Overview
- EBS has told the three contracting provinces it is in serious financial trouble and is asking them to share the mounting costs of running the IJssel-Vecht concession.
- Flevoland, Overijssel and Gelderland confirm they are in talks to ‘borg’ service continuity and warn that bus services could come under pressure if no agreement is reached.
- The financial strain follows persistent operational problems since EBS began the concession in December 2022, including driver shortages and schedule cuts that led to fines of €3.5 million in 2024 and further penalties in 2025.
- Drivers have reported recurring faults with the fleet of BYD electric buses, citing fast-draining batteries, defective air conditioning and noisy or shaky vehicles that have worsened reliability and passenger tensions.
- If provinces do not provide extra support the options include short-term funding, contract remedies or eventually re-tendering the concession, measures that would directly affect commuters across Flevoland, Overijssel and Gelderland.