Hasselt Celebrates 10 Years of Free Public Transport

HASSELT, Belgium, June 29 /PRNewswire/ --     It will have been exactly 10 years ago on 1 July 2007 that Hasselt,
Belgium got worldwide media attention for a very ambitious project: free
public transport. From the very first day up until today, it remains a
success story.

Before

The new city council of 1995 realised that public transport was a major
problem. There were only eight city buses and two lines in Hasselt before 1
July 1997, which covered about 500,000 km a year and only transported 360,000
passengers in 1996. After the renovation of the ring road around the city,
turning it into a pedestrian-friendly and tree-clad 'Groene Boulevard', the
city council presented an ambitious project to transport company De Lijn.
With the words 'Hasselt zal nooit meer hetzelfde zijn' ('Hasselt will never
be the same'), the former mayor and later minister Steve Stevaert launched
free buses on 1 July 1997.

After

The project was an instant success. Until 30 June 1997, there was an
average of 1,000 bus passengers a day in Hasselt. Today, the average is
12,600 passengers a day. There are now 46 city buses on nine lines, including
a boulevard shuttle and a city centre shuttle. Two nightlines run at night.
Altogether, these city buses cover 2,258,638 km in a year. All this benefits
mobility in Hasselt. However, there is also a social benefit. Visits to
hospitals have increased significantly. Free public transport is here to stay
in Hasselt.

Celebration

On Saturday, 30 June around 2 pm, the 35 millionth bus passenger will get
off at the Grote Markt bus stop. They will be hailed by Flemish, provincial
and municipal government.

More info at www.hasselt.de and www.delijn.be