February 14, 2023
The number of cyclists traveling through Brussels during the morning rush hours almost doubled in 2022 compared to 2021. Cyclists seem to be moving increasingly safely in the city. The conclusions come from the Bicycle Observatory. Four times a year, the Bicycle Observatory organizes bicycle countings in the Belgian capital. The 104 hours of manual […]
February 07, 2023
About 42% of Dutch citizens older than 18 own one or more electric bicycles, electric motor scooters, or light electric vehicles (LEV). Together, all those vehicles represent 12,4 billion euros. However, in 2021, this was ‘only’ €10 billion – an increase of 24% compared to the previous year. The figures come from Multiscope’s E-bike Monitor, […]
February 06, 2023
Cycling is becoming increasingly popular for commuting in Belgium, and employers are doing more to support sustainable mobility modes. This pops up clearly from the 6th edition of the survey organized every three years by the Belgian FPS Mobility and Transport among all private and public sector employers with at least 100 employees. In general, […]
February 06, 2023
Speed pedelecs, the high-speed e-bikes, remain extremely popular. After the record year 2022, the number of new registrations in January was 86,3% higher than in January last year. This means 1 341 new vehicles were registered in the past month. The wintery weather conditions had no decelerating effect on registrations. Also, second-hand speed pedelecs continue […]
February 06, 2023
Lucien, the bicycle shop chain under the wings of Belgian’s most significant car importer D’Ieteren, is expanding from ten to fourteen shops in Brussels and Antwerp with the recent acquisition of Alpha Bikes (Lasne, Uccle, Woluwe Saint Lambert, and Cyclo Europe (Evere). The rapid scale-up and concentration of car dealerships in Belgium are also seen […]
January 26, 2023
After 4,5 years of work, Amsterdam has inaugurated a new, underground bicycle shelter in front of the central station of Amsterdam. The secured bike racks, built under the water of the station square, offer parking space for almost 7 000 vehicles. Cyclists can park their bikes 24/7, the first 24 hours are free. Cyclists enter […]
January 25, 2023
In France, Toyota will offer an e-cargo bike for the last-mile delivery sector and privateers. It has struck a deal with French e-bike brand Douze to jointly market a new e-cargo bike with “the potential of replacing a car”. The initiative is regional, as it was realized and managed by Toyota’s French subsidiary. With the […]
January 06, 2023
Speed pedelecs keep selling like hot cakes and sales figures last year reached record levels. In December, right at the end of the year, mobility federation Traxio recorded 1 264 new registrations, an increase of 72,9% (533 units) compared to December 2021. In 2022, no less than 17 592 new speed pedelecs appeared on Belgian […]
January 03, 2023
Talking about EV incentives, this one from the African country Uganda fires one’s imagination: President Museveni announced in his end-of-the-year address he made a deal with investors to swap all motorcycles with internal combustion engines (ICE) in the country for locally-produced electric ones for free. The investors will be able to make their money by […]
December 09, 2022
The registrations of new motorbikes and second-hand ones scored surprisingly well in November. Last month, 1 093 new motorbikes were registered, an increase of 25,3% compared to last year. However, not enough for a positive annual figure. Speed pedelecs, on the other hand, continue to peak. The annual total over the first eleven months is […]
December 07, 2022
The extensive e-shared network in the Antwerp region is as good as completed. Indeed, after Antwerp, the orange bikes of the Danish company Donkey Republic will be extended to the Waasland region in East Flanders. In this way, some 36 cities and municipalities are participating in the network today. According to Beveren Mayor Marc Van […]
November 28, 2022
In 2021, the quality of bikeways along the Flemish regional roads was better than in 2019. As a result, not only has the infrastructure improved, but the comfort for cyclists increased. That is the conclusion of the Agency for Roads and Traffic’s latest bicycle report. The ART (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) publishes a similar […]
November 09, 2022
Zero Motorcycles developed an electric adventure model. It immediately gets the largest battery capacity Zero has ever built, achieving a driving range of just under 200 km, making it perfect for use as a commuter vehicle. We drove it. Zero is a small motorbike manufacturer that exclusively builds electrically powered motorbikes. The manufacturer has just […]
November 08, 2022
Speed pedelecs, the fast-riding e-bikes, are increasingly popular on Belgian roads. In October, mobility federation Traxio noted 1 557 new registrations, 556 more (+55%) than in the same month last year. Total new registrations in the last ten months were 15 041, or an increase of 40,2% (4 316 units) compared to 2021. Even second-hand […]
October 31, 2022
The Brussels government’s eagerly awaited draft decree regulating shared bicycles and e-scooters is as good as ready. However, the text, which received a first reading on Thursday, does not yet have a political agreement. It still must be finalized with the municipalities, the operators, and the various police zones, among others. However, it does seem […]
October 21, 2022
Staff members of the Flemish government will be allowed to lease a ‘company bicycle’ as of November. The initiative is intended to focus on sustainability and the well-being of the employees. Employees can ask for a company bike in exchange for some vacation days and/or part of their end-of-year bonus. They’re free to jump at […]
October 17, 2022
Helchteren has a new bicycle bridge. On Saturday night, the 140-ton steel bridge element was lifted from the yard to the pillars on both sides of the Grote Baan (N715) in Helchteren (Limburg). Moving the 45-meter-long bridge bit by bit was no picnic. On Saturday evening at 10 p.m., the Grote Baan was closed to […]
October 07, 2022
Two speed pedelecs crashed on Thursday in Genk (Limburg). One of them, 46-year-old David Camps, died on the spot; the second (52) was seriously injured. The accident happened on a two-directional bikeway, and both cyclists came from opposite directions. So, both ended up in a frontal collision. Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) […]
October 06, 2022
High fuel prices have boosted carpooling in Belgium in recent months. As a result, the number of carpooled kilometers doubled in the first eight months of 2022 compared to last year. Compared to 2019, there is even a 40% increase, reports Vias Institute. Some 11% of the kilometers driven on Belgian roads are driven by […]
September 26, 2022
Every year, bicycle use in Belgium avoids 1 294 premature deaths. At the same time, 137 717 tons of CO2 emissions are avoided because motorized traffic is replaced by bicycle trips. This is shown by a new study by road safety institute Vias. Moreover, also not insignificant when looking at the whole mobility cost picture: […]
September 26, 2022
Before the inline skaters kicked off the competition over the full distance at the 2022 BMW Berlin-Marathon on Saturday afternoon, a small fleet of fully-electric BMW CE 04 took on the fastest 42 kilometers on the international running calendar. Like the biggest marathon in Germany, the two-wheeler is a genuine Berliner: it is manufactured at […]
September 23, 2022
Fuel prices are skyrocketing, and this impacts people’s mobility behavior. As a consequence, two-thirds of Flemish citizens (67%) use their cars less often. Some opt for the bicycle (56%), others use public transport (20%), and some (24%) just reduce their outdoor trips. The figures come from the large-scale biennial citizen’s survey Fietsberaad Vlaanderen (FV) organized […]
September 15, 2022
The Dutch bicycle manufacturer Roetz launches its newest e-bike innovation. As its name already reveals, the ‘Roetz Life’, as the new e-bike is called, is intended to be ‘a bicycle for life’. The modular frame is made of high-quality materials and can be reconfigured to be useful through several stages of people’s lives. The Roetz […]
September 12, 2022
Today, bicycle leasing is more popular than ever among Belgian commuters. In the first six months of the year, the number of commuters who used a leased bike to ride to and from work increased by 9,1% compared to last year. Compared to three years ago, it’s an increase of 127,2%. The figures come from […]
September 09, 2022
Cycling is becoming more and more popular in Belgium. In all regions and among all age categories. And not only for recreational purposes. The use of the electric bike has increased by 56% since 2019. However, today, also traditional bikes score better than two years ago (from 41 to 45%). After an earlier survey in […]
September 02, 2022
The federal mobility budget, introduced for employees as an alternative to their company cars, is not really persuasive. A survey by SD Worx shows that three years after its introduction, hardly 2% of Flemish employers offer their employees this sustainable mobility solution. In Brussels, the formula is slightly more popular (8%), while in Wallonia, less […]
August 29, 2022
The German micro-mobility provider TIER Mobility has launched 250 shared e-bicycles in Liège. It is the first Walloon city to benefit from this service. TIER Mobility had already 200 e-scooters in Liège and also offers both services in Brussels. The news that TIER would also be introducing e-bikes in Liège was already announced in May […]
August 18, 2022
The Italian start-up SmartEbike is working on a special kind of electric cargo bike for the street food business. Although still in the concept phase, the Street Food E-Bike is advertised as a “trendy and fashionable alternative to the good old-fashioned food cart”. According to the ‘inventors’, the Street Food E-Bike can store anything from […]
August 18, 2022
Bike Republic, the bicycle chain of Colruyt Group, has taken over the first shop in Brussels, IMP Bike in Evere. The take-over fits in with the chain’s plan to become the reference in the Belgian (e-)bike market, with 50 to 60 shops in Belgium. Currently, Bike Republic is mainly active in Flanders. With the take-over, […]
August 17, 2022
Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN), a Dutch organization dedicated to traffic safety since 1932, wants to ban devices to tune up electric bicycles. With those tuning kits, e-bikes with a normal maximum speed of 25 km/hour can be tuned up to reach speeds of 45 to 50 km/hour. “Far too dangerous”, says VVN, “especially for youngsters.” […]
August 10, 2022
Antwerp has kicked off the rollout of an extensive shared e-bicycle network. In May, the city announced that the 32 municipalities of the Antwerp transport region and the Waasland would start to launch a large shared e-bike platform. In the meantime, the first bright orange bicycles are driving around the metropolis. On May 11th, Antwerp […]
August 04, 2022
The German shared mobility platform Tier plans to introduce 1 500 shared e-bicycles in Brussels. The first vehicles are available since Wednesday, and the vehicle fleet will expand further in the coming weeks. Mid-February, micro-mobility provider Tier launched hundreds of new shared e-scooters in Brussels. In the meantime, the company has more than 4 000 […]
July 28, 2022
Young people, especially those between 18 and 34 years old, drive less by car. As a result, the share of kilometers they traveled as car drivers has decreased from 55% in 2019 to 45% in 2022. This is evident from the mobility barometer of safety institute Vias, based on an online survey of a representative […]
July 27, 2022
In January this year, the Brussels Minister for Mobility, Elke Van den Brandt (Groen), announced that the Brussels Region would get its own bicycle junction network. Now, the project is entering a new phase. The fieldwork is finished, and signposting is ready to begin. If all goes well, all road signs – some 2 000 […]
July 13, 2022
Speed pedelec manufacturer Stromer launches a new top model and an interesting leasing scheme. The relentless activity of the Swiss e-bike manufacturer seems a reflection of the healthy future of the bicycle market, despite current production and delivery problems. Stromer launches its new ST7 top model at the Eurobike fair in Frankfurt. At the same […]
July 08, 2022
The number of newly registered speed pedelecs increased spectacularly in the year’s first six months. Between January and June, 8 219 units were sold, an increase of 26,2%, and 1 709 units more than during the same period last year. In June alone, 1 706 of the popular vehicles were sold, 43,7% more than last […]
July 05, 2022
Italian manufacturer of performance motorbikes Ducati took the cover of its first all-electric prototype. The V21L will be competing in the Moto E as of 2023, the racing series of which Ducati is the single supplier. While all eyes are on a street version, Ducati’s lips remain sealed for now. With no e-motorbike in its […]
July 05, 2022
Last month, consultancy firm Deloitte conducted a study asking consumers which mobility solution they favor. E-bikes emerged as the big winner, confirming their uprising trend boosted during the pandemic. While the analysis was performed in Germany, the increasing popularity of e-bikes all across the globe confirms its findings. E-bikes are the most frequently used electric […]
July 05, 2022
Minister of Mobility Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) wants to make bicycle theft – almost 70 a day in Belgium – a priority for the police. A single national bicycle registration system will be set up so that the police can return a recovered bicycle to its owner more easily. That is what the newspapers Het Nieuwsblad […]
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 […]
