The City Pass that was introduced for Antwerp and Ghent and is intended to motivate travelers to combine different means of public transport has not proved successful. This is apparent from figures requested by Flemish MP Karin Brouwers (CD&V). In October 2017, De Lijn and the NMBS launched the City Pass in Antwerp and Ghent.
With this subscription (for a month or a year) travelers can travel on the entire De Lijn network (also outside the cities, with the exception of the Limburg express buses) and by train between a number of stations within these cities. The intention is that travelers can easily transfer from one means of public transport to another.
Figures that Flemish MP Karin Brouwers (CD&V) received in response to a question to competent minister Lydia Peeters now shows that the sale of the City Pass in Ghent cannot be called a great success. For example, only 70 annual subscriptions and 254 monthly subscriptions have been sold since the start of the initiative. According to Brouwers, the main reason for this is that the formula is considered too expensive.
"We should not immediately write off the formula, but instead invest in awareness and increase the benefits for travelers."
High ambition not fulfilled
An earlier topical question from Karin Brouwers about the City Pass (14 March 2018) showed a high ambition: the transport company De Lijn hoped for 1.000 subscribers for Ghent and 1.500 subscribers for the Antwerp zone. “An ambition that is absolutely not being achieved,” says Brouwers. “That should come as no surprise: after the limited launch campaign, no more publicity was made for the City Pass and De Lijn has no intention of doing this in the near future,” explains Karin Brouwers from Kessel-Lo.
A number of pain points were already mentioned at the launch: the firm price, coupled with a broad area demarcation. With the City Pass you can travel by bus and tram throughout Flanders. For the time being, the City Pass is still only for sale at the counters of the NMBS and is delivered on a MOBIB card. You can then also renew via the NMBS website. “It is a pity that De Lijn has not yet succeeded in offering this subscription itself after more than three years. However, it was promised that from 2019 the subscription would also be available at De Lijn.”
The Brupass and the Brupass XL in the Brussels area and the immediate vicinity prove that the formula does not have to be depreciated, which appears to be successful from the requested figures. Brouwers hopes that work will still be done to make the City Pass a success.
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