Improvements to mobility

21 March 2007

BRUSSELS – Walloon Minister for Transport André Antoine and his colleague for Home Affairs Philippe Courard launched a pilot project on Wednesday to increase transportation company TEC’s service in rural areas, especially those that are sparsely populated.

Minister Antoine wants to offer bus service for interested municipalities at no charge to the town. Nor will the municipalities have to pay for the major maintenance to the vehicles. Minister Courard is willing to finance the drivers from the Home Affairs budget; this will require about EUR 20,000 per driver.

“Twenty municipalities will be selected on the basis of concrete proposals,” Philippe Courard explained. The plans should show that buses will run regularly and be coordinated with activities within the community.

The buses are not intended specifically for the transport of schoolchildren or scouts. They should be used to get people involved in society, by bringing them to the gym, the weekly market, or the town hall. Furthermore the bus tickets should be inexpensive for residents.

Antoine and Courard have called on municipalities to sign up for the project. Twenty buses will be made available, though an exact start date has not yet been set.

Subject: Belgian news