Antwerp ‘Modal selfie’ helps to choose better mobility solutions

The Antwerp civil platform Ringland has developed an online tool for citizens to analyze and improve their mobility behavior. The so-called ‘modal selfie’ is intended to discourage the use of the car and increase the use of alternative transport. But the first thing people need for a modal shift is a mental shift. After all, every trip is an individual choice.
On the website www.modalselfie.be, you’re invited to register yourtrips of the last week and indicate the means of transport you used. The tool then calculates your personal modal split: the relation between the number of trips by (your own) car, on the one hand, and alternative modes, on the other. It analyzes whether you could travel more sutainably.
Question your travel behavior
The website forces people to questions their travel behavior. Cycling, for instance, has more advantages than expected. It is cheap and a bike doesn’t take much space in the city. It’s a social and flexible means of transport.
Public transport offers a relatively cheap, safe, and flexible way of traveling. In the meantime, you can read a book, play a game, or just take a nap. You can choose the quickest way to travel or combine several means of tansport like train, bus, subway, or – sometimes – even waterbus or watertaxi.
When it comes to the car, you can use your own car, of course, but why not considering car sharing? After all, a car is expensive, more expensive than we think, standing still 95% of the time, and claims a lot of space in the city.
Modal split
In the second phase, youcan improve your modal split by using the car less often. You can choose any other transport mode, and the tool will calculate the impact of it on your modal shift. The website also provides tips and examples of how to make more sustainable choices.
The ‘modal selfie’ was developed in the context of the Zorro project (ZuidOostRand Route-Overleg) in Antwerp, supported by Flemish authorities, and it is meant for universal use. People making responsible mobility choices contribute to a better society. Thanks to their well-considered decisions, traffic flow, safety, air quality and livability in the city improve.