September 13, 2024
Belgian rail network manager Infrabel has launched a new VR movie to ask young people to be careful around railroads. After all, a recent survey showed that 48% of Belgians are willing to walk on the tracks even though safety rules are generally known. In 2023, this led to eleven deaths and nine serious injuries […]
September 13, 2024
BMW Group’s Battery Cel Competence Center (BCCC) in Munich and the University of Zagreb’s Regional Center of Excellence for Robotic Technology are jointly developing solutions to improve the production of battery cells using Artificial Intelligence. Doctoral candidates and students at the University of Zagreb are collecting and structuring existing production data to identify particular patterns […]
September 13, 2024
In the run-up to International Mobility Week (from 16 to 22 September), SD Worx analyzed regional differences in commuting. The main conclusion? Belgians are European commuting champions and the most geographically mobile employees in Europe. However, the mental limit has been reached. On average, Brussels residents live closest to work. Still, they spend an hour […]
September 13, 2024
According to a new study by research firm Transport&Mobility Leuven (TML), the Belgian bicycle economy is worth nearly a billion euros and has experienced growth of some 90% over the past eight years. Along with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, Belgium is one of the largest cycling countries in the world. Many car manufacturers see […]
September 11, 2024
Specter, the Belgian manufacturer of specially designed speed pedelecs, has raised two million euros in new capital to expand its activities in Belgium and abroad. In addition to the existing partners, Fundracer Capital—a new party with extensive experience in the micro-mobility and bicycle industry—will invest in the start-up. Maarten Baert, founder and CEO of Specter: […]
September 11, 2024
The 2023 European EAFO Consumer Monitor, an EU survey among 17,034 non-electric drivers and 2,046 actual BEV drivers in twelve countries, shows that despite the negative press EVs are getting in some countries, most EV drivers are generally satisfied and not willing to go back to fossil. Among non-EV drivers, 57% consider buying one in […]
September 10, 2024
At Schiphol Airport (in the Netherlands), travelers with reduced mobility will be brought to their gate by self-driving wheelchairs. A test experiment with the self-driving wheelchairs was launched in February 2023. Ten autonomous wheelchairs will be deployed starting this week and will be available for the general public to test. The vehicles have a luggage […]
September 10, 2024
From October 1st, only 50 km/hour may be driven on the Paris Ring Road. The news was already announced last year, but Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has officially confirmed the speed limit. Remarkably, for the measure intended to reduce pollution for more than half a million inhabitants, Hidalgo is not awaiting the advice of the […]
September 10, 2024
Bicycle sharing is extremely popular in Ghent. This year, 657,843 trips have been made with a shared bike, more than the previous year. July was the busiest month ever, with 113,386 rides. A shared bike is a flexible, affordable, and convenient way to get around. More and more shared bicycles are also being made available. […]
September 09, 2024
The oil price has dropped significantly again. A barrel of US WTI oil now costs 67.67 dollars, after the peak in April of around 87 dollars per barrel. A barrel of Brent North Sea oil now costs about 71 dollars a barrel, down from more than 90 dollars in April. The price drop, the lowest […]
September 09, 2024
NMBS/SNCB’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the train offer for 2025 on Friday. This offer is less ambitious than anticipated, partly due to a staff shortage. Overall, the train offer increases by almost 2% (in a million train kilometers) compared to 2024. In addition, 220 trains that had been scaled down in 2022 due to […]
September 06, 2024
Belgians are the most geographically mobile employees in Europe. They travel the longest distance to work, an average of 39 kilometers of all Europeans. Half of Belgians travel 25 km to and from work every day. HR service provider SD Worx discovered this after surveying employees in 18 European countries. Danish and Italian commuters cover […]
September 06, 2024
What so many commuters, young people, and weekend tourists were looking forward to is threatening to be a hefty blow to rail travelers and a PR thud for Belgian rail company NMBS/SNCB. After all, the public rail company wants to postpone the planned expansion of its offerings, which are scheduled for the end of this […]
September 05, 2024
It must be no coincidence: just when three French-speaking parties involved in the formation of the Brussels government decided on their own to present a proposal in parliament to postpone the tightening of the emission standard for the low-emission zone (LEZ) in Brussels from the beginning of 2025 to 2027, the non-profit organization Chercheurs d’Air […]
September 04, 2024
After an intense period with many used car registrations in July, August saw a slight dip with -4.0%. Still, the provisional annual total is heading toward half a million second-hand car registrations (490,296 units), almost 60,000 more than two years ago. Gradually, more electrified used cars are offered, as 12.7% of registered vehicles are chargeable. […]
September 03, 2024
Cyclis Bike Lease, the Belgian bicycle leasing company, has decided to partner with the German JobRad Group. The Hasselt-based company was founded in 2014. Ten years ago, the company was one of Belgium’s first bicycle leasing companies. Cyclis has been the market leader Belgium for years, with 37,000 bicycles under contract. Among them are all […]
September 03, 2024
While the rest of Europe reports discouraging figures, Norway continues to set new benchmarks in electric vehicle adoption. In August, more than 94 percent of all new passenger cars registered were electric, a new record for the world’s forerunner in the EV transition. “This looks very promising to reach 100% as of January,” reacted secretary […]
September 03, 2024
Contrary to popular belief, most cars on the road are not company cars. At least half of private sector employees use their own car to get to work. In SMEs, half of employers (54%) offer a company car. Belgian SMEs’ costs to provide company cars have also increased significantly, by an average of 30%, over […]
August 30, 2024
As great was the joy a few weeks ago at the inauguration of the new streetcar in Liège, so great is the disappointment today among the advocates of a sustainable mobility policy for the Liège metropolis. After all, the new Walloon government has abandoned the project to extend the Liège tramway to Herstal and Seraing. […]
August 30, 2024
Several environmental organizations are suing the European Commission for not imposing sufficiently strict CO2 standards on member states under the 2015 Paris Agreement on global warming. First and foremost, they are calling for fossil-fuel-powered planes and ships to be removed from the EU’s list of sustainable investments, which they say is an example of greenwashing. […]
August 30, 2024
From 2021 to 2024, Europe’s EV charging network experienced an impressive average annual growth rate of 55.4%. This highlights our continent’s strong momentum in expanding its electric vehicle infrastructure. However, despite this rapid growth, Europe still faces a significant challenge in meeting the European Union’s ambitious targets. Belgium, with a spot in the top five […]
August 29, 2024
The ministerial instruction of outgoing Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) preventing the use of Boeing 777 aircraft at Brussels Airport at night has been suspended. The Minister said this in the Parliamentary Committee on Mobility. If consultations with the Flemish government come to nothing, it will be up to the next federal government to resolve […]
August 29, 2024
Driveco, a French operator of charging stations for electric vehicles, wants to install 1,500 charging stations in Belgium by 2030 and will allocate 15 million euros for this purpose. The company is already present in Belgium, with 70 charging stations in fifteen different stations, but the goal is to increase that number considerably in the […]
August 28, 2024
Brussels Airlines will soon introduce a new Belgian Icon, following the tribute to Tintin, the Smurfs, Tomorrowland, and the Red Devils, to name but a few. This time, the public may devise a design for a new painted airplane again. Beer, French fries, chocolate, and waffles are out of the question, but otherwise, almost anything […]
August 26, 2024
According to a recent Vias Road Safety Institute study, parents play a decisive role in how 5th- and 6th-grade students perceive traffic. Parents usually decide the means of transport – often the car – for practical reasons, fearing that their child or other road users will not comply with the traffic rules or that their […]
August 26, 2024
Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB aims to increase the number of passengers by 30% by 2032 compared to 2022. Back then, 227 million passengers were transported, so the number of passengers should reach 300 million by 2032. According to the newspaper Le Soir, NMBS/SNCB has launched an investigation into the suburban S-nets of Brussels, Antwerp, […]
August 23, 2024
Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ new top executive, will be provided a jet by the American coffeehouse chain group to fly from his home in California to its headquarters in Seattle. That’s about 1,600 km. Niccol takes office on Monday, September 9th, but so is already under fire, while others accuse the firm of hypocrisy, with some […]
August 23, 2024
The Antwerp Waasland tunnel, the oldest vehicle tunnel under the river Scheldt that connects the city with the river’s left bank, will only be available for local traffic from September 23rd. The city of Antwerp decided this on the advice of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV). Soon, through traffic will […]
August 22, 2024
Brussels has 13,175 people on the waiting list to park their bikes in a secure bike park or box, 701 more than in February of this year, reports the Brussels news site BRUZZ. Parking.brussels has installed new bike boxes here and there over the past months, but the demand for bike parking continues to grow. […]
August 22, 2024
On Wednesday, Lantis reported that the Oosterweel project in Antwerp will not be completed until the end of 2033, three years later than expected. According to the builder, one of the main reasons for the delay is the PFAS pollution. Not only the works in Linkeroever and Zwijndrecht were confronted with this, similar pollution was […]
August 21, 2024
“A historic day” is what Willy Demeyer, the socialist mayor of Liège, called yesterday the first return after nearly 60 years of the streetcar to the center of the Cité ardente for a first test. “This streetcar will revolutionize mobility, the environment, and the economy,” De Meyer said. On August 31st, 1964, the streetcar made […]
August 20, 2024
According to a recent survey by Belgian HR service provider SD Worx, in the provinces of Limburg and Antwerp, almost one in five employees already have a company bicycle, and these SMEs also intend to expand their company bicycle fleet by 9% and 8% in 2024 or 2025, respectively. West Flanders currently ranks third, but […]
August 19, 2024
Major renovation works on the Craeybeckx tunnel on the E19 highway started on Sunday evening in Antwerp. The tunnel will receive LED lighting and a new ventilation system, and the high- and low-voltage installation will undergo a complete overhaul. Disruption will be limited to evenings and nights, and the work will last a year. Consequently, […]
August 16, 2024
Complaining on social media about poor service? They know all about that at the Belgian public railroad company NMBS/SNCB, plagued as it is by the many delayed and canceled trains. Yet NMBS’s communication strategy on X, formerly Twitter, has significantly reduced the number of complaint tweets, according to the doctoral research of administrative scientist Steven […]
August 16, 2024
The extensive renovation works at the Central Station metro station in the heart of Brussels should be completed by the autumn of 2027. The works are thus on schedule. The metro station, one of the oldest in Belgium (1969), will receive a facelift, new spaces, and improved accessibility for people with reduced mobility. With 50,000 […]
August 13, 2024
Fewer cars and trucks drove on Flemish highways last year than in 2019, the year before Covid-19. Nevertheless, according to the Flemish Traffic Center’s annual overviews, traffic congestion was at its highest level in 2023. On an average working day in 2023, almost 3% fewer vehicle kilometers traveled on Flemish highways than in 2019, a […]
August 13, 2024
In an interview with the German newspaper Der Welt, Volkswagen Group CEO Oliver Blume has strongly supported the European Union’s planned ban on combustion engines by 2035. Blume affirmed that electric mobility is the clear path forward for the automotive industry and emphasized a niche role for e-fuels. In the interview, Blume aligned himself with […]
August 12, 2024
Milan Nedeljkovic, BMW Group board member responsible for production, says that fully electric vehicles must have their own dedicated lane on highways. In an interview with the German newspaper Münchner Merkur, Nedeljkovic explained that this would make the possession and use of an EV far more attractive. “When EVs are constantly overtaking you while you […]
August 09, 2024
Flying is getting safer and safer. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shows that the risk of dying on a plane flight has halved every decade since the late 1960s. Between 2018 and 2022, the average was one death for every 13.7 million passengers worldwide, compared with one death for every 7.9 […]
August 08, 2024
German car rental company Sixt is going to rent out fewer electric cars. It is a remarkable reversal for Europe’s largest car rental company, which has always prided itself on significantly reducing the carbon footprint of its rental fleet by achieving a 70-90% share of EVs in Europe by 2030. According to the listed company, […]
August 06, 2024
Chinese carmaker Geely has invested another 120 million pounds, or almost 140 million euros, in LEVC, the British manufacturer of London’s famous black cabs. The investment is the latest signal of growing Chinese involvement in the British EV market. The Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which, in addition to Volvo, owns car brands such as Zeekr, […]
August 06, 2024
In July 2024, the trend of recent months continued: new speed pedelecs are losing ground (-17.8%, 1,119 units), and second-hand high-speed e-bikes continue to grow (+18.1%, 788 units). According to Filip Rylant, spokesman for mobility federation Traxio, the importance of the second-hand market is increasing very quickly. Two years ago, the number of registrations of […]
August 05, 2024
The Ghent start-up and non-profit organization Straal refurbishes neglected boats to give them a second life. Straal’s initiators want to do something with the many neglected boats left along the banks of the Ghent and European waterways. They focus on the numerous polyester pleasure boats because polyester creates a lot of waste. Refurbishing those boats […]
August 05, 2024
The Flemish government is invoking a conflict of interest regarding federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo) ‘s decision to prevent parcel company DHL from landing or taking off in Zaventem with Boeing 777 aircraft. According to Gilkinet, DHL does not comply with night-time noise standards. In turn, Flemish Periphery Minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) says Gilkinet […]
August 02, 2024
After an unexpected but once-only decline in June compared to June 2023, there were many new registrations of second-hand cars in July: 64,660 units, +12.3%. That is the highest monthly result of 2024, concludes Filip Rylant, spokesperson for mobility federation Traxio. July is traditionally calmer (summer holidays), but the second-hand market continues to do well. […]
August 01, 2024
As expected, Lufthansa’s second-quarter profit almost halved compared to the same period last year. Net profit came in at 469 million euros, down from 881 million euros in 2023, or a 47% drop year-on-year. Due to increasing competition and overcapacity on certain lines, the group cannot sustain the high ticket prices after the coronavirus pandemic. […]
July 30, 2024
Dutch city dwellers are increasingly going on holiday with a shared car. According to figures from shared-car provider MyWheels, the number of holiday trips booked with a shared vehicle has increased by almost 150 percent compared to last year. Shared cars for holiday trips are reserved much earlier than for regular trips. A vehicle for […]
July 29, 2024
The growing popularity of rideable electric suitcases to get people quickly around airports and train stations has alarmed Japanese authorities following a rise in incidents of foreign visitors using them illegally on public roads. A rideable suitcase, particularly popular in parts of Asia, has a built-in electric motor, is powered by lithium-ion batteries, and can […]
July 29, 2024
The French railroad company SNCF announced repairs on the French TGV network following a large-scale attack on Friday. This attack involved arson on high-speed train cables and installations. SNFC says passengers will normally experience no further impact this week. The attack happened just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. Eurostar trains from […]
July 26, 2024
SPW Mobilité, the Public Service for Walloon Mobility, is completing a study on the creation of a network of cycle routes in Walloon Brabant, writes the newspaper L’Avenir. The initiative was developed in consultation with the province, 27 municipalities, and stakeholders, such as the cycling association Gracq and NMBS/SNCB. Compared to Flanders, Wallonia lags in […]
July 25, 2024
Belgian motorists stood still in traffic jams for an average of 6 minutes and 43 seconds per day between January 1 and July 1, representing 40 hours and 51 minutes of lost time per year. According to the Belgian Mobility Dashboard, developed by the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB) and automobile federation FEBIAC. Compared to […]
July 25, 2024
The average car on the Belgian market is getting longer, wider, and heavier, reducing available space on roads and in cities. This trend has been going on for some time now. In 2023, the Belgian automobile fleet represented about 6 million vehicles, occupying a space corresponding to 9,787 football fields. Ten years ago, it would […]
July 25, 2024
The latest edition of Ayvens’ Mobility Guide 2024 provides a comprehensive country-by-country analysis of EV readiness and electrification pace. Belgium (4) and Luxembourg (5) are joining the top five countries despite a general negative feeling among mostly private buyers. Norway remains number one, with the Netherlands and Finland following close by. The annual guide draws […]
July 24, 2024
From now on, season ticket holders of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn can register their boarding or transfer digitally. This means that bus or streetcar passengers who have registered their ride or transfer in advance on busy lines no longer have to queue to scan their MOBIB card with the driver. User surveys […]
July 24, 2024
The Californian Monarch Tractor wants to conquer the European market from Belgium and, therefore, intends to build a new head office there. The pioneer in self-driving electric tractors is counting on the financial support of Flemish government investor PMV. With the Welfare Fund established as a recovery vehicle, PMV invested substantially in the American company. […]
July 23, 2024
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair saw profits nearly halve in the first quarter. Still, the airline expects ticket prices in the second quarter to remain lower than last summer, whereas previously, the company was still assuming stable or slightly higher prices. Summer is a crucial time for airlines. It is the period when they make the […]
July 23, 2024
Boeing’s 777X, the biggest dual-engine commercial airplane in the world, is expected to fly through the skies starting in 2025. The American aircraft manufacturer also expects that the global fleet of commercial aircraft will grow to more than 50,000 aircraft in 20 years, about double its current fleet. Major competitor Airbus is not sitting idle […]
July 23, 2024
Belgian police issued 8,420,303 traffic violations last year, or 10,6% more than in 2022. That accounts for a new record. Four out of five cases involved speeding; compared to 2022, 11,8% more speeding drivers were caught. Police attribute the rising figures to the higher number of intelligent ANPR cameras, especially the higher number of average […]
July 22, 2024
On Friday, a computer glitch caused many problems at airports worldwide. From Sydney over Dubai to Berlin, nearly 4,300 aircraft had to be grounded, with the US, Britain, India, and Australia particularly affected. In Belgium, the damage from the computer malfunction remained relatively limited, with delayed flights at Brussels Airport—courtesy of the old computer system. […]
July 19, 2024
As of October, the Ghent City Council will be able to collect traffic fines in 22 additional European countries, from Spain to Italy to Poland. Previously, this was limited to a few neighboring countries. A European cooperation and the involvement of two Dutch companies makes the fine policy possible. It involves violations of parking policies, […]
