Surfergirl

With all the tech changes in city transportation (tap cards, IPhone apps, etc), I have gotten totally confused by all the different instructions in books and on websites on local transportation passes. Could really use help for an upcoming trip to Belgium.

In Brussels, Ghent, and Bruges, I'd love to get the latest information on getting one day passes in each town/city for public transportation (i.e. trams, buses, etc) and where to buy. We're coming into (and leaving) each of the aforementioned places by train. The train part, I have down. I already have the SNCF Connect for the rail travel from France to Belgium. I see there's an STIB-MIVB app for Brussels, and a Brupass, but have no idea how they work, etc.

If anyone could help getting around within the towns mentioned, with instructions, I would be very thankful!

J62

Info from my trip last fall.

the Belgium RR SNCB also has an app. It seems like this is the way things work in Belgium (and the Netherlands): At your departure train station you swipe/tap to get into the station - much like many subway systems, then when you exit at your destination you swipe/tap to leave. Not all stations in Belgium have exit gates - not sure how that's supposed to work on an app as I'd purchesed a paper ticket at a train station kiosk. If you knew there was no exit gate you could theoreically buy a ticket to the cheapest destination. Maybe it's an honor system.

In the Netherlands all of the stations I went to had entry and exit gates.

Sorry, I don't have any info about getting around the towns. From what I gather more and more places are enabling direct pay with apple or google/android pay, potentially doing away with the need for apps period.

hetismij2

Pubic transport in Flanders:
https://www.delijn.be/en/

public transport in Brussels:
https://www.stib-mivb.be/index.htm?l=en

lavandula

In Brussels you can just use your credit card or Apple Pay / Google Pay to tap on on the trams and metro, if you don't buy a ticket. I think each ride is then €2,10, up to a daily maximum price of €7,50. A 10-ride ticket (€16,80) can be good value also, depending on how much you use transport, and can be used by both of you (so tap on twice). You can get a 1-day pass in digital form which can be loaded onto your phone (€8,40), or if you don't want to go through the rigmarole of setting up an account (which you need if you are putting it on your phone) you can buy a MOBIB card (€6, non-refundable, lasts for 5 years) and load two passes on to it, or a 10-ride ticket. You use this for trams, buses and metro but not the train system (I guess you would call this 'heavy rail'). The Brupass 1-day ticket is only good for inner Brussels - if you want to get into the countryside outside Brussels there is another ticket for that.

In Ghent there is actually a De Lijnwinkel (De Lijn shop) at Ghent St-Pieters station. If you don't use an app you can get all your tickets there, and they can be used in Bruges and Antwerp also.

Lavandula

Surfergirl

Exactly the information I was looking for. Thank you!

One more thing . . . where do you pick up the Brupass or the MOBIB card? We'll be coming into Brussels-Midi and heading off on the T3 or T4 to the Bourse station to our hotel.

lavandula

OK, when you get to Brussels-Midi you should find the main concourse. It depends a bit where you get off your train, as sometimes you end up in this smaller corridor, but if that's the case you just go to the left end of the corridor and head for the main concourse. Follow the signs for the metro (the metro entry is near the entrance where the covered road is), and go down one floor. There you will find a small kiosk (I think called a 'Bootik') where you can buy your Mobib card, tickets, etc. Ask for a map of the network as it's easier to read than trying to bring it up on your phone. And if you are going to Midi, you should keep your wits about you and don't take your eyes off your luggage (petty crime, luggage theft, drugs). Late last year the government made moves to 'clean up' the station, you don't have to worry about it but I would still show caution.

​​​Here is a page with a good map:

https://maps-brussels.com/maps-bruss...th-station-map

Lavandula

PS There is a line (I think line 3) that goes straight from Midi to Bourse. It's not the metro, it's what they call a pre-metro (a tram that they are slowly converting to a metro line), but it's where the metro leaves from. Same tickets as for metro. I think it's on the floor below again, below the Bootik.