June 23, 2022
Micro-mobility platform Bolt is launching 900 e-bikes in Brussels. The Estonian company, launching e-bikes to celebrate its first anniversary on the Brussels market, states this in a press release. In time, Bolt wants to deploy 16 000 e-bikes across Europe to expand the range of micro-mobility available in cities. The company, the largest mobility platform […]
June 09, 2022
In April, the city of Ghent announced the introduction of more shared bicycles in the city. The Danish Donkey Republic, already active in the city for three years, will get new permission for its 500 bright orange city bikes. On top of that, Mobit will launch 200 green city bikes and Dott will offer Ghent’s […]
June 09, 2022
Porsche has taken over Fazua, a light and compact drive systems manufacturer for e-bikes. The take-over follows Porsche earlier taking a 20-per cent stake in the German start-up. It is also part of a drive at Porsche to expand the e-bike business. Fazua, based in Ottobrunn, near Munich, is considered by Porsche a ‘pioneer in […]
June 07, 2022
This weekend, Flemish Minister for Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), officially inaugurated the first counting post for cyclists at the former train station of As (Limburg). The Minister allocates one million euros to install some sixty similar counting posts in all Flemish provinces. Each province will have twelve counting locations. Cycling has become increasingly popular […]
May 31, 2022
The first bridge over the Brussels Ring Road is ready for use. The bridge, located near the Diegem train station, follows the railway line between Leuven and Brussels and connects to the F3 cycling highway. Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) officially inaugurated the 169-meter-long bridge on Monday. Motivate commuters […]
May 25, 2022
D’Ieterens ‘Lucien’ bike business has a new, important competitor: Raida. The new group consists of three local chains: Cool Electro Cycles (West-Flanders), Velodome (Antwerp), and Bicyclic (Wallonia). Altogether, they represent 22 shops with 120 employees and a € 40 million turnover. Another big chain is the Colruyd daughter Bike Republic (formerly called Fiets!), which counts […]
May 20, 2022
Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open VLD) wants to have people who buy an electric bike guided to a training course by the salesperson. The Minister wants to do that to counter the rising accident figures. One in four of the victims of an injury accident in Flanders in the first three months of […]
May 12, 2022
Following the market launch (2019) of the LiveWire One, the first electric-powered Harley Davidson, today, the manufacturer announced that there will be a second model, the ‘S2 Del Mar’, which will be positioned below the LiveWire One. It is expected to hit the market in mid-2023 and will cost less than 15 000 euros. The […]
May 11, 2022
This summer, 32 municipalities of the Antwerp transport region and the Waasland will roll out a large shared e-bike platform. The project is intended to stimulate the modal shift. The coordinator is Lantis, manager of large construction projects like the Oosterweel connection in Antwerp. The Danish Donkey Republic will provide and maintain the bikes. “As […]
April 14, 2022
Billy Bike, the Brussels-based shared electric bicycle operator, is forced to go through a juridical reorganization. Due to the pandemic crisis, in which social and cultural life was at a low ebb, the company had to seek protection from the Brussels business court at the end of March, the newspaper L’Echo writes. The lawyer, Emmanuelle […]
April 13, 2022
OKAI, a Chinese multinational that has built its reputation as one of the largest e-scooter and e-bike sharing service providers, launches its first consumer-oriented e-bike: the OKAI Stride. The company, with production facilities in Jinhua, Zhejiang and European headquarters in Berlin, is best known as the supplier of e-bikes to big sharing platforms like Lime […]
April 12, 2022
The number of seriously injured traffic victims in the Netherlands has increased spectacularly (+18%) in the last ten years. In 2021, 110 000 Dutch traffic victims ended up in Intensive Care; 66 600 of them had serious injuries, mainly caused by bicycle accidents. One out of three (44%) were cyclists aged 55 or older, followed […]
April 08, 2022
The city of Ghent will soon welcome two additional shared bicycle platforms bringing the total number of available (e-)bikes to 1 450. That is what Filip Watteeuw (Groen), Ghent Alderman for Mobility, announced on Thursday. Unlike Antwerp (Velo) and Brussels (Villo), Ghent doesn’t have a traditional bike-sharing system with its ‘own stations’. According to Watteeuw, […]
April 07, 2022
The VAT on bicycles and e-bikes will not be reduced to 6% in Belgium, according to a Royal Decree published in the Belgian Official Journal on Wednesday. Instead, the government now wants to use the reserved budget of 80 million euros for alternative mobility policies to promote cycling in commuting. The House had unanimously approved […]
April 05, 2022
On March 31st, Dutch bicycle giant Royal Gazelle has opened its first e-bike test center in Belgium, on the Mechelsesteenweg in Rumst between Antwerp and Mechelen. Potential clients can test all e-bikes of the Dutch manufacturer on an indoor and outdoor track before being ordered in a local bike store. Gazelle, owned by Pon Holdings, […]
April 04, 2022
Taiwan’s biggest motorbike, scooter, and quad manufacturer Kymco has launched a concept to offer cities a backup power solution for the most crucial traffic lights and street lights in case of grid power failure: integrated scooter battery swapping stations. By incorporating an Ionex swap station into urban street lights and traffic lights, eventually charged by […]
April 04, 2022
The Belgian government will be releasing 240 million euros to promote commuting by bicycle in the coming years. This was decided during the budget review, says Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo). In addition, the government will also release 30 million euros to ease the transport cost of employees. And last but not least, public […]
April 01, 2022
D’Ieteren is buying itself into the profitable B2B bicycle leasing market through its Lab Box daughter, investing one million euros to gain a majority part in Belgian Joule. This Ghent-based start-up, founded in 2018, offers full bicycle fleet leasing for companies and governments with a portfolio of some 20 different brands. In that arena, D’Ieteren […]
March 29, 2022
Two Belgian bike manufacturers, Ellio and Ahooga, are joining forces. The first is a small start-up from Louvain producing a two-wheel-drive speed-pedelec; the second is a more extensive and somewhat older Brussels (Uccle) start-up building electric city bikes. Today, they’re launching a joint project, a speed-pedelec from Ellio with the hipster design touch from Ahooga. […]
March 25, 2022
Amid a successful crowdfunding campaign, it came to light that Belgian bicycle manufacturer Cowboy booked a considerable loss last year, exceeding its turnover. The financial results were published in documents the company made available to possible investors from a crowdfunding round. According to the preliminary figures, the net loss in 2020 doubled from 11,7 million […]
March 21, 2022
Last weekend, Flemish Minister of Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), and the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Science (Vlaamse Stichting Verkeerskunde, VSV) launched a new campaign to get more people on the bicycle. “Especially for short-distance trips,” she added. She gave the kick-off in Oudenaarde (East of Flanders). One of the figureheads of the campaign is […]
March 17, 2022
The die is cast. The Ministers of Mobility of the different Belgian governments have finally decided to ban e-scooters from the footway. From now on, they have to ride on the bike-way, just like in many other European countries. Furthermore, all those younger than 16 are no longer allowed to ride an e-scooter on public […]
March 15, 2022
The Belgian electric and connected bicycle start-up Cowboy aims high for its future. After having already raised $ 80 million in January and more than € 4,5 million through their last crowdfunding, the company is back at it with a new participative financing solution. With that new crowdfunding and the additional financing, Cowboy aims at […]
March 11, 2022
Last year, the sales of bicycles in the Netherlands decreased significantly (-16%) due to continuous supply problems. The sales of e-bikes, however, increased. According to sector organization Bovag and RAI Association, more than half of all bicycles (52%) sold in 2021 were e-bikes. It’s the first time the e-bike seems to be more popular than […]
March 04, 2022
On Wednesday, Tier Mobility, Europe’s leading shared mobility provider, announced its acquisition of Ford’s subsidiary Spin, which specialized in shared electric bikes and scooters. Through this acquisition, Tier expands into North America, becoming the largest multimodal micro-mobility operator globally in terms of number of cities and vehicles. The purchase price or other financial information about […]
February 22, 2022
Brussels Minister of Mobility, Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), is happy with the results of the latest traffic safety barometer of traffic safety institute Vias. The number of road deaths in Brussels went down from 14 to 6, while Flanders registered an increase of 18%. “The ‘City 30′ project (30 kph speed limit in Brussels) […]
February 11, 2022
Porsche AG has announced two strategic partnerships in the fast-growing market of e-bikes. The sports car manufacturer has acquired Fazua, a German manufacturer of electric drivetrains for cycles, and concluded two joint ventures with Dutch Ponooc. With the latter, it wants to build e-Bikes, on one hand, and develop technological solutions for micro-mobility, on the […]
February 07, 2022
Soft mobility has gained new followers over the past year, thanks to the e-bike, now used by 20% of the Belgian population. That is what the latest Vias Institute barometer says. The use of the car is decreasing in Wallonia and Brussels. In Wallonia from 81 to 76%, in Brussels from 63 to 57%. Flanders […]
February 01, 2022
A young Ghent startup, called Taito Mobility, is launching what it calls a much more stable and safer three-wheeler e-scooter via a pre-sale on crowdfunding-platform Indiegogo. The design features three larger 10-inch wheels and tires, a patented suspension system, and a hovering bamboo platform on a sturdy marine-grade stainless steel frame. It has a front, […]
January 28, 2022
This year, Alderman for Mobility in Liège, Gilles Foret (MR), is planning an awareness campaign for the private sector regarding secure bicycle parking facilities. He aims to push companies to swap parking spots reserved for cars to ones for bicycles. The TEC is also pushing for bicycle facilities. This Thursday, the Walloon transport company announced […]
January 27, 2022
With 790 000 – mainly imported – e-bicycles sold, compared to 652 000 electric cars, the most popular electric vehicle in the United States has two wheels, greencarreports.com headlines. EV sales (BEV and PHEV) more than doubled from 296 000 in 2020. But e-bike sales almost did the same compared to the 463 000 of […]
January 27, 2022
Belgian e-bike manufacturer Cowboy has raised 80 million dollars (or some 70,9 million euros) from various investors. The money is to be used for investment in product design, to scale up the production process, and additional services, such as on-demand services and a digital bike coach. This is what the manufacturer reports in a press […]
January 25, 2022
On Monday, the American investment company KKR made a take-over bid of 1,56 billion euros for the Accell Group the Dutch owner of bicycle brands like Raleigh, Sparta, Koga, Babboe, Haibike, Winora, Ghost, Batavus, Lapierre, and Carqon. The KKR consortium, a group of investors, will give the Dutch bicycle manufacturer a strong financial boost, which […]
January 19, 2022
The Brussels Region will soon get its own bicycle junction network. That is what the Brussels Minister for Mobility, Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), confirmed on Tuesday in the competent commission at the Parliament. Since the coronavirus outbreak, the Brussels Region has seen an 87% increase in cyclists’ numbers. “Cycling is getting more and more […]
January 18, 2022
On Monday, the Brussels Region inaugurated a 1 200-meter section of the canal cycle route or ‘cyclostrade’ linking Brussels to Boom. On the Flemish side, work on a 5 km missing link between Vilvoorde and Grimbergen has entered its final phase. The Canal Cycle Route is part of an interregional and European network of cycle […]
January 06, 2022
The wet summer months of 2021 have had a negative impact on the registrations of speed pedelecs. In spring, however, figures were still promising. In November, the results showed a slight recurrence, but in December, hardly 731 speed pedelecs were registered in Belgium, 13,16% less than in 2020. These are the conclusions of mobility federation […]
December 28, 2021
Yamaha will launch two fully electric scooters in 2022. The concept versions were already seen on the Tokyo Motorshow back in 2019. Remarkably, the compact E02 is powered by a universal removable battery that can also be found in other scooters of Japanese origin. The E01 is a maxiscooter with a double saddle and an […]
December 15, 2021
Earlier this year, Belgian car importer D’Ieteren announced that – besides car import – it would also focus on bicycle distribution and maintenance. Today, the group puts its money where its mouth is with the second major acquisition of iBikes, a group of bicycle shops in the Antwerp region. D’Ieteren has already made a significant […]
December 01, 2021
Italian motor racer Max Biaggi has set a new speed record at the wheel of an electric motorbike at the end of November. Venturi’s Voxan Wattman reached a top speed of no less than 456 km/hour on the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US. Max Biaggi is a renowned Italian racing driver […]
November 25, 2021
More than a quarter (27%) of workers in the port of Ghent use their bicycles to commute. That is twice as many as the Belgian average. Compared to the first survey Voka, the Flemish employers’ organization, organized in 2008, the number of cyclists has tripled in the Ghent’s part of North Sea Port. The figures […]
November 23, 2021
The French-Dutch micro-mobility operator Dott deployed its first electric bikes in the nineteen Brussels communes on Monday morning. By the end of the year, there will be 2 000 of them. “With more options, we hope to encourage people of Brussels to use an environmentally friendly way of getting around to make the city more […]
November 17, 2021
Last month, we announced that VRT, the national public-service broadcaster for the Flemish Community in Belgium, would provide cyclists with useful traffic information. In the meantime, the traffic app is operational and already 5 000 cyclists have downloaded it. The Cyclists’ Union (Fietsersbond) is happy with the response. “It shows that many people already use […]
November 16, 2021
The German micro-mobility provider, Tier Mobility, based in Berlin, has bought 100% of the shares of Nextbike, based in Leipzig, and a specialist in bike-sharing. Together they create a multimodal platform offering 250 000 vehicles in some 400 cities. The new company can now offer bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes, e-scooters, and e-mopeds in its sharing […]
November 02, 2021
This weekend, a new bicycle bridge is installed over the Albert Channel at the locks in Godsheide. The new bridge is part of the Limburg bicycle highway and an essential element of the channel route. This route connects Ham with Maastricht (F72) and Maastricht with Antwerp (F5) over an 80 km haul. Earlier, the new […]
October 22, 2021
As announced earlier this week that Energica would end its contract as the exclusive manufacturer for the MotoE, the all-electric racing class of the MotoGP World Championship, speculation began about who would fill the gap. Mystery solved. As of 2023, Ducati will step in and provide the zero-emission racing bikes for the championship. The deal […]
October 20, 2021
From now on, VRT, the national public-service broadcaster for the Flemish Community in Belgium, will provide cyclists with useful traffic information. Broadcasters Radio 1, Radio 2, MNM, and Studio Brussel will inform bike riders about a fallen tree blocking the bikeway, road works, deviations… So, cyclists ‘d better listen to the radio before setting out […]
October 20, 2021
On Tuesday, a Flemish and local government delegation has inaugurated the new, yellow-colored bikeway in the Brussels Wetstraat/Rue de la Loi, in front of the Parliament and the Prime Minister’s residence. On the occasion of the official opening, Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), the Minister of Internal Affairs Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), Brussels Mayor Philippe Close […]
October 19, 2021
Brussels Mobility wants to deal with cars parked next to crossings and blocking drivers’ and pedestrians’ views. So, 155 parking places will be replaced by some thousand bicycle brackets. They should improve visibility for all road users and increase traffic safety. Crossing-places are dangerous and take a heavy toll annually in the city. Every year, […]
October 12, 2021
Dutch Pon.Bike, the bicycle manufacturer of Gazelle and Cervélo bikes and part of Pon Holding, will take over the American Dorel Sports for 810 million dollars. The latter produces Cannondale bicycles, Schwinn, and brands like GT, Mongoose, Caloi, and IronHorse. It will give Pon.Bike extended access to the US, Canadian, and South American markets. The […]
October 11, 2021
In 1946, the first Solex revolutionized the world of mopeds with its bicycle-base and trimmed, peppy engine on the front wheel. Seventy-five years later, the symbolic French bike is born again, this time as a trendy electric bicycle. The ‘Intemporel’ range even harks back to the original moped, but it’s now equipped with a Bosch […]
October 07, 2021
The number of newly registered speed pedelecs in Belgium decreased by 15%. According to car federation TRAXIO, sales figures from June plunged after a strong start in spring, and the statistics for September even got into the red. Do we see the impact of a highly wet summer, or is the market getting saturated? Last […]
October 05, 2021
Car importer and services group D’Ieteren has advanced plans to build a network of bicycle shops across Belgium. The projects are part of a process in which the company is shifting its focus from a car company to a “mobility provider”, says spokesperson Jean-Marc Ponteville. The official decision will be made in a few days. […]
September 30, 2021
The e-bike has been generally adopted in Flanders, but now it’s becoming popular in Brussels and Wallonia too, traffic safety institute Vias noticed in a general survey, conducted with a representative sample of Belgian e-bike riders. The electric bicycle is gaining popularity year after year. First, the ‘hype’ was mainly seen in Flanders, but now […]
September 24, 2021
The Flemish Bikers’ Confederation (Fietsersbond) has awarded the pharmaceutical company Janssen the ‘Cycle Friendly Employer Certificate’. The site in Beerse is the first employer in Belgium to receive the golden reward. The Cycle Friendly Employer Certificate was developed to establish a European standard for cycle-friendly companies. Together, CFE and Fietsersbond want to stimulate a cycle-friendly […]
September 24, 2021
Cowboy, the Belgian brand of trendy, urban e-bikes, is planning to conquer the United States. The company presented its ambitious plans on Thursday during the Micromobility Conference in San Fransisco. Cowboy will also expand its activities further in Europe, to Sweden and Denmark, for instance. Corona has given the fast-growing market for electric bicycles a […]
September 22, 2021
This year, the number of commuters with a bicycle compensation decreased from 22% to 14% compared to last year (2020) and pre-corona (2019). The decline is most striking among employees who often were forced to work from home. The number of workers increased slightly. The figures were revealed by the largest, Belgian, human resources service […]
September 21, 2021
With cycling growing in popularity, pushed by the revolution of electric bikes, the Walloon government is preparing five major bicycle highways. The aim is to join those already existing in Flanders and Brussels to give quick and safe access to the capital. Wallonia wishes to push for cycling as a mode of transport and increase […]
September 14, 2021
For the second time in a row, leasing company ALD Automotive organized a survey to analyze bicycle use among Dutch professionals. The conclusion is clear and encouraging: more and more Dutch commuters go to work by bike. Apparently, the corona crisis has accelerated the process. In 2020, 46% of Dutch working people used the bike […]
September 09, 2021
Only 4% of Belgian employees currently receive a mobility budget from their employer. These are the results of a survey held by HR service provider Securex among more than 1 500 employees in May. A quarter of the employees who have a company car say they are ready to exchange it for a mobility budget, […]
September 08, 2021
At the IAA in Münich, BMW doesn’t fail to meet the middle name ‘Mobility’ that the show carries. The German car brand and its motorbike department Motorrad both showed their take on the future for two-wheelers. And that’s apart from the Concept CE2 that toes the line between a scooter and a motorbike. So yes, […]
