Launch of the Flex Season Ticket for flexible commuting

Starting March 23, 2023, commuters can take advantage of a new flexible subscription formula that addresses the increasing importance of telecommuting. With more people working from home, the need for transport tickets allowing flexible travel to the workplace a few days a week has become crucial. The various variants of the Flex Season Ticket will be rolled out in multiple phases in a structured manner.

Teleworking is now firmly established in the working habits of most commuters, and the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this process. The SNCB wants to make the train even more attractive to teleworkers by offering personalised products. A majority of teleworkers travel to their place of work on average 2 to 3 days a week: the new subscription formula is therefore geared towards this segment of passengers.

SNCB is aiming to increase its total passenger numbers by 30% over the next ten years. Given the growing importance of teleworking, it is therefore essential to offer flexible products to commuters to support these growth ambitions.

In 2021, the SNCB initiated a pilot project involving 20 private and public sector companies and institutions. The Flex Season Ticket was offered to employees through their employers. The successful pilot phase provided crucial insights into the changing commuting habits of travelers.

The new Flex Season Ticket will gradually expand to individuals and all other companies and institutions in the public and private sectors starting March 23, in multiple phases. It is an exclusively digital product, available only through the application.

In the initial phase (starting March 23), individuals who typically opt for a monthly subscription can purchase a Flex Season Ticket for 10 days of travel (Flex Season Ticket 10) via their smartphone. The subscription can be linked to an SNCB parking subscription (at the passenger rate). In a later phase, it will also be possible to link it to a TEC, STIB, or De Lijn subscription. In the second phase (starting late April), companies and institutions with an existing third-party payment arrangement with the SNCB for their employees' subscriptions can offer a Flex Season Ticket to them. The customer can choose a subscription that allows commuting for either 80 or 120 days over a 12-month period, or for 6 or 10 days over a one-month period. The subscription can be combined with a TEC, STIB, or De Lijn subscription, as well as an SNCB parking subscription (at the passenger rate).

The traveler selects their travel days during the subscription period between the two predetermined stations. They activate their Flex Season Ticket at the beginning of each travel day via the application before boarding the train. The subscription is then scanned by the train attendant using a QR code.

Customers can, of course, continue to choose from the existing range of subscriptions, enriched by the addition of the Flex Season Ticket. A comparative tool allows travelers to select the most advantageous subscription based on their needs (full-time or flexible subscription).

The Flex Season Ticket offers travelers a flexible subscription formula tailored to their new home-work commuting habits; an exclusively digital, intuitive, and user-friendly product.