Transport apps
Finding your way around a new public transport system is hard enough without also figuring out which app to trust, and Belgium has more of them than you might expect. The good news is that a handful of official apps cover almost everything you need - buses, trains, bikes and parking - once you know which one does what.
This page lists the essential transport apps for West Flanders and what each one is best used for.
Overview
Most transport apps in Belgium are run by the operator itself rather than a single all-in-one platform, so you'll likely end up with two or three apps rather than just one. Which ones you need depends on how you get around day to day - by bus and tram, by train, by bike, or by car.
Public transport apps
- De Lijn app - buy bus and tram tickets, check real-time departures, and plan routes across Flanders. Also where you manage a Buzzy Pazz or Omnipas travel pass, if you have one.
- NMBS/SNCB app - buy train tickets, check platforms and delays, and plan journeys between cities.
Route planning apps
- Google Maps - shows combined public transport routes, including De Lijn and NMBS/SNCB times, and works well for one-off journeys where you don't want to open a separate app.
- Moovit - similar to Google Maps for route planning, with live delay information across many European cities, including Belgium.
Other useful apps
Car insurance in Belgium comes down to a few essentials:
- Blue-bike app - rent a shared bike at train stations for the last leg of your journey. See our Bikes page for more on how this works.
- 4411 or Parkmobile - pay for on-street parking by phone instead of a ticket machine, common across West Flanders towns.
- Ride-hailing apps such as Uber have little to no presence in West Flanders - for taxis here, a local operator is usually your best bet. See our Airports and taxis page.
Good to know: download the De Lijn and NMBS/SNCB apps and set up payment before you need them for the first time. Creating an account at the bus stop, with a bus waiting, is not the moment to do it.
Sources
- Mobility — belgium.be
- De Lijn — delijn.be
- SNCB / NMBS — belgiantrain.be
