De Lijn


Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn, 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.
Socialist politician Steve Stevaert of Hasselt implemented a policy allowing registered residents in Flanders aged 65+ to ride anywhere in Flanders free. 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.
In 2016, it transported more than 518.8 million passengers in an area with a population of approximately 6.5 million.
De Lijn operates:
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.