April 20, 2022
The Council of State has decided to stop the works of the Antwerp Oosterweel connection for a second time after receiving complaints from environmental organizations Bond Beter Leefmilieu (BBL) and Greenpeace. Both contest the restart of the earth-moving activities on the left bank of the river Scheldt. It’s the second time that the Council of […]
April 20, 2022
After the Grandsphere luxury limo and Skysphere grand tourer, Audi has unveiled its third vision of the future’s electric car. The Urbansphere has been specially designed for traffic-dense Chinese megacities, emphasizing interior and personal space. The concept benefits from 400 hp, four-wheel-drive, 270 kW fast charging, and level 4 autonomous drive based on the PPE […]
April 20, 2022
Thirty days without using your car. Quite a challenge. But is it feasible? The Belgian Network for Sustainable Mobility urges to give it a try. The goal of the ’30 Dagen Minder Wagen’ campaign is to change our travel habits and experiment (more) with more sustainable mobility solutions. The initiators hope to motivate people to […]
April 14, 2022
D’Ieteren, Ginion Group, Valckenier, and finance&invest.brussels have joined forces and resources to promote new mobility trends via the D’Ieteren Lab Box scale-up MyMove. They want to make car-sharing (inside or outside organizations or companies) more accessible and popular internationally. The car business is moving fast forward, as is mobility in general. New trends like ride-hailing, […]
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 14, 2022
Almost half of all Belgians (43%) expect that smart mobility apps will lead to more sustainable trips. About 28% of them think they might encourage them to use public transport more often, one-fifth of respondents (21%) expect they would convince them to opt for more active means of transport (walking or cycling), and 15% say […]
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
As the number of electric vehicles (EVs) is growing, the need for clear charging rules is rising too. For example, in Arnhem (north of Holland), a court has condemned an EV owner to finally pay the fine he got in 2020 for occupying a charging point for too long. The EV owner had refused to […]
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 11, 2022
After a pilot project launched in October 2021, Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open Vld), has announced that all average speed checks on Belgian highways will be permanently operational before the summer. Drivers exceeding a speed of 129 km/hour will be fined automatically. Average speed checks are considered to be more effective than speed […]
April 11, 2022
An increasing share of newly purchased electric cars in the Netherlands goes to private consumers. More than half (52%) of the 12 385 new EVs registered were for private use in the past three months. In this first quarter, 4 327 EVs were bought by private individuals, 2 181 through a private lease. In the […]
April 08, 2022
Passengers using Brussels public transport have given MIVB/STIB an overall score of 7,3 out of 10 on its annual satisfaction barometer. MIVB/STIB is satisfied, especially since the number of commuters on the tram, metro, and bus is again rising, and traffic jams have returned to the capital. Over the past two years, MIVB/STIB has taken […]
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 07, 2022
During the first half of 2021, more than 1,6 million drivers in Flanders – 11% more than in the same period in 2019 – were caught speeding. More than half of them (27,4%) drove more than 10 km/hour faster than the allowed speed limit. The figures are based on statistics of the Federal Police. “Speeding […]
April 04, 2022
Car rental giant Herz is buying 65 000 fully electric Polestars in the next five years and will start offering them in Spring 2022 in Europe and end this year in America and Australia. It’s a massive deal for Polestar, as the latter reached its global sales target of 29 000 vehicles in 2021 and […]
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
The Flemish Minister of Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), rejects the idea of introducing a maximum speed limit of 100 km/hour on the highways. Yesterday, we wrote that Groen, Flanders’ green political party, had suggested introducing a temporary speed limit of 100 kph on the highways. The measure would improve safety, save money and fuel, […]
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 […]
April 01, 2022
Two-thirds or 70% of Belgians are in favor of more sustainable mobility. Not surprisingly, the bicycle is the symbol of soft mobility for most Belgian road users. Plus: Belgians are mainly deterred from buying an electric car by the cost and the lack of charging stations. This is the conclusion of the first mobility barometer […]
March 31, 2022
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn has launched procedures to purchase hundreds of electric buses, possibly up to 1 250. It involves buses of all sizes, ranging from 8 to 24 meters in length. De Lijn confirmed this on Wednesday, following the European Tender Journal publications. De Lijn’s ambition is to make its fleet […]
March 31, 2022
Stijn Bex, Flemish MP for political party Groen, wants to lower the maximum speed on highways to 100 kilometers/hour. “Driving slower is less consuming.” According to Bex, the measure could save about 0,7 to 1,5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. The measure should only apply during the daytime. Björn Rzoska, leader of the parliamentary […]
March 31, 2022
The new transport plan of the Antwerp city administration has the ambition to receive 60% of the visitors to the event halls Sportpaleis and Lotto Arena by sustainable transport. The recent opening of three park-and-ride zones will contribute to it, local authorities say. Since 2005, the city is trying to reduce traffic nuisance in the […]
March 30, 2022
The EV9 on display today previews the next EV from Kia and shows the design language of future Kia models. The EV9 is expected in dealerships as early as 2023 and will be positioned above the existing EV6. What stands out is a very angular design with a massive, straight front, a fairly upright windshield […]
March 30, 2022
The Institute for Mobility (IMOB) of Hasselt University uses drones and special software to map dangerous traffic situations. The project fits in the MIA approach that Flemish Minister for Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), introduced last year. MIA stands for the Dutch ‘Mobiliteit Innovatief Aanpakken’ (Innovative Approach to Mobility). The general idea is to improve […]
March 30, 2022
On Tuesday, French automotive equipment manufacturer Plastic Omnium announced its ambition to get into battery production. The industrial group specialized in automotive body parts – and, more recently, hydrogen – is in exclusive negotiations to purchase Actia’s Power division to design and manufacture onboard batteries. The French group has also purchased an equity stake in […]
March 29, 2022
More Belgians are willing to cycle to work and receive a bicycle allowance, with the number of workers getting this allowance rising to 12,24%. But last year, due to the pandemic and massive teleworking, bicycle allowances and travel fell by more than a fifth (22%). This is what SD Worx, the largest payroll calculator in […]
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 28, 2022
With an operating loss of 401,9 million euros, the Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB hit an even bigger loss last year, its second coronary year, than in 2020. However, thanks to the government’s intervention, which provided compensation of more than 300 million euros, the operational loss could be contained to 98,1 million euros. The outlook isn’t […]
March 28, 2022
Via its start-up incubator company, Lab Box, D’Ieteren Automotive takes over the Brussels taxi company Taxis Verts. By doing so, D’Ieteren wants to take the initiative “to digitalize this part of the mobility sector and make it more sustainable”. D’Ieteren wants to expand the Brussels taxi company to other cities in Belgium but is letting […]
March 28, 2022
Driving suitability center CARA, a subdivision of the traffic institute Vias, has given negative advice to 543 persons in 2021. The number corresponds to 11,6% of the 4 660 files from the Flemish region that were handled. Almost half of the people whom CARA deemed fit for driving had to make one or more adjustments […]
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 25, 2022
“The Antwerp Oosterweel connection and the covering of the ring road to cut back car traffic around the city are unaffordable.” These are the words of Jan Debucquoy, councilor of the Belgian State Audit Office. Debucquoy brought this eye-opening message during the annual progress report meeting in parliament. “If Flanders wants to meet the targets […]
March 25, 2022
Ride-hailing giant Uber is smoking the peace pipe with the New York yellow cabs by integrating their service on its app. Users and yellow cab drivers will be informed before booking on the nature of their ride and subsequent prices. Each has the option to reject. Nothing much changes on the streets, as only taxis […]
March 24, 2022
Now that fuel prices are peaking, Dutch motorists are driving more slowly on highways. Probably to save fuel. The Dutch office for traffic data NDW (Nationaal Dataportaal Wegverkeer) noticed that last week, the average speed on 37% of Dutch highways was 1 km/hour lower than before the war in Ukraine began. Researchers of NDW analyzed […]
March 24, 2022
According to the newspaper L’Echo, Euro 4 diesel cars driving inside the Brussels Low-Emission Zone (LEZ) won’t be fined until July. The newspaper reports that the official reason is new car delivery delays, but it also cites a computer bug at Brussels Taxation. Since January, Euro 4 diesel cars have been supposedly banned from the […]
March 24, 2022
All roads lead to Rome, so the saying goes, and that cliché is once again confirmed. The Via Romae, also known as the Euro Velo 5 cycle route, now crosses the heart of Brussels. On Wednesday, Brussels Mobility Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) inaugurated the new road signs at the Cinquantenaire Park that show […]
March 23, 2022
While the reform on the Walloon car tax is drafted, with the implementation of CO2 emission standards and weight limits in the calculation, it’s fermenting trouble with opposition and the majority alike. Some fear it could rule out family estate cars in the future. Others think people will find a loophole by private leasing in […]
March 23, 2022
In a recent survey, Belgian cycling association Gracq asked 13 500 people to judge the cycling environment of their municipalities. Only two, Louvain-la-Neuve and Marche-en-Famenne, have been classed as ‘fairly favorable’. All in all, only 6% of Walloon find their local cycling conditions good, while 77% consider it to be poor or very poor. Walloon […]
March 23, 2022
In Saint-Gilles, cargo bikes have replaced the trams in the former Belgrade workshop of the public transport company MIVB/STIB. The Brussels-based cyclo-logistics cooperative Urbike has taken up residence there, the result of a call for projects before the building is completely renovated. Urbike is one of the reference companies in delivering goods by cargo bicycle. […]
March 22, 2022
Motorized two-wheelers are more popular than ever in Belgium. Last year, 30 526 people received a driver’s license for such vehicles. That is 47,4% more than in 2020, and 22,4% more than in 2019, the pre-corona year. The figures come from the Belgian car and two-wheeler federation Febiac. Motorized two-wheelers used to be considered ideal […]
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 21, 2022
Getlink, the operator of the Chunnel, wants to order a set of trains to lease them to third parties that can step into competition with Eurostar’s Shuttle on the cross-channel journey. The interest is there, says the operator, and if everything goes according to plan, the first trains could be delivered by 2026. The former […]
March 21, 2022
The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns of an oil crisis caused by the invasion in Ukraine and spurs governments to take action and consumers to change their behavior. It has presented a ten-point plan to cut oil use. Working from home, restrictions on access to city centers by car, cheaper public transportation, more carpooling, reduced […]
March 21, 2022
In general, the air quality in the Brussels region is better than expected. However, standards are still exceeded in the capital center and the vicinity of significant traffic axes. The results were obtained from CurieuzenAir, the most extensive air quality study of Brussels. As part of the CurieuzenAir project, air quality measurements were taken at 3 […]
March 18, 2022
The Flemish Minister for Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), allocates an additional 1,6 million euros to tackle illegal dumping along the Flemish highways. Last year, the Agency for Roads and Traffic (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) collected 1,34 million kg (1 343 tons) of trash along the Flemish regional roads and highways. A decrease of […]
March 18, 2022
By 2026, more than 600 of the 700 traffic lights installed along the regional road network in Wallonia will become smart traffic lights. The intervention should ensure that buses are given priority at intersections and that traffic flows more smoothly. On Thursday, the Walloon Government approved a contract to modernize traffic lights, announced Walloon Mobility […]
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 17, 2022
Until 30 June, buses on the E5 express line between Nivelles and Namur will be able to take non-folding bicycles from commuters, either in the loading space or on a bike rack installed at the back of the bus. This is a pilot experiment of the Walloon public transport service TEC, intended to evaluate the […]
March 16, 2022
The noisiest and heaviest aircraft must be banned from Brussels Airport. That is what the Federal Ombudsman for the national airport, Philippe Touwaide, has stated at a press conference on Tuesday. “There are infringements every night, and we don’t pursue them,” Touwaide said, citing the case of noisy aircraft such as Boeing 777s at night […]
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 14, 2022
Physical aggression in traffic increases. According to traffic safety institute Vias, the number of cases tripled in five years. Last year, seven percent of drivers were confronted with it. In 2017, it was hardly 2%. General aggression, however, like swearing or calling names, declined slightly, from 57% in 2017 to 54% in 2021. Remarkable is […]
March 14, 2022
The Brussels Parliament has approved the proposal to better regulate shared e-scooters, bikes, and mopeds. The text provides compulsory parking in drop zones, reduced speed in pedestrian zones, and stricter enforcement. The latter is meant to tackle the nuisance of e-scooters lying around and the lack of safety in pedestrian zones. From now on, there […]
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 11, 2022
Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool from Koningshooikt (Lier) may build at least 56 tram-buses that will run in Paris. The electric vehicles will be charged using an in-built fast-charging system. A world-first, says the company. Van Hool is working on this with French Alstom and German Kiepe Electric. The consortium, where Van Hool is the […]
March 11, 2022
Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters (Open Vld) doesn’t want a ‘refresh’ test for car drivers ten years after they’ve passed their initial driving tests. “Keeping one’s traffic knowledge up-to-date is every road user’s responsibility,” she said. Sector organization GOCA Flanders, responsible for the driver’s license exams and technical control centers, has proposed to check […]
March 10, 2022
Public transport company De Lijn has introduced a new way of providing real-time traffic information via Google Maps. Since Wednesday, passengers of De Lijn can check whether their bus or tram will be on time or delayed via Google Maps. Until now, they could only check timetables, but now they get the actual times of […]
March 09, 2022
D’Ieteren Automotive, the importer of the Volkswagen brands in Belgium, is showcasing at its distribution center in Kortenberg there is more than selling cars these days. It invites fleet owners to get to know – besides the newest models – a number of mobility services that grew out of its think tank Lab Box, going […]
March 09, 2022
Minister for Climate Transition and Environment Alain Maron (Ecolo) announced that the city of Brussels had approved the budget hike for its scrappage scheme for cars. It is now raised from €750 000 to €3 million. The money serves to convert the Brussels’Air bonus into a full-scale mobility budget. Residents of the Belgian capital can […]
