STIB: increase at the beginning of the new school year, what impact for employers?

Author Laurence Philippe - Alexia Buyl  (Legal Experts)
Read time 3min
Last updated 03/09/2024 - 07:27

On 1st September 2024, STIB fares will increase. This increase is therefore likely to have an impact on you if your employees use the STIB network for their commuting.

Basic principle

As an employer, you are required to contribute to the travel costs of your employees who get to work by public transport (tram, bus, metro or river bus).

Since July 2020, reimbursement for the use of public transport has been due from the 1st kilometre onwards. 

A distinction must be made according to how public transport fares are defined:

  • If the price of transport is proportional to the distance, the amount is equal to the employer's contribution to the cost price of the rail season ticket (CLA n° 19/11) but may not exceed 75% of the real transport price.

This means that the employer's contribution to the price of the rail season ticket must be compared with the actual price of transport at 75%.

If the amount of the contribution in the rail season ticket is greater than 75% of the real cost of transport, the employer's contribution can be limited to 75% of the real cost of transport.

On the other hand, if the amount of the contribution in the rail season ticket is lower than 75% of the real cost of transport, the employer's contribution will be limited to the amount of the train season ticket.

  • If the price of the transport is fixed, regardless of the distance, the employer's contribution is a lump sum equal to 71.8% of the real price paid by the employee, without however exceeding the employer's contribution in the price of the rail season ticket for a distance of 7km, i.e. €43/month (since 01/06/2024).

New STIB fares

The indexation of STIB fares therefore means that the real cost for your employee increases if he or she travels on this network. From 1st September: 

  • The monthly ticket increases from €49 to €52;
  • The annual season ticket increases from €499 to €520.

Your intervention

As the price of the STIB season ticket is fixed regardless of the distance actually travelled by your worker, your contribution is determined on the basis of the actual price of the season ticket. 

For a monthly ticket, the contribution is currently 71.8% of €49, i.e. €35.18.

When your worker renews his subscription at the new rate, the monthly contribution will be 71.8% of €52, i.e. €37.34. 

For an annual season ticket, it's the same principle. A worker who has just renewed his annual season ticket will only feel the increase when he renews the ticket. Your intervention will then increase from €358.28 to €373.36.

Attention! Many sectors provide for more advantageous interventions for workers. 

Partena Professional's sector information allows you to take note of the sector provisions specific to your joint committee.

Source: Decree of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region of 4 July 2024 on the prices of passenger transport on the urban and regional transport network of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgian Official Gazette of 24/07/2024.

Author: Alexia Buyl and Laurence Philippe

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