The Limburg States agree to partly free public transport for minimum income earners

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L1mburg

NOS News•today, 10:36 PM

A large majority of the Provincial Council in Limburg has approved a plan to allow people with a low income to travel free on regional public transport during off-peak hours.

The province wants to finance a subscription that allows residents to travel freely during off-peak hours on the trains and buses of Arriva, the regional carrier in Limburg. “This creates a social perspective for the user to experience a better quality of life. Moreover, it supports the user in terms of social security,” according to the province.

The scheme is intended for Limburgers with an income of 100 percent of the social minimum, just under 1,500 euros gross per month. The province estimates that this concerns around 60,000 inhabitants, reports L1 News.

The municipalities have been asked to identify exactly which residents are eligible for the subscription. It is up to the municipalities to determine how and when they do this, according to the province. They can also add money themselves to provide people who have slightly more income with the subscription.

It is therefore not yet clear when people can make use of the scheme. The province expects that it will take months before municipalities have identified their eligible residents.

The scheme costs Limburg up to 4.5 million euros per year. The province wants to finance the plan with money made available by the government last September. At the insistence of the House of Representatives, the outgoing cabinet had allocated an additional €300 million to prevent “further impoverishment of regional public transport due to the loss of stops and bus lines”.

This afternoon, almost all parties agreed to the proposal. Only coalition party VVD and opposition parties JA21 and 50Plus were against. For example, during the debate the VVD wondered whether the scheme was the correct use of the money made available by the government and whether the money could not be spent better.

In addition, several parties doubted whether the province is sure of the government money. For example, the precise conditions of the government fund of 300 million euros are not yet known and nothing from the fund has yet been transferred to the provinces.

According to responsible deputy Jasper Kuntzelaers (PvdA), the government has already indicated that the money will be available. “The State Secretary has confirmed in a letter that the money will be made available,” he said during the debate this afternoon.

It only needs to be transferred and the deputy thinks this will happen soon. Moreover, according to Kuntzelaers, the province’s plan meets the cabinet’s requirements for the expenditure of the money.