STIB wants to offer each customer an efficient and pleasant overall mobility experience, by anticipating their expectations and accompanying them at every stage of their journey.
To do this, it ensures the growth and quality of the public transport offer and is at the heart of the development of new mobility services in Brussels.
The satisfaction of STIB passengers increased in 2020. The satisfaction barometer, carried out annually by an independent consultancy, gave STIB an overall score of 7.3/10 (compared with 7.1 in 2019). 81% of respondents gave STIB a score of 7 or more for quality of service in general. This represents a 5% increase in satisfaction compared to 2019.
The improvement in satisfaction with the metro is the most marked. It increased from 7.2 to 7.5/10. But it also increased for trams (7.2 compared to 7.1) and buses (6.7 compared to 6.6).
The top five customer priorities were service frequency comfort, punctuality, connections and journey times. Cleanliness also gained ground among travellers' concerns, increasing from 10th to 8th place. This is a likely consequence of the health crisis.
Among the priorities, the biggest increase in satisfaction was in punctuality (+0.4). Health measures related to the pandemic reduced traffic and congestion. This had an immediate effect on the punctuality and efficiency of aboveground public transport. And therefore on customer satisfaction.
2020 will certainly be remembered as an extraordinary year. The health crisis affected all sectors of activity, including STIB. The pandemic had a major impact on the use of public transport in Brussels. In 2020, STIB recorded 244.2 million journeys. This represents a 42.9% decrease from 2019.
The number of passengers on the STIB network changed during the year, in accordance with the health measures decreed by the government. During the first lockdown, passenger numbers reached a low of 10 to 15% of journeys compared to the normal situation. When lockdown was eased in May, public transport ridership gradually recovered. Since the partial lockdown in October 2020, numbers have stabilised at around 50% for the metro and 60% for aboveground transport. However, the Brussels network remained among the busiest in Europe.
According to the latest annual mobility barometer of HR services company Acerta, almost 50% of workers took public transport to work in Brussels in 2020 (apart from compulsory teleworking periods).
STIB's trams, buses and metros travelled 46.1 million kilometres in 2020. This is a decrease of just over 2 million km compared to 2019.
It is a direct consequence of the pandemic, as STIB had to continually readjust its offer as health measures evolved.
While continuing to serve the Brussels region throughout the year, STIB suspended some services, such as the Noctis network. However, it ensured that essential travel was possible in the best possible comfort and safety conditions. Its policy has been to maintain the maximum offer as much as possible, whatever the demand, according to the means available, in order to offer as many places as possible on board its vehicles.
The capacity of STIB's vehicles is calculated in places/kilometres. Places/kilometres represents the number of available places across all metro trains, trams, and buses, multiplied by the number of kilometres they have travelled. This is a measurement commonly used in the transport sector. This indicator takes account not only of available places, but also of the frequency of the vehicles.
The overall capacity of the STIB network decreased slightly in 2020, as this indicator is directly linked to kilometres travelled, which also decreased. To compensate for this service reduction, STIB nevertheless ensured that its larger capacity vehicles were used on the network as a priority. This explains why the total capacity of the network decreased less than per kilometre production.
66 METRO TRAINS
395 TRAMS
816 BUSES
In this pandemic, the public transport sector was considered by the authorities as essential to the functioning of the country. Public transport operations were therefore maintained throughout the health crisis. In these exceptional circumstances, STIB continuously readapted its offer according to the different phases of lock down and the easing of restrictions, so that it could meet essential travel needs, while guaranteeing the comfort and safety of passengers (respect for social distancing, wearing of masks, cleaning and disinfection of vehicles and stations, etc.).
To allow people to travel to work, do their shopping or help someone else, while respecting the health measures taken by the National Security Council, all STIB staff remained mobilised, embodying one of the company's key values, "Together", and bringing the slogan "STIB, it's all of us" to life every day.
1.6 million PERSONALISED MOBIB CARDS
1.5 million MOBIB BASIC CARDS
To make public transport even more attractive, STIB plans to offer each customer an efficient and pleasant overall mobility experience, by anticipating their expectations and accompanying them at every stage of their journey.
In 2020, this included:
Convincing people that public transport was still a wise choice for travel, even during a health crisis, was achieved through a joint promotional campaign by the four Belgian operators (STIB, TEC, De Lijn and SNCB) and a campaign on cleanliness designed to reassure and raise awareness among passengers.
Among the information channels, the STIB's social media remain very popular with users, as does the Mobile App, which has had several updates and the addition of a feature informing passengers about the level of traffic in STIB vehicles and stations.
In 2020, STIB continued to support local residents, shopkeepers and passengers during its major construction works.
As a partner in city life, STIB usually supports the events that intersperse Brussels life by enhancing its lines and adapting its timetables or routes. It also plays an active role by hosting concerts and artists within its infrastructures. The cancellation of most events due to the health crisis forced STIB to reinvent itself. The Brussels public transport company wants to be a partner and supporter of the people of Brussels in all circumstances.
The "Voices of Brussels" bus carried messages from the public to their loved ones, directly to the recipients' address on the street. It was an original initiative that won several prizes. The messenger bus was back in service for the end of year celebrations. Called "Voices of Christmas", it broadcast wishes to the people of Brussels on behalf of their loved ones, in the form of Christmas carols.
Just as the population applauded hospital staff every evening, STIB employees sounded their horns and sirens in front of several hospitals as a sign of solidarity.
To mark Mobility Week, STIB celebrated Car-Free Sunday with a virtual tour of the Haren site.
STIB paid tribute to Brussels artist Annie Cordy, who died in September, by broadcasting her songs in metro stations.
