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| Parent | Flemish Government |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Mechelen |
| Service area | Flemish Region (main) |
| Service type | bus service, tram, demand responsive transport |
| Chief executive | Ann Schoubs |
| Website | www.delijn.be |
Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn[1] (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈvlaːmsə vərˈvuːrsmaːtsxɑˌpɛi də ˈlɛin], English: "Flemish transport company 'The Line'"), usually known as De Lijn, is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 trams. De Lijn was founded in 1991 after the public transportation companies of Antwerp and Ghent fused with the Flemish part of the NMVB (Nationale Maatschappij van Buurtspoorwegen, or the "National Company of Neighborhood Railways").
Socialist politician Steve Stevaert of Hasselt implemented a policy allowing registered residents in Flanders aged 65+ to ride anywhere in Flanders free.[citation needed] This has since been changed into allowing 65+ inhabitants to purchase cheap year passes which are valid throughout de Lijn. For 56 euros, senior citizens can now travel freely as often as they wish. Other incentives exist for people under age 25. De Lijn is being viewed as an integral part to reduce heavily congested traffic, together with the NMBS (Belgium's national rail operator).[citation needed]
In 2016, it transported more than 518.8 million passengers in an area with a population of approximately 6.5 million.[2]
De Lijn operates:
- Antwerp Tramway, with both street running and underground light rail (Antwerp Pre-metro).
- Ghent Tramway, mostly street running with some reserved track.[3]
- Coast tram, an interurban line along the whole Belgian coast, between De Panne and Knokke.
- All urban, suburban and intercity buses in Flanders.[4] Because of the dense rail network, intercity buses serve as local transport between big cities and smaller communities. Time to travel from one city to another by bus is most often longer than for the same journey on the train because bus lines are less straight, as they pass through many small towns that are not served by railway. The buses are more city-style (no coach buses are used). In the Limburg province with few railways, buses are the main mode of intercity travel. There are also express intercity buses there.
The fares are the same on all modes.
De Lijn issues a smartcard called the Lijnkaart and a chain of shops called Lijnwinkel.
De Lijn also supports the Flemish Tram and Bus Museum, located in Antwerp and connected to the tracks of the Antwerp Tramway.
- ^ "De Lijn Disclaimer" (in Dutch). De Lijn. 2010. Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "De Lijn: revenue 2015-2018". Statista. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "Public Transport in Ghent". Visit Gent. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
- ^ "De Lijn staff threaten to strike over safety rules". The Brussels Times. 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2020-09-30.