Belgian public transport operators jointly quit X

Belgian public transport companies De Lijn, SNCB and Stib have jointly left the social networking site X (formerly Twitter). Walloon transport company TEC already left X on 12 March.

The three remaining companies announced their departure in unison in a series of joint posts on Wednesday.

“We are leaving X – this communication channel is no longer in line with the values of SNCB,” the railway company posted.

“End of the line: we will no longer be active on X (Twitter),” Flemish transport company De Lijn posted.

“We are leaving X/Twitter,” was the message from Brussels transit company Stib.

The three transport companies said that they would continue their communication through their other existing channels in order to better serve their passengers.

Far-right political party Vlaams Belang criticised the decision, saying it had "no sympathy" and that "the focus should be on public transport and clear communication".

But many members of the agencies’ target audience have already left – X has been bleeding users by the hundreds of thousands ever since Elon Musk took over the platform.

Criticism of Musk has only been mounting in recent months, and the Belgian transport operators' decision is part of a broader movement, with several NGOs, associations and media outlets having already decided to leave the social network.