Public transport users in Brussels will soon be able to choose one of two integrated tickets that allow them to use all four of the city’s transport networks with a single ticket.
The plan was announced by Flemish minister for mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD), and comes as the result of an agreement between the rail authority SNCB, the Brussels public transport authority STIB and its Walloon and Flemish counterparts TEC and De Lijn.
All four authorities operate in the capital, but there has only ever been limited crossover. A ticket for the Stib, for example, could be used on trains within the Brussels region – up to Berchem-Ste-Agathe, for example, but not as far as the next stop Groot-Bijgaarden.
The Stib operates lines to Vilvoorde, Groot-Bijgaarden and Tervuren in Flanders, while De Lijn runs buses into Brussels North Station.
But the four authorities could never until now agree a common tariff or ticketing arrangement.
Now, Peeters announced, two options will be available.
The JUMP+ ticket offers ten trips for €15, using any of the four systems within Brussels and anywhere within a radius of 11.5km from the Grand Place. The ticket costs one euro more than the Stib’s own JUMP ticket, but offers more availability, and takes the place of two separate tickets required previously.
The MTB+ is a season ticket offering one month of travel for €74 (where the one-month ticket for the Stib alone costs €55.50) for the same availability within the same radius.
The only exception to the area where the tickets are valid is Brussels Airport itself. Travel to the airport by bus or train will still require a separate ticket.
The 11.5km radius from the Grand Place reaches into the Flemish region that encapsulates Brussels, as far as Zaventem (the town, not the airport) in the north-east, Grimbergen in the north and Linkebeek in the south.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
