The most affected floods can travel free on public transport for two months | interior

The free ticket is an initiative of the carriers NMBS, De Lijn, TEC and STIB, in consultation with the Federal, Flemish, Walloon and Brussels Mobility Ministers and Flemish Interior Minister Bart Sommers (Open Vld). The companies say they are aware of the mobility problems after the floods “especially at the start of the school year”. “We hope to restore freedom and mobility to those who need it most,” Federal Mobility Minister George Gilkennett (Ecolo) said.

Free tickets are available from August 25 and will be valid until October 31, 2021 on all NMBS, De Lijn, TEC and STIB networks. Eligible persons must submit an application to the Municipal Council, who will decide the award and will also issue the free ticket.

In Wallonia, residents of 202 municipalities will be able to apply for a free ticket. These are the municipalities where the flood has been recognized as a disaster. In Flanders, recognition proceedings are still in progress. Therefore, there is no list of municipalities whose residents are entitled. If you want to use the metro in Brussels with a free ticket, you will first have to pass through the STIB counter.

There are a number of criteria that precede the award of the card. For example, the applicant must live in a flood-damaged municipality. In addition, his home must be declared uninhabitable or his means of transportation (car, motorbike, bicycle) must be unusable due to inclement weather.

The carriers also state that anyone who no longer has a usable MOBIB due to a flood can get a new pass for free, containing the season pass or the tracks that were on the previous card. This can be done by visiting the point of sale of the company where the card was purchased.