Bye Bye Childhood - Hellooooo independence.
De Lijn, the Flemish public transport company, has announced the start of their annual trial campaign, specifically aimed at twelve-year-olds entering secondary education. This campaign, which was created to support young students in their first steps towards independence, offers them a free monthly subscription for September 2024. This initiative is not only an incentive for students to use public transport, but contributes also contributes to Flanders' sustainability objectives.
De Lijn has set up various promotional strategies for this campaign. First of all, press releases are distributed and the communication channels of cities and municipalities are used to spread the message. In addition, De Lijn collaborates with all primary schools in Flanders. They play a crucial role in informing students and parents about the availability and benefits of the trial subscription.
According to the Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works, this is “an ideal action to discover the range of De Lijn and to encourage young people to use public transport in their further school career and beyond.”
Ann Schoubs, director general of De Lijn, emphasizes the importance of this transition period: “The transition to first secondary school is a big step for many young people. It is often also the moment when they have to decide again about their transportation to school. With our trial campaign we want to introduce first-year students to public transport in Flanders and the benefits of a Buzzy Pazz, the subscription for young people.”
De in action is a direct response to last year's positive results, which showed that 1 in 10 students took advantage of the free subscription offer. Of this group, 68% actively used the subscription and 56% decided to purchase a Buzzy Pazz annual subscription after the trial period.
Parents are invited to register their children via the De Lijn website before August 13, 2024, after which the season tickets will be provided on an electronic card. These are valid from September 1 to 30, 2024. At the end of September, parents will receive a second mailing in which they are encouraged to purchase an annual subscription, valid from October.
This initiative not only responds to the need of young people to explore their independence, it also reduces the need for parents to act as a taxi. With such initiatives, De Lijn proves that it is not just about transporting passengers, but also about supporting the community in a broader sense.
The line
De Lijn is the Flemish government company that provides public transport by bus and tram in Flanders. Approximately 3,5 million people use De Lijn's services one or more times a year. The transport company receives a grant for its operation from the Flemish Region, the main shareholder. The sale of tickets is the second source of income.
The De Lijn network has approximately 1 lines and 000 stops. All together, the buses and trams travel more than 16 million kilometers per year. The company's own fleet consists of 000 buses and 200 trams. The private companies that operate on behalf of De Lijn also have buses themselves. They account for approximately half of the bus kilometers.
With almost 8 employees, De Lijn is one of the country's major employers. The private operators employ more than 000 people. As the main shareholder of bicycle sharing, Blue-bike, De Lijn promotes and supports combined mobility. Travelers can combine a bus or tram ride with a shared bicycle for the last part of their journey.
