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 […]
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 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
The mandatory flight tax will cost Belgian airline companies – Brussels Airlines, Air Belgium, and TUI Fly – five million euros, money they will have to pay out of their own pockets as they can’t impose it on customers for already booked flights. The decision to impose airlines a so-called ‘flight tax’ was taken last […]
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 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 15, 2022
According to the statistics of the European manufacturers’ organization, ACEA, almost one-third (31,2%) of the newly registered buses in the EU are already powered by alternative fuels. The other two-thirds are still diesel-powered. Overall in 2021, 68,8% of all new buses registered in the European Union ran on diesel. However, electrically-chargeable buses posted strong growth, […]
March 14, 2022
At a general assembly in Namur on Sunday, the 168 recommendations were presented of a special panel of sixty Walloon citizens, selected by lottery, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region by 55% at least. After fifteen meetings, this civic panel has concluded a report spanning over nine areas that were subsequently arranged according […]
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 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 10, 2022
The high electricity prices cost Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB tens of millions euros. According to Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), NMNS/SNCB estimates the total additional costs compared to 2020 at more than 61,5 million euros. The country’s largest electricity user, the railway company expects the cost of electricity for train traction (i.e., to run the […]
March 08, 2022
Today, Transport & Environment (T&E), the European Federation for Transport and Environment, publishes its ‘Roadmap to climate-neutral aviation’. According to the organization, progress in technology and the lessons learned during the pandemic have shown a way to green aviation in Europe. To bring Europeʼs aviation industry in line with our climate goals, binding measures have […]
March 07, 2022
Volvo is today showcasing a wireless charging solution for its electrically powered vehicles. In addition, a small fleet of Volvo XC40 electric taxis will use a wireless charging solution using induction technology in their car parks in Gothenburg, Sweden. To be clear, Volvo will not be offering a wireless charging solution for production models tomorrow […]
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 […]
March 02, 2022
Brussels Mobility wants to reorganize the Sainctelette Square and the IJzer Square that are lying side by side. Both squares should become one open space with more room and comfort for cyclists, pedestrians, and public transport. About three years ago, the Sainctelette Square was ‘declared’ Brussels’ most dangerous junction. The actual reorganization plans should alter […]
March 02, 2022
Ghent is the third Flemish city to introduce silent and emission-free e-buses from public transport company De Lijn. The buses will be used on line 6, between ‘Gent Watersportbaan & Mariakerke Post’ as of Tuesday. The e-buses in Ghent are products of VDL. They have a 200 km range, and they will be charged overnight […]
March 01, 2022
Together with its commercial vehicle subsidiary Hino and partner Isuzu, Toyota plans the development of a hydrogen bus model using the fuel cell stack from the Mirai. The three companies have agreed to begin studying and planning this zero-emission route bus, which, according to Toyota, has its part to play in the conversion of Japan […]
February 28, 2022
Belgian rail network manager, Infrabel, and rail company NMBS/SNCB will be able to invest an additional 445 million euros in the coming years thanks to European and federal money. The money comes on top of the investments via the traditional allocations they receive. For Infrabel, it is 357 million euros, for NMBS/SNCB 88 million euros. […]
February 25, 2022
Most of the most prominent Belgian cities will still have a long way before achieving ‘clean, active, and shared mobility’. That is the conclusion of a study by the Clean Cities Campaign, a coalition of European regions. The study criticized the cities according to five criteria: traffic safety, air quality, local authorities’ measures (like low-emission […]
February 24, 2022
The Brussels Central metro station will get a thorough facelift as of March 1st. The works for the 35 million-euro project will last until 2027. During the entire period, the metro station must remain operational. The Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB announced this on Wednesday. The metro station, which is connected to the train station […]
February 18, 2022
Last year, the public transport companies in Belgium registered 4 787 cases of aggression against their staff, a 23% increase compared to 2020. This means that aggression is a daily phenomenon, with an average of 13 cases a day. The aggression is directed to train conductors, bus and tram drivers, safety staff, stewards, and ticket […]
February 17, 2022
The East Flemish concrete producer De Bonte will mass-produce green cross ties – green in both senses of the word – made from sulfur concrete. Sulfur is a waste product of the chemical industry. The result is a solid and environmentally friendly construction material. On Wednesday, the company officially inaugurated a new production line in […]
February 15, 2022
The Flemish public transport company, De Lijn, will increase its fares as of April 1st. And it’s not an April Fool’s joke. The cheapest ticket for a one-way trip will become a quarter more expensive, and the so-called ‘m ticket’ will go up from €2 to €2,5. The government wanted to bring the different fares […]
February 15, 2022
France is willing to subsidize the purchase of an electric or hydrogen truck, bus, or coach up to 65% of the difference with its diesel sibling. For trucks, up to 26 tons, and buses, this can be as high as 100 000 euros, heavy-weight e-trucks even 150.000. It also applies to converting ICE vehicles to […]
February 14, 2022
Johan Sauwens (Trots of Bilzen), Mayor of Bilzen and former Flemish Minister, is the new chairman of the Board of Directors of public transport company De Lijn. The Flemish government decided this on Friday, on the proposal of Mobility Minister Lydia Peeters (Open Vld). Sauwens, who was one of the founders of De Lijn in […]
February 09, 2022
Bus and coach manufacturer VDL has officially started the construction of a new, energy-neutral production unit in Roeselare (West Flanders). The plant is situated in the industrial zone ‘Krommebeek’ in Roeselare. The new factory will build 800 electric buses a year – twice as much as today – and production is expected to start in […]
February 07, 2022
Germany’s main railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, wants to completely ban the use of diesel for its locomotives by 2040. Its 3 000 diesel locomotives will be gradually switched to alternative fuels starting this year, CEO Richard Lutz said Sunday. The elimination of diesel fuels by 2040 comes on top of the switch to using 100% […]
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 02, 2022
More than sixty percent of Belgians say they consider climate change when choosing a holiday destination, but a majority of them (56%) still plan to fly next summer. That is one of the things a recent climate survey by the European Investment Bank discovered. One other is that 63% of Belgian car buyers say they […]
February 02, 2022
The French train manufacturer Alstom is going to build 50 locomotives for Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB. The first order of 24 units represents a €120 million investment. Delivery of the first vehicles will start in 2026. The new, electric Traxx locomotives will be used for domestic passenger transport and cross-border journeys between Belgium, the Netherlands, […]
January 31, 2022
The big test of the hydrogen bus of the Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB has been delayed. The first test runs were scheduled for September last year, but the test with passengers onboard has now been postponed for six months. “It will arrive on the network on 7 February,” says MIVB/STIB spokesperson Françoise Ledune. “The […]
January 31, 2022
Public transport company De Lijn temporarily offers favorable fares for those who travel from a Park-and-Ride zone to the city of Antwerp. Users of one of the Park-and-Ride (P+R) zones can park their cars and comfortably continue their trip by bus or tram. Travelers can opt for a monthly subscription (€35) or a ten-ride ticket […]
January 31, 2022
A few days after D’Ieteren’s car and e-scooter sharing service Poppy Mobility blew its fourth birthday candle, the user base counter exceeds more than 100 000 today, the company heralds in a new press release. The free-floating fleet, operational in Antwerp, Brussels, Malines, and three airports, consists of 700 cars and 550 electric kick scooters. […]
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 21, 2022
The Flemish public transport company, De Lijn, has permanently lost 10% of its passengers due to corona. In 2021, De Lijn transported 42% fewer passengers than in pre-corona times, and 2022 will probably fall short of expectations. “Some of our customers have definitely chosen for other means of transport,” says Ann Schoubs, director-general of De […]
January 20, 2022
Belgian Mobility Card (BMC), the joint subsidiary of Belgium’s four public transport operators (NMBS/SNCB, MIVB/STIB, Tec, and De Lijn), is buying the startup Stoomlink. The latter specializes in creating new digital solutions to simplify travel with public transport. Through this acquisition, BMC aims to simplify the journey of intermodal customers. This means providing information and […]
January 20, 2022
The Belgian bus and coach manufacturer, Van Hool, has just signed a contract to deliver 21 double-articulated, battery-electric tram-buses. The 21 emission-free vehicles are destined for public transport in the Swedish city of Malmö as of mid-2022. The ExquiCity plug-in vehicles, as the Van Hool tram-buses are called, are 24 meters long and will be […]
January 19, 2022
In the Netherlands, public bus operator Keolis has been struggling from the very beginning with the low quality of its electric buses, delivered by the world’s biggest bus manufacturer, Chinese BYD. It now risks a €1,25 fine from the provinces of Gelderland, Overijssel, and Flevoland, where 259 of these e-buses are driving around, causing frustration. […]
January 12, 2022
Seven out of ten Belgian citizens plead for the introduction of a mobility budget for all employees. Today, only those with a company car can claim it. “By making the formula accessible for all working employees, and adding some improvements, it would become far more popular,” Lorenzo Stefani, spokesperson for Touring told Sud Presse. The […]
January 12, 2022
According to HR company Acerta, there have never been as many company cars. In 2021, 22% of all employees benefited from one, which is 2,6% more than in 2020, and even 26,1% more than five years ago. Nearly two-thirds of company cars are still diesel-powered, while hybrids grew in one year from 2,5% to 5,7% […]
January 11, 2022
During the last two months of 2021, the frequentation of the Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB returned for the first time to more than 90% of its pre-pandemic rate. This is reported by CEO Brieuc de Meeûs in the 2021 report. Although the numbers tend to fall off during a wave, for the CEO, it […]
January 07, 2022
According to the CSC National Secretary in charge of Wallonia, Marc Becker, free public transport in Wallonia is a social affair in addition to an issue of mobility. Such a measure would help to reduce social inequalities. The union notes that companies should also pitch in to finance free public transport, which it estimates at […]
January 07, 2022
Last year, the Antwerp shared bicycle platform, Velo, registered a total of 4,482 million rides or 288 000 more than in 2020. In 2019, Velo still registered a total of 6,8 million rides, but the popularity of the red bikes waned when the corona crisis broke out. In 2020, the use of Velo bikes decreased […]
January 06, 2022
The Dutch government wants companies with a hundred employees or more to measure and report the emission levels of their staff. Employers will be forced to register how much CO2 their staff emits while traveling for the job or commuting. Having an overview of all these emission data and acting accordingly should finally lead to […]
December 29, 2021
The Dutch are in lockdown again. Shops, bars, and restaurants are closed, and the Dutch are massively crossing the borders for a day out in Belgium, despite calls of the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD), the Dutch rail NS, and Antwerp governor Cathy Berx to stay home. As a consequence, traffic on roads and […]
December 29, 2021
Since the corona crisis, the Flemish are more likely to disregard public transport, opting instead for bicycles or cars. This is what mobility club VAB concludes from its Mobility Barometer, an online survey of 2 000 Flemish people conducted at the end of November. The survey shows that one in three respondents who regularly use […]
December 29, 2021
Waymo, the ‘Alphabet-Google daughter’ running a fleet of autonomous taxis in Phoenix and San Francisco today, is partnering with Chinese luxury brand Zeekr for a purpose-built robot taxi. The fully electric AV (autonomous vehicle) will be designed by Geely’s research and development facility in Gothenburg, Sweden. The new vehicle will be rider-centric from the outset, […]
December 28, 2021
British EV startup Arrival, pioneering a new production model with so-called distributed ‘Micro-Factories’ to build its EVs – buses and vans – locally to keep investments and prices low, has started street tests with its Arrival Bus in the UK. The decentralized method helps source components locally (if available) and avoids too much transport, which […]
December 27, 2021
A flexible season ticket for part-time home-working commuters will be introduced by the Belgian railway company SNCB/NMBS in 2022. Subscribers need a smartphone to be able to use it. This ‘flex-abo’ will be available for the bigger clients of the national railway company (companies that offer a season ticket to their employees) – representing some […]
December 24, 2021
The German airline company Lufthansa has canceled several long-distance flights due to a shortage of pilots. Many pilots are ill and the company is forced to reschedule and even reduce the flights planned for January and February. Subsidiary company Brussels Airlines has had similar problems and also had to cancel one flight so far. “The […]
December 22, 2021
The Flemish government is planning to invest an additional 11 million euros in the transport of pupils with special needs. Flemish Minister of Mobility, Lydia Peeters (Open Vld), wants to have an action plan ready by the end of January to tackle the transport problem structurally. Car importer D’Ieteren and Huks, a Belgian company offering […]
December 21, 2021
Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB has ordered 98 additional M7 double-deck vehicles from French train manufacturer Alstom. The order is part of a general agreement signed in 2015 for the delivery of 1 362 M7 carriages of which NMBS/SNCB already ordered 747. The M7 carriages will be assembled at Alstom in Bruges, on the former site […]
December 17, 2021
The Australian airline company Qantas is planning to replace its actual fleet of Boeings for inland flights with Airbus planes. The European aircraft builder Airbus has signed a contract with Qantas. The prices of the deal were not mentioned. Meanwhile, also Air France-KLM has placed an order for 100 machines at Airbus; some 60 more […]
December 16, 2021
Public transport company De Lijn has applied for a permit to exploit a depot for 40 electric buses in Wissenhage, Ghent. The number of e-buses will increase considerably in the coming years, and they all will need charging and shelter. The site in Wissenhage is 14 hectares and will become De Lijn’s largest depot. The […]
December 15, 2021
The EU Commission has presented a four-pillar Action Plan for a cleaner, greener, and smarter mobility on the cross-border transport network through Europe and its nine major corridors. That means shifting more passengers and freight to rail and inland waterways, the roll-out of charging points every 60 km along highways, hydrogen filling stations at 150 […]
December 13, 2021
The extension of the fast tram line 9 in the northwest of Brussels is completed. It now connects metro station Simonis to the King Boudewijn station, near the Heysel plateau, in 20 minutes, passing through the center of Jette, the Centenary Square, the UZ Brussels, and de Model City. The extension, which was inaugurated on […]
December 13, 2021
All new trains of Belgian railway company NMBS/SNCB will have at least eight places for bicycles starting in 2025. This is stated in a preliminary draft law by Minister of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet (Ecolo), the Council of Ministers approved on Friday. The obligation will apply to new trains that are put into service. Existing trains […]
December 09, 2021
Due to the pandemic, the Brussels tourist buses have been at a standstill for a while. However, Brussels public transport company MIVB/STIB and the French urban transport company RATP Dev will be rerunning them this winter, bringing out the world’s first fully electric fleet of sightseeing buses. This winter, two electric buses will be running […]
