Like every year, De Lijn offers an extensive transport network in collaboration with local authorities to bring festival goers to the event safely and easily.
This year the emphasis is on sustainability and road safety, with the province of Limburg, together with 37 municipalities, showing their support for an environmentally friendly festival experience. The result is an efficient and reliable transport system that takes festival goers to and from the festival site in Kiewit, without worrying about traffic jams or parking problems.
De Lijn, the Flemish transport company, is once again using free shuttle buses to transport the thousands of visitors from Hasselt station to the Pukkelpopweide. These buses run continuously throughout the festival days, so visitors can use this service at any time of the day. The shuttle buses are not only free, but also extremely efficient, allowing festival goers to quickly find their way to the heart of the festival without having to worry about tickets.
In addition, this year attention is once again paid to the safety of festival goers after the event. In collaboration with the province of Limburg and 37 participating municipalities, De Lijn is deploying extra night buses. These night buses ensure that visitors can return home safely after an evening full of music, drinks and fun. The initiative is intended to ensure road safety and offer festival customers a reliable alternative to individual transport, which is often associated with risks such as driving under the influence.
The outgoing Flemish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility, Lydia Peeters, emphasizes the importance of this collaboration: “De Lijn is once again providing extra transport during Pukkelpop. The shuttle buses and night buses ensure that festival goers can travel to and from Pukkelpop in a smooth, safe and sustainable way. It is vital that we offer young people a safe and environmentally conscious alternative to their journey to the festival.”
The importance of road safety and sustainability is further underlined by Bert Lambrechts, deputy for mobility in Limburg. He points out that the number of festival goers using the night buses increases every year, which shows that this initiative is a great success. “Last year the night buses transported no fewer than 4.442 revelers home safely, an increase of almost 25% compared to the previous year. This shows that more and more people understand the importance of returning home safely after a night out,” said Lambrechts.
Pukkelpop is a four-day festival organized by the Humanist Youth of Leopoldsburg since 1985. The name of the festival comes from De Pukkel, their childhood home. What started as a small event has now grown into one of the absolute top European music festivals with 66.000 visitors every day.
Frederik Luyten, spokesperson for Pukkelpop, also praises the collaboration with De Lijn. He emphasizes that the free shuttle buses and night buses are an essential part of the festival experience. “The fastest and safest way to the Pukkelpopweide is by public transport or bicycle. Year after year we see that the use of night buses is particularly appreciated by our Limburg festival goers,” says Luyten.
De timetable of the shuttle buses have been carefully coordinated with the festival times, so that visitors do not have to miss a minute of their favorite performances. The buses run from Thursday, August 15 to Monday, August 19 and the last trips always leave at 5 am, so that even those staying late are assured of transport home. On the last day of the festival, Monday, August 19, the buses will run until 15 p.m., so that campers can also leave at their leisure.
The combination of shuttle buses and night buses forms a solid foundation for Pukkelpop's 2024 mobility strategy. It offers a solution that is both safe and environmentally friendly, something that is increasingly important in the current era of climate awareness. By choosing these transport options, visitors not only contribute to their own safety, but also to a cleaner and more sustainable festival experience. This way, music lovers can enjoy their favorite artists, knowing that they can end the night without worries and come home safely.
