A ray of hope for Flemish companies whose turnover has dropped at least 60%
in the period from October 1 to November 15, as a result of the tightened corona measures in October. They can now submit a support application that falls under the “New Flemish protection mechanism BIS”. In addition, the Flemish government has meanwhile also approved the “Flemish protection mechanism TER”, for the period 15/11 - 31/12 as one of the support measures.

The Federation of Belgian Bus and Coach Operators FBBA is pleased that the government is extending its support for the coach industry until the end of this year. This will certainly help companies to bridge this period and to provide transport and travel again for schools, associations and companies after the crisis. The sector has been hit hard by the corona crisis. 

BlaBlaBus won't be back until spring

The BlaBlaBus buses will start running again in Europe at the earliest in the spring of 2021. The rides had already been stopped during the lockdown in March-April, but during the summer the buses ran again. Since 2 November, the activities have stopped again. During the winter, the company will focus on the car-sharing service BlaBlaCar. BlaBlaBus is the successor to the former Ouibus. That branch of the SNCF was taken over by BlaBlaCar. BlaBlaBus was introduced in Belgium in June last year.

no self-driving buses

For the time being, there will also be no self-driving buses in the cities. De Lijn will not continue with its project on urban autonomous transport. The public transport company had conducted a feasibility study on self-driving buses in the cities. Negotiations have also been started with potential manufacturers.

Also read: Autocarfederatie FBAA sends a big thumbs up to De Lijn