End of an Era: Belgian's Free Newspaper Metro Ceases Publication After 23 Years

After 23 years, Metro has officially ceased publication. The decline of print advertising, fueled by the rise of social media and online news platforms, coupled with changing news consumption habits and rising production and distribution costs, has made it impossible for the free newspaper to sustain its operations. Metro was initially launched in Belgium in 2000 and was a part of the Belgian media group Rossel . It provided commuters with quick and concise news in collaboration with the public transport companies NMBS-SNCB and STIB-MIVB , with news articles produced by Belga News Agency .

For over two decades, Metro significantly impacted the Belgian media landscape, offering free access to news for all public transport users in Belgium. The absence of this easily accessible news service on trains and subways will be deeply missed, as it provided a significant social benefit of providing free and fact-checked news in a time when fake news and disinformation proliferate on social media.

Belga News Agency has lost a significant client and partner in this venture. Although the news agency is financially equipped to weather such setbacks, we regret being unable to continue collaborating with the freelancers who worked on this project. This marks the end of a beautiful free news service for public transport users. We hope the NMBS-SNCB and STIB-MIVB , the national and regional railway and public transport services will remain motivated to fulfil this crucial role as a free news facilitator. Given their strategic positioning, they are uniquely positioned to offer such a service in the public space. Belga News Agency stands ready to participate in future projects to continue to inform our citizens objectively and counter misinformation.