Seniors account for more than 1.2 million free passes, and people with a disability for nearly 150,000. Schoolchildren from a family already paying for two fullprice subscriptions received just over 22,550 free passes; 14,187 unemployed people following a recognised training course get free passes; and there are just over 3,800 free passes for journalists and war veterans. In addition, nearly 30,000 people turned in their car number plates in exchange for a free De Lijn pass.

A spokesman for mobility minister Hilde Crevits said that negotiations over future policy for De Lijn were currently under way, and it would be the end of the year before it was known whether the system would change. De Lijn receives 85% of its income – about €1 billion a year – from the Flemish government. Each resident of Flanders pays an average of €120 in tax to keep the system running.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, more than one in three annual passes with the transport authority MIVB is free – 220,000 out of a total of 630,000. Half of those are held by seniors over 65, with the rest made up of children under 12, those on benefits, police officers, municipal councillors and members of the various parliaments. Those who gave up the company car in exchange for a public transport pass total 1,600.