Brussels public transport tickets: what to buy in 2026

Brussels · metro, tram and bus ticketsUpdated November 2026€2.40 a journey · €8.50 daily cap by contactless

Don't buy a ticket at all if you have a contactless card. Tap it on the grey validator each time you board a Brussels tram or bus or enter a metro station, and STIB charges €2.40 a journey and no more than €8.50 a day. Only three situations call for something else: leaving the airport by bus, paying for several people on one phone, and taking local trains.

STIB (MIVB in Dutch) runs the metro, trams and buses, and its prices rose on 1 February 2026. Older guides, including earlier ones on this site, quote a €7.50 or €8 day pass and call it JUMP, a name that no longer appears in the fare list. Every figure below comes from the Brussels fares decree, STIB's ticket terms dated 18 May 2026, or its website, all checked in November 2026.

How much does a ticket cost on the Brussels metro, tram and bus?

A single journey on the STIB network costs €2.40 by contactless and €2.90 on paper, with the same price for metro, tram and bus. There are no zones within the STIB network, so a long ride to the Atomium costs the same as one stop.

Contactless wins for one person, and the arithmetic is simple: three journeys cost €7.20, and a fourth costs only €1.30 more before the cap applies. The paper day ticket at €9.00 now costs more than the cap, so it only makes sense without a suitable card. Children under six travel free with someone aged 12 or over.

How does contactless payment work on STIB?

Contactless on STIB means tapping the same card or device on a grey validator at the start of every journey and at every change. A green light, a beep and "OK" on the screen confirm it, and you don't enter a PIN or tap out when you leave.

1. Pick one payment method and keep to it. The cap only works if you use the same card or device. A phone and the physical card behind it can count as two, so don't switch between them. STIB's page lists Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Wallet, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay.
2. Tap at metro gates or at the station entrance. Some stations have no turnstiles, so look for the validators by the entrance. Walking past them still leaves you without a valid ticket.
3. Tap again on every tram or bus, even when you are only changing. Within the first hour, that second tap is free.
4. Show the same card or device to an inspector. That is the proof of payment, so keep your phone charged if it is your ticket.

The connection rule is more generous than "60 minutes" suggests. Under STIB's transport rules, your last connection must be validated within the first hour, and the whole journey can then last up to two hours. You could change onto a tram at minute 55 and ride it to the end of the line.

When is the Brupass 10-journey ticket worth it?

The Brupass 10-journey ticket is worth it when two or more people share a trip, because each journey costs €1.89 and one phone can activate tickets for everyone. STIB's rules are clear that one bank card can pay for only one passenger, so a couple without two contactless cards needs another route anyway.

Take the app if you are comfortable with its extra steps, since it saves €5.10 here. You activate one journey per person and choose the network, scan a separate QR code for each traveller at the yellow gate scanner on the way in and out, then use "Make a connection" for each person when you change. Don't screenshot the code, as it is dynamic.

Skip the MOBIB card on a first short visit, because its fee wipes out the saving on the first ten journeys. It starts to pay on a second pack, or if you come back within its five-year life. The card is anonymous, so you can lend it, and tapping it several times on a red validator pays for several people. I couldn't confirm whether the app installs and accepts payment from every foreign app store, so test it before you fly.

Brupass is also the simple answer if your route needs a local train, for example between Midi and Luxembourg station. Contactless covers STIB only, while Brupass includes second-class SNCB trains inside the Brussels region. For trains beyond the region, you need an SNCB ticket, which the Belgian train guide explains.

Which ticket do you need for Brussels Airport?

From the airport into the city, bus 12 needs the Airport2City fare of €7.90 by contactless or MOBIB, or €8.40 on paper. Your tap on the bus charges it automatically. Going the other way, towards the airport, any normal STIB ticket is valid, so the same ride costs €2.40.

Brupass, paper day tickets and the daily maximum all exclude journeys leaving the airport. So a day that starts at the airport can cost up to €16.40 in STIB fares: €7.90 for the bus plus €8.50 for the rest of the day, as I read the terms.

Bus 12 links with metro lines 1 and 5 at Schuman and lines 2 and 6 at Trône. Brussels Airport puts the trip at about 30 minutes. I found no STIB page giving the frequency or evening timetable, and third-party pages disagree, with some sending late passengers to a different line. Check the STIB journey planner if you land after about 20:00.

Choose the bus if your hotel is near the European Quarter or Trône. For Brussels-Central or Midi, the train is more direct, at about 18 minutes to Central according to the airport. SNCB adds a €6.90 airport supplement, often already in the ticket price, and the first-day arrival guide covers the rest of that journey.

Do you need a ticket every day in the city centre?

No. Most sights around the Grand-Place, Sablon and Place Royale are within walking distance of each other, so a central day may need no ticket at all. Pay only when you leave the centre, for places such as the Atomium, the Horta Museum area or Tervuren.

That also makes the Brussels Card's transport add-on a poor buy for most people. When we checked on 5 November, the add-on cost €9 for 24 hours, €16.95 for 48 and €21.50 for 72. Against contactless, that is more than the €8.50 cap for one day, and level with it over two (€17.00). Only 72 hours saves anything, €4 at most, and only if you would hit the cap on all three days. If the museums justify the card, its break-even test is the place to start, but note that its April prices are out of date.

What happens late at night?

Regular service runs from around 06:00 to midnight, and the Noctis night buses take over on Friday and Saturday nights only. Eleven lines leave from Brussels-Central station between midnight and 03:00, every 20 to 30 minutes. They cost the normal €2.40 with no night surcharge.

STIB defines a "day" for the cap as running from when the network opens until it closes the next morning, not as a calendar date. So a Noctis bus at 01:00 should count towards the previous day's €8.50 rather than starting a new one. On other nights, check the last metro or tram for your stop before dinner runs long. The only STIB fallback is Collecto, a shared taxi service running from 23:00 to 06:00.

Strikes also happen, and some have come at short notice. Check STIB's site or app the morning you travel, particularly if you have a train or flight to catch.

How much is the fine for not validating?

The standard surcharge for travelling without a valid, validated ticket is €107, rising to €214 for another offence within 24 months, under the fares decree. Using another person's card or a forged ticket costs €408. Forgetting to validate at a connection is treated more lightly: €10 if you pay within 10 working days, and €107 otherwise.

Trams and buses have no gate to stop you, which is why visitors get caught out. If a validator fails, STIB's rules say you must find another way to hold a valid ticket, such as a different card. Don't simply stay on and hope, because the rule puts that on you rather than on the machine.