Floya: entire Brussels multimodal mobility offer in one app

The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB and Brussels Mobility have launched the new multimodal app, Floya. Now available in the app stores, the app brings together information on the entire mobility offer in Brussels on one platform.

Users can thus see all possible travel options at a glance. According to MIVB/STIB, the app Evident/Trafi developed is the first multimodal app for the public in Belgium. “For greater ease of use, efficiency, and flexibility, anytime and anywhere, Floya takes public transport in Brussels to the next level,” says MIVB/STIB CEO Brieuc de Meeûs.

Real-time information

Like other Mobility as a Service (MaaS) applications already available in other countries, notably in Berlin, Germany, users will find data from public and private companies in the Floya app. From De Lijn and NMBS/SNCB, to Dott, Villo!, Cambio, and soon Bolt. The app provides real-time information about travel on foot, by bike, e-scooter, bus, tram, metro, train, shared car, and taxi.

Based on the chosen mode of transport, the user gets an overview of availability, timetables, upcoming departure times, traffic disruption, battery level, and so on.

Evolutionary

“In addition, you can also pay for tickets or book shared e-scooters, bikes, or cars in the app,” says de Meeûs. “Moreover, the app is evolutionary. We will add new mobility services and functions.”

In this way, Floya also makes the mobility offer more accessible and visible because that is not always obvious, according to Brussels Minister for Mobility Elke Van den Brandt (Groen). “Unknown is unloved. Those who do not know what alternatives there are will not use them. Floya shows us the way.”

The Floya app does not replace the existing MIVB/STIB app. With over 1,3 million downloads and 350 000 active users per month, this application remains active as usual. Floya complements it.

The word Floya evokes a sense of freedom of movement, the freedom to get around independently and efficiently. It is based on the Norwegian word Fløy, meaning wing.

The colors and logo refer to MIVB/STIB and the Brussels Region, while the logo represents the 19 communes of the capital.

Target of 24 000 users per month

In 2020, the Brussels Capital Region commissioned MIVB/STIB to develop Mobility as a Service (MaaS), a system – of which Floya is thus a part – to persuade car drivers to reduce the use of their private cars.

“The goal is to reach 25 000 active users per month by the end of 2024,” says de Meeûs.

During Mobility Week, from 16 to 22 September, Brussels Mobility will introduce Floya to the public. Brussels residents can discover the app via the ‘Mobility Hubs’ and in the ‘Mobility Village’ on Car Free Sunday, on 17 September.

You still need to have the specific app of other operators on your smartphone to book a vehicle or bike, for example. Still, the intention is that in the future, only one purchase phase will be needed for the entire journey, even if it involves several operators.