February 21, 2024
Traffic Safety Institute Vias pleads for the introduction of controls for nitrous oxide – the so-called ‘laughing gas’ – on the road. The drug has gained popularity in recent years, especially among young people. It gives users a buzz similar to that of alcohol and can have a severe influence on one’s driving abilities, so […]
February 21, 2024
Flanders’ Christian Democratic party CD&V wants to phase out the low-emission zones. That is what party chairman Sammy Mahdi said during a debate at the Automotive eMotion Summit in the Skyhall, the former departure hall of Brussels Airport. According to Mahdi, these zones have proven successful in reducing the amount of air pollution. However, diesel […]
February 20, 2024
Researchers from the University of Oxford have discovered that Britain sends more polluting used cars to poorer countries than it does to scrapyards. The study found that legally exported used cars had 53% higher emissions of nitrogen oxides per kilometer – key health-harming air pollutants – than those that were scrapped instead. It also warned […]
February 20, 2024
Brussels Airport has started installing additional solar panels on the roofs of the newest Brucargo buildings, the cargo zone of Zaventem’s airport. The extra panels will cover a surface of 65,000 square meters or roughly the equivalent of nine soccer fields. They must double the share of solar energy in the airport operator’s own energy […]
February 19, 2024
The number of shared cars has increased significantly in the past year. By the end of 2023, Flanders had 4,159 shared cars, or 31.5% more than the year before. Among them are all types of shared cars: free-floating, roundtrip, and individually shared cars. According to the car-sharing website Autodelen.net’s annual report, you can find shared […]
February 16, 2024
Since this Wednesday, February 14th, the Uber application has been available in three large Walloon cities: Liège, Namur, and Mons. Ten years after its establishment in Flanders and Brussels, the American company of independent drivers is expanding its services in the south of the country. However, the service only allows you to book ‘traditional’ taxis. […]
February 15, 2024
According to research by the Dutch mobility organization ANWB and its German sister club ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club), some safety jackets on the Dutch market are unsafe. They hardly reflect any light. And although the jackets are not mandatory in the Netherlands, both organizations sound the alarm. ADAC experts purchased 14 different safety vests online […]
February 15, 2024
Official figures in the UK from the Environment Department (Defra) show that the increase in wood burners in homes and the use of biomass in industry has offset cuts in pollution from cars. Statistics reveal that polluting particulate matter (PM), a variety of small and toxic substances that can enter the bloodstream and severely impact […]
February 14, 2024
The Dutch police have a new weapon against high-speed and high-power electric bicycles. They recently introduced a roadside testing platform to check the speed of mopeds, scooters, and other electric vehicles, such as electric bicycles, speed pedelecs, and fat bikes. The roller test benches also check whether these vehicles comply with the applicable legislation. The […]
February 13, 2024
Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) resolutely opts for more structural measures to address the capacity problems at the technical inspection centers. The most remarkable measure is the extension of the periodicity for passenger cars (vehicle category M11). New vehicles were subject to a yearly inspection from the day they turned four years […]
February 12, 2024
The share of employees with a ‘mobility budget’ has doubled again in 2023, from 0.2% in 2022 to 0.4% in 2023. This means that one in 250 employees now has a mobility budget. With the federal mobility budget, employees exchange their (right to a) company car for a budget to manage their mobility sustainably. “It […]
February 12, 2024
The Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB is developing a new fare range. Consequently, some current tickets with a fixed price – for seniors or youngsters – will no longer be available. Senior organizations fear that train travel will become too expensive for seniors in the future. Today, people over 65 pay a fixed price: 8.30 euros […]
February 09, 2024
The Belgian producer of digital display solutions, Q-lite, will install up to 500 digital bus stop displays for De Lijn throughout Flanders. That is what both companies announced on Thursday. These new digital information screens will replace the old stop devices that have reached the end of their lifespan. Q-lite will produce and install the […]
February 08, 2024
The European Investment Bank will grant Belgian Umicore an eight-year loan of 350 million euros for research. The money is intended for the technological development, innovation, and recycling of batteries for e-cars. In 2022, Umicore invested 316 million euros, or 7,6% of its revenues, in research and development. Umicore’s battery materials technologies, innovation roadmap, and […]
February 07, 2024
According to the plans presented on Tuesday, the European Commission wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. “There’s no other way,” says Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate Action. “The longer the EU waits to take difficult measures, the harder and more expensive it […]
February 07, 2024
Most drivers (98.4%) tested for alcohol during the last winter campaign blew negative. That was the best result since the so-called ‘Bob’ campaigns began in 1995. For comparison, ten years ago, in 2013-2014, 3.2% of drivers were still positive, or twice as many as this year. This winter’s Bob campaign started on Friday, December 1st, […]
February 06, 2024
A young motorist from Ghent (Belgium) has been sentenced to a heavy fine of 1,600 euros for driving his father’s manual BMW while he only had a driver’s license for an automatic car. He also had to hand in his driver’s license for 15 days and take his practical exam. In Belgium, holders of a […]
January 31, 2024
The University of Ghent has appointed Meredith Glaser as an academic expert for more and safer bicycle traffic. Glaser is an internationally respected academic with approximately 15 years of experience in spatial planning, transport, and mobility. She will further specialize in everything related to cycling. Meredith Glaser is originally from the Californian coast but has […]
January 30, 2024
Car sharing is increasingly popular in Louvain. In the last four years, the number of users has increased by 80%. However, Poppy discontinued service after only three months. In the meantime, newcomer BattMobility hopes to fill the gap. BattMobility only offers electric shared cars with a fixed parking space, a significant difference from Poppy’s concept. […]
January 29, 2024
The public prosecutor’s office in Limburg has announced stricter action against mobile phone use behind the wheel. From February 1st, anyone using his mobile phone or other mobile device while driving a motor vehicle will immediately have to hand in his driver’s license for fifteen days, after which a €174 fine will follow. Similar measures […]
January 26, 2024
Venice will install speed cameras for boats along its world-famous canals. The city hopes this measure will limit the speed of motorized boats and ships, make the city safer, and prevent erosion due to high boat waves. Wave motion – ‘moto ondoso’ in Italian – causes erosion of the canal walls below the waterline, damaging […]
January 25, 2024
In 2023, Eurostar’s high-speed trains carried a quarter more passengers. The number of travelers increased in one year from 14,8 million in 2022 to 18,6 million or almost as many as before the coronavirus pandemic – 19 million in 2019. One of the explanations for the success was the high demand for tickets to London, […]
January 24, 2024
The French oil and gas group TotalEnergies has signed a deal with Danish sustainable energy company European Energy for a majority stake in two wind projects. Under the arrangement, TotalEnergies will take an 85% stake in the Jammerland Bugt project (240 MW), and 72,2% in the Lillebaelt South nearshore development (165 MW), both in Danish […]
January 23, 2024
Car manufacturers are making increasingly wider cars. For instance, the 1974 Volkswagen Golf was ‘only’ 1,610 m wide, but the 2019 version measured 1,790 m. Not to mention the Dodge Ram, which is more than two meters wide – 2,085 m, to be precise- overshooting the 1,80 m-wide parking spaces by almost 30 cm. The […]
January 22, 2024
For the first time last year, more electric bicycles were sold in Belgium than regular bicycles. E-bikes now have a market share of 51,2%. However, bicycle sales have decreased. After the top year of 2022, bicycle sales dropped by 12,9%. Still, more than 600 000 units were sold (606 017 to be precise), or more […]
January 18, 2024
Last year, Belgium registered 25 359 new motorcycles, 2,7% more than the previous year. According to the car and two-wheeler federation Febiac, motorcycles are increasingly popular, so registrations and the number of driving licenses issued are growing. For a long time, motorcycles were mainly seen as recreational vehicles. However, today, they’re increasingly popular among commuters. […]
January 16, 2024
Gas station operator Q8 and energy company Storm will build a network of up to 200 fast charging stations in Belgium – about half with a shop or restaurant. That is what both companies announced on Monday. They call it “a unique partnership”. The project represents an investment of up to 250 million euros. Both […]
January 15, 2024
Last year, the Brussels region fined a record number of motorists who entered the Brussels low-emission zone (LEZ) with a car that was too polluting. Almost 30 000 drivers – 29 643 to be precise – were fined, an increase of almost 60% compared to 2022. In 2020, 12 321 fines were issued; in 2021, […]
January 15, 2024
The Dutch energy storage company Giga Storage plans to develop Europe’s largest battery park in Dilsen-Stokkem (Belgium). The 60 MW energy storage project will have a 2 400 MWh capacity. This means that the average energy consumption of 330 000 families can be stored here each day and fed back into the electricity grid. “In […]
January 12, 2024
According to a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), renewable energy production capacity has increased by 50% in the past year. The IEA says the increase is faster than ever in the last thirty years. Due to the rapid growth, there is a real chance that global capacity will triple by 2030. Last […]
January 11, 2024
The students of the Belgian Solar Team, who became world champion in October 2023, are preparing for the SASOL Solar Challenge in South Africa, which will start within eight months. This competition is considered the most extreme in the world. The engineering students from KU Leuven will travel more than 4 000 kilometers over eight […]
January 10, 2024
In 2023, less than half of company cars (43,7%) in Belgium ran on diesel (57,8% in 2022), and a record number of employees (40%) commuted to work by bicycle – three years ago, it was only 33%. These are some findings from the latest mobility barometer from human resources service provider Acerta presented on Wednesday, […]
January 09, 2024
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), operated by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the EU Commission, monitored several key climate indicators throughout the year 2023 and reported record conditions. Such as the warmest month on record and daily global temperature averages that briefly exceeded pre-industrial levels by more than 2°C. […]
January 09, 2024
In addition to the loss of time, the extra fuel consumption, and the additional CO2 emissions, traffic jams in Belgium cost more than 5 billion euros last year, or 4% more than in 2022. Figures from the Flemish Traffic Center show there have never been more traffic jams than in 2023. October and November had […]
January 09, 2024
CO2 emissions from Germany, Europe’s leading industrial nation and the largest energy consumer in Europe, have reached their lowest level in around 70 years, thanks to a stronger-than-expected decline in the use of coal. Greenhouse gas emissions reached 673 million tons of CO2 last year, “the lowest level since the 1950s” and significantly down from […]
January 05, 2024
The new motorcycle market has recovered well in 2023, with an increase of +2,7%, resulting in 25 359 registered over the entire year, a positive result that partly can be attributed to the delivery of previously ordered in 2022. According to Mobility Federation Traxio, the second-hand market, on the other hand, suffered a historic decline […]
January 04, 2024
2023 was the second-best year ever for new speed pedelecs and the record year for second-hand fast bikes. That is the conclusion of mobility federation Traxio’s spokesperson Filip Rylant. Last year, a total of 22 477 new and second-hand speed pedelecs were registered. The good news is that there is still room for further growth, […]
January 04, 2024
Last year, the second-hand passenger car market grew by 7,2% to 689 170 units, 46 501 more than in 2022 but 20 429 less than in 2021. Expectations are that the second-hand car market will remain high in the coming years, says car service and mobility federation Traxio. The best-selling used car brands last year […]
January 03, 2024
In Belgium, 2023 was a good year for wind and solar energy production, accounting for 27,6% of the total of 30,1% of renewable energies with sources such as biomass and waste included. At the same time, production from nuclear (31,29%) and gas power plants (19,8%) fell significantly. That’s clear from the latest statistics of the […]
January 02, 2024
From January 1st, 2025, the city center of The Hague will become a zero-emission zone. This means that vans and trucks driving in this area have to be emission-free – electric or running on hydrogen. The measure should improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, nitrogen deposition, and CO2 emissions in the city. The same […]
December 28, 2023
In 2023, the air quality significantly improved in Belgium’s biggest cities (Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, and Charleroi). According to figures from the Interregional Cell for the Environment (Ircel), Belgium is well on its way to achieving the recommended value of the World Health Organization (WHO). It showed the lowest nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions in […]
December 27, 2023
Royal HaskoningDHV, a global consulting engineering company, has reported that the lithium levels in the river Rhine near Lobith, in the Dutch province of Gelderland, are already higher than the risk limit. Users of Rhine and Meuse water may now or in the future suffer from higher lithium levels. The lithium concentrations in river water […]
December 26, 2023
Limburg will soon have a new cycling attraction called ‘Cycling Underground’. As the final plan was drafted, things suddenly seemed to be moving forward for the new tourist cycling project in Kanne/Riemst. Limburg is particularly popular among cyclists. In recent years, the province spared no trouble or expenses to offer tourists special bicycle routes. After […]
December 21, 2023
Shared mobility platforms Poppy and GreenMobility are withdrawing from several regional capitals. As of January 1st, 2024, the typical red Poppy cars will no longer be seen in Ghent, Leuven, and Mechelen. The GreenMobility vehicles, on the other hand, will disappear from the streets in Brussels and Ghent. D’Ieteren’s subsidiary Poppy was launched in Mechelen […]
December 20, 2023
The city of Antwerp will adjust its low-emission zone (LEZ) regulations and postpone the next tightening of the standards from 2025 to 2026. The city will also take additional social measures and increase the number of day passes per year (from 8 to 12). By relaxing the rules, diesel cars with Euro 5 standard (or […]
December 19, 2023
North Sea Port, the merger company behind the ports of Ghent, Terneuzen, and Vlissingen, is taking a minority stake (20%) in Pipelink, a subsidiary of Port of Antwerp-Bruges. This new partnership will develop and build local, national, and international pipeline projects – essential steps forward in the modal shift and energy transition. In 2026, the […]
December 18, 2023
On Friday, the Belgian Federal Council of Ministers will consider the final details of a Royal Decree to ban nitrous oxide, the so-called ‘laughing gas’. The product’s sale, import, possession, transport, and purchase will be prohibited unless it concerns a medical, technical, or nutritional application. Nitrous oxide has become a popular drug among young people. […]
December 15, 2023
Belgian Shell NV, Carrefour Belgium, and real estate company Redevco will install approximately 1 000 charging stations in the supermarket chain’s car parks by the end of 2024. On Thursday, November 14th, the 100th charging point was officially inaugurated on the parking grounds of the Carrefour hypermarket in Korbeek-Lo. Between now and 2025, almost 500 […]
December 15, 2023
Flemish and foreign truck transport has already generated 565 million euros in kilometer taxes this year – 21 million more than last year and 35 million more than in 2021. Together, all trucks covered 3,3 billion kilometers. In addition to the revenue from the levy itself, there were 12 million euros in fines, bringing the […]
December 14, 2023
The new tunnel under the river Scheldt – the masterpiece of the Oosterweel connection –is progressing well. Four of the eight tunnel parts will be ready within a few weeks. Meanwhile, construction workers are busy building the entrances and exits of the car and bicycle tunnels on both river banks. The eight tunnel elements are […]
December 13, 2023
Belgian battery manufacturer ABEE (Avesta Battery & Energy Engineering), with headquarters in Nivove, plans to invest 1,1 billion euros over the next five years in three sites in Bulgaria. Apart from a battery factory for producing a new generation of solid-phase lithium-ion batteries for the automotive industry, there will also be an R&D center to […]
December 13, 2023
The Belgian company EnergyVision will invest 15 million euros over the next twelve months in installing approximately 150 fast-charging stations in Belgium “with no price difference with slow-charging stations”. Until recently, EnergyVision had ten fast-charging stations in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent. The new fast-charging stations will be installed on the sites of more than sixty […]
December 12, 2023
After a break of almost a decade, the long-awaited night train connection between Brussels and Berlin is finally operational again. The first trip of the Nightjet train departed on Monday evening in Berlin and was waved goodbye by German Transport Minister Volker Wissing and the boss of Deutsche Bahn Richard Lutz. The journey took 13 […]
December 11, 2023
The market of the new speed pedelecs experienced a further delay in November, with -20,9% to 1 018 units, which is 269 less than in November last year. The persistently negative figures reduce the cumulative annual total over the first nine months to -9,9% below the previous year’s figure. Private individuals (-33,2%) and companies (-15,8%) […]
December 08, 2023
The temperature on Earth is rising more rapidly than previously thought due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air. Current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have not been reached in 14 million years on Earth. This is what a group of scientists published on Thursday in the Science journal. The study results […]
December 07, 2023
The Belgian gas system operator Fluxys has decided to partner with two German companies to develop cross-border CO2 pipelines to transport and store CO2 in the North Sea. The companies announced the deal on Wednesday, during the Belgian state visit to Germany. Fluxys previously concluded an agreement with the German oil and gas company Wintershall […]
December 06, 2023
Growth in the second-hand car market got another boost in November. Last month, 57 519 used cars were registered, 6,5% more than in 2022. The increase is 7,8% over the first eleven months of the year (46 231 units more than in 2022), but there is a deficit of 18 030 units compared to 2021. […]
December 04, 2023
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a global carbon tax during an event on carbon markets at the UN Climate Summit COP28 in Dubai on Friday. “Putting a price on carbon is a way to reduce emissions while encouraging innovation and growth,” von der Leyen said. Today, only 23 percent of all […]
December 04, 2023
Belgium, Flanders, and Brussels must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990). According to the Brussels Court of Appeal, these three governments have so far not done enough to protect citizens’ human rights. The Belgian climate policy violates two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantee the ‘right […]
November 30, 2023
Febelauto, the Belgian management organization for waste vehicles and industrial batteries, will organize a circular truck and bus event in December. The event will take place in Beringen on December 11th. Importers and OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) will be invited to sign a manifesto that day. Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters […]
