Faced with severe cuts to the budget of the Flemish public transport operator De Lijn, Belgian ETF affiliates ACV Openbare Diensten, ACOD and BTB have joined with civil society groups to demand that the Flemish government changes course.
Despite promises in the coalition agreement that De Lijn’s operating budget would increase annually from 2026 onwards, the Flemish government has imposed annual cuts of over €35 million euros. This drastic cut has been done without dialogue with workers’ or passengers’ representatives, and without taking Flanders’ own climate commitments.
These cuts are not merely abstract budget lines. They will result in concrete consequences for ordinary citizens: fewer trips, less reliability, and increased transport poverty. The result will be a mobility system that is increasingly less accessible for students, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Further cuts mean even less money for improving the conditions of public transport workers, who are already facing severe pressures linked to understaffing, long working hours, and violence.
Together with passenger organisations, local municipalities, environmental groups, and anti-poverty organisations, public transport unions have urged the Flemish Minister of Mobility to enter into an urgent consultation with all stakeholders, and ensure that public transport fulfils its role as an essential public service, rather than a last safety net for those who truly have no other option.
Similarly in Germany, unions joined forces with social and environmental associations ahead of the Conference of Federal and State Transport Ministers on the 25th and 26th of March to demand the introduction of a binding right to mobility.
ETF affiliate ver.di, alongside the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), manufacturing union IG Metal and many civil society organisations, makes up the “Alliance for a Socially Responsible Mobility Transition”. This alliance represents tens of millions of people in Germany, showing that there is broad social support for a comprehensive mobility transition that prioritises social inclusion, environmental protection, and the promotion of high-quality jobs.
In calling for a binding right to mobility, the Alliance underlines that public transport services must be expanded and the wages and working conditions for public transport workers must also be improved. The Alliance calls for reliable and long-term financing for public transport budgets, which are currently under pressure from rising costs and budget cuts. The Federal Government, State Governments and municipalities must work together to provide access to attractive and climate-friendly mobility for all.
With fuel prices massively increasing due to the war in the Middle East, the need for more public transport services and better public transport jobs has never been so powerful. The International Energy Agency recently encouraged governments to promote public transport to reduce oil consumption. These two examples demonstrate that significant support exists for the required massive expansion of public transport. At regional, national and European level, unions and civil society organisations are coming together to push for a fair mobility transition.
