Flemish Government Scraps Planned Student Transport Cuts

The Flemish government has averted a looming crisis in student transportation by scrapping planned budget cuts that would have eliminated over 200 bus routes for special education students. Minister-President Matthias Diependaele announced on June 19 that the government will provide €150 million to De Lijn, the regional public transport company, ensuring all routes continue without disruption for the next two school years.

The decision caps four days of intense political turmoil that began when De Lijn announced plans to cut 204 of its 2,155 bus routes serving special education schools — roughly 10 percent of all routes. The cuts were driven by Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder’s insistence that De Lijn operate within its €139 million budget, despite the company having spent €150 million on student transport in the current year.

Background and Escalation

The crisis unfolded rapidly. On June 16, De Lijn confirmed it would cut routes starting in September, sparking immediate backlash from schools, parents, and opposition parties. The following day, a heated parliamentary debate saw the Flemish government face widespread criticism, with opposition leaders condemning the proposed cuts as targeting the most vulnerable children.

“Saving on bus transport for the weakest children, how do you come up with that?” asked PVDA parliamentary leader Jos D’Haese during the debate. Jasper Pillen of the Anders party declared that “Flanders is disgusted” by the government’s handling of the situation.

The controversy was particularly sensitive coming just weeks after a tragic school bus accident in Buggenhout on May 26 that killed four people, which had already raised public concerns about student transport safety.

The Resolution

By June 19, Minister-President Diependaele had taken personal control of the dossier. After a meeting of the Flemish ministerial council, he announced that the government would provide the full €150 million requested by De Lijn, with the additional €11 million above the original budget being compensated from the Education and Economic Affairs departments.

“We are not winning a beauty contest here,” Diependaele acknowledged, “but the most important thing is that we have a solution for those young people and their parents.”

According to HLN, the resolution represents a significant political setback for Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder, who was overruled by her own party leader. De Ridder had maintained as recently as the previous day that the €139 million budget was a firm agreement within the government.

Long-Term Reform

Beyond the immediate fix, Diependaele announced a structural reform of student transport. Responsibility will shift from the Mobility department to Education by the 2028-2029 school year, a move the minister-president said would better align the service with the needs of the most vulnerable students.

Education Minister Zuhal Demir, also from the N-VA party, had previously expressed reluctance to take on the portfolio, warning that “you don’t solve the problem by shifting it from one minister to another.” She emphasized that any lasting solution would require coordination across the Education, Welfare, and Mobility departments.

Political Fallout

The crisis exposed significant tensions within the Flemish coalition government, which includes N-VA, CD&V, and Vooruit. Coalition partners CD&V and Vooruit had openly opposed the cuts, with Welfare Minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) calling the planned route reductions “a very bad idea.”

CD&V parliamentarian An Christiaens welcomed the resolution, saying she was “relieved that the cold saving is going into the trash bin,” but stressed the situation was “not to be repeated.”

What’s Next

While the immediate crisis has been resolved, questions remain about the long-term sustainability of the student transport system. The two-year funding bridge provides time for reform, but the details of the planned overhaul remain unclear. De Lijn will continue operating all routes for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 school years while the government develops a comprehensive reform plan.

As De Morgen noted, the episode has weakened De Ridder’s position within the government while strengthening Diependaele’s authority as a decisive leader willing to intervene in politically sensitive dossiers. Whether the two-year reprieve proves sufficient to build a more sustainable system — and whether the political will holds — remains to be seen.