth Taylor (Open VLD), who is also mayor of Wichelen, put the subject on the agenda. His municipal council declared De Lijn in default earlier this week. The aim: an adapted bus line between Ghent, Wetteren and Dendermonde.
“That decision has far-reaching consequences,” says Taylor. “Buses that used to be full are now simply no longer running. Both school-going youth and the connection between hospitals are affected. The situation of the Scheldeland National Park, where public transport would be promoted, is dramatic. There is mobility poverty for people who rely on public transport.”
Other council members immediately joined in with problems from all corners of the province, from an entire village that is inaccessible by bus at certain times, to a psychiatric hospital in Sleidinge where the fixed bus line was abolished. “The consequences everywhere are at least slightly or even seriously dramatic,” says Olaf Evrard (Vlaams Belang, Ghent). “And it is not the richest people in our province who are most affected by this,” adds Bruno Matthys (Vooruit, Ghent).
Problematic
The council members wanted to send a signal to De Lijn and the Flemish government. “No way, this is really not possible,” says Greet De Troyer (Vooruit, Aalst-Oudenaarde). “The alarm bells must be sounded.”
“We all actually know that the transport plan is problematic in many instances, from Meetjesland to the Flemish Ardennes,” responded deputy Kurt Moens (N-VA, Ghent district). “We know that adjustments have already been made, but major problems remain. We cannot intervene for specific files, but we can send a general signal.”
All parties of the provincial council, both majority (N-VA, CD&V, Groen) and opposition (Open VLD, Vooruit, Vlaams Belang), therefore approved a motion. “We notice from all factions that there is great dissatisfaction among local authorities and citizens within the province of East Flanders about De Lijn’s new transport plan,” the decision states. “That is why we expect De Lijn to effectively tackle the objections and consult with the mayors of East Flanders.”
Open to dialogue
De Lijn is open to dialogue with mayors and the governor, says spokesperson Frederic Wittouck. “We understand that municipalities want to be involved in the evaluation and adjustment of the plan, and this will also be done through the transport regions. However, there are also many positive signals from travelers and municipalities. It is a shame that this is not being talked about.”
By the end of the Easter holidays, approximately 340 adjustments will have already been made. From then on, an announced evaluation round will start. “It is of course true that we work within a framework of limited resources,” says Wittouck. “When a piece of the puzzle is adjusted somewhere, this means that something has to be reset elsewhere, even if it is a valid argument.”
Tags: mobility poverty province East Flanders sounds alarm Lijn Ghent
){kind=link}