‘Basic accessibility’ is a new public transport system that works with layers. The backbone is the train network. This is followed by the core network: buses and trams that connect large residential areas and commercial centers, hospitals, etc. Buses between smaller cities and municipalities form the additional network. Outside of this there will be the flex network, which will only drive on request.
The second phase of basic accessibility will start on January 6. By then, 89 percent of the new network will have been implemented, Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) and director general of De Lijn announced on Tuesday during a press conference at De Lijn in Mechelen.
“We will follow demand much more closely and deploy resources efficiently where they are needed,” Schoubs said. Lines with high demand, such as between cities, commercial centers and hospitals, will be strengthened, while some lines with lower demand may disappear. Stops will also disappear: from almost 20,000 stops for basic accessibility to 16,392 stops after January 6. These are stops that are no longer served, where hardly any passengers board, and so on.
One in four remaining stops will be a so-called flex stop. There will be no buses stopping on a regular basis; they will only be served when a local resident requests a ride. This is done via ‘flexible transport’, the successor to the dial-up buses.
From tomorrow/Wednesday, travelers can get more information about the changes and plan their travel route after January 6 on the De Lijn website and app.
