Stib fares rising much faster than inflation, report finds

Public transport costs in Brussels have risen more than twice as fast as inflation over the past decade, according to a new study by far-left party PTB.

The report shows that if the Stib was to have kept pace with inflation, the cost of an annual season ticket today would amount to €405 per year instead of €499. A one-journey ticket would cost €1.66 instead of €2.10, and a 10-journey card would cost €10.25, not €14.

PTB’s study goes on to show that the price of an MTB season ticket (giving access to Stib, TEC, De Lijn and SNCB in the Brussels-Capital region) has increased by 115.13% from 1994 to 2016, while the average income only increased by 44.26% in that same period.

To conclude the report, PTB cites a 36.9% growth in average travel prices between 2004 and 2012 while the average income only increased by 15.7%.

Stib rates have been frozen by the Brussels government for the past two years - but PTB believes in widespread free public transport, which PTB researchers Astrid De Witte and Cathy Macharis say would "have the potential to attract 52% of motorists to stop using their cars".