According to the Flemish Ombudsman Service, there have never been so many public transport complaints about canceled buses. "The shortage of bus drivers must be resolved urgently," says the Flemish Ombudsman. Last year, 200.000 bus journeys were canceled, half more than in 2017. And about 14.000 complaints were received by customer service about the punctuality of buses and trams. That is about a quarter of all complaints.

Wim De Maeseneer of the VRT news service deepened continues in the case and establishes that De Lijn is aware of the problem. The fact that so many buses are being abolished is simply due to a great shortage of bus drivers. A problem that has been dragging on for much longer and that De Lijn is currently trying to solve. 

“We are working very hard to make up for that shortage. This year we have already attracted more than 450 drivers. And we will continue to do so in the coming months. ”, says personnel director Filip Claes in "The World Today" on Radio 1.

Claes goes on to say that the biggest cause of the shortage of public transport drivers is aging. De Lijn has a lot of drivers who are retiring and at the same time bus lines are being added here and there, so they must have extra drivers. But De Lijn also realizes that the profession must become more attractive. That is why, for example, they have rolled out a new planning system in which public transport drivers can determine their work schedule themselves.

Also read: 280 new De Lijn screens say exactly when your tram or bus is coming