Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company
Encyclopedia
The Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company (French
: Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles or STIB; Dutch
: Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel or MIVB) is the local public transport operator in Brussels
, Belgium
. It is usually referred to as the STIB in English.
It is responsible for the Brussels metro
, Brussels trams
and Brussels buses
and for links with De Lijn
services in Flanders and TEC
services in Wallonia.
Founded in 1954, the STIB currently operates a network of 6 metro lines of (39 km), 15 tram lines (128.3 km) and 51 bus routes (348.8 km). It covers the 19 communes of the Brussels Capital Region and some surface routes extend to the near suburbs in the other Belgian regions. There are about 277 million passengers a year, so about 760,000 a day.
Typical tickets are valid for 1 hour of travel on the network; these can be purchased in groups of 10 at a discount. Period season tickets are also available.
As of 1991, the STIB had a farebox recovery ratio
of 28%. In 2009, following annual increases of 1.56% in passenger journeys and 2.4% in direct revenue, fares are covering 54.8% of operating costs.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Société des Transports Intercommunaux de Bruxelles or STIB; Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
: Maatschappij voor het Intercommunaal Vervoer te Brussel or MIVB) is the local public transport operator in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It is usually referred to as the STIB in English.
It is responsible for the Brussels metro
Brussels Metro
The Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of a network with four metro line services with some shared sections. The metro has 49.9 km of network and 59 stations...
, Brussels trams
Brussels trams
The Brussels tram system is one of the ten largest in the world, carrying some 75.6 million passengers in 2009. Its development demonstrates many of the quandaries that face local public transport planners...
and Brussels buses
Brussels buses
The Brussels buses network is complementary to the rail network in Brussels, Belgium, which is made of trams, metros and trains. Brussels buses are operated by STIB/MIVB, a public transport company...
and for links with De Lijn
De Lijn
Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn , usually known as simply De Lijn , is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation, similar to the way in which Belgian railroads or the postal system is run. It runs about 3650 buses and 359 trams...
services in Flanders and TEC
TEC (transport)
Société Régionale Wallonne du Transport , is responsible for the supervision, strategic planning and marketing of a group of five regional public transport companies branded as TEC or "Transport En Commun" in Wallonia, Belgium. It is primarily a bus operator, but also operates the Charleroi tram...
services in Wallonia.
Founded in 1954, the STIB currently operates a network of 6 metro lines of (39 km), 15 tram lines (128.3 km) and 51 bus routes (348.8 km). It covers the 19 communes of the Brussels Capital Region and some surface routes extend to the near suburbs in the other Belgian regions. There are about 277 million passengers a year, so about 760,000 a day.
Typical tickets are valid for 1 hour of travel on the network; these can be purchased in groups of 10 at a discount. Period season tickets are also available.
As of 1991, the STIB had a farebox recovery ratio
Farebox recovery ratio
The farebox recovery ratio of a passenger transportation system is the proportion of the amount of revenue generated through fares by its paying customers as a fraction of the cost of its total operating expenses....
of 28%. In 2009, following annual increases of 1.56% in passenger journeys and 2.4% in direct revenue, fares are covering 54.8% of operating costs.