November 02, 2017
Modern cars are loaded with safety systems, but most drivers hardly ever use them. They simply don’t know what smart gadgets their car is equipped with. This was one of the remarkable results of the study carried out by the Connecting Mobility, a project office of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management together […]
November 02, 2017
One of the side effects of self-driving car is that the drivers tend to fall asleep and are unable to intervene when something goes wrong. “A scary experience”, Waymo CEO John Krafcik told Reuters on a visit of its Phoenix area test facilities this week. After experiencing this in 2013 during highway testing, Waymo, sister […]
November 02, 2017
Dutch bus company Qbuzz started on Wednesday with the first double deck buses for public transport in the Netherlands on the Emmen-Groningen line. The TDX27 Astromega buses, build by Belgian bus builder Van Hool, offer 85 seats and extra comfort like Wi-Fi and USB charging points for its passengers. Five QLiner 300 buses will assure […]
October 31, 2017
The Commission on Infrastructure of the Brussels’ parliament has agreed in the forming of a work group that has to study the implementation of dynamic road signs and speed limits on the main entry axes and the Ring. These dynamic road signs will adapt the speed limits to the traffic and weather conditions. The implementation […]
October 31, 2017
On Monday, the renewed VLM flight connection between Antwerp Airport and London City was officially ‘inaugurated’. VLM Airlines will fly the route again after nine years, this time with a Slovenian licence. The company is also working on connections between Brussels and China. Since September, there were no longer flights between Antwerp and London City […]
October 31, 2017
After hearing the final pleadings in the class action of consumer organization Test-Aankoop/Test-Achat (TA) and Volkswagen – D’Ieteren, the Brussels Court of First Instance’s judge has one month to decide whether the case is admissible or not. Compensation In June of last year, TA started a collective legal action or so-called ‘class action’ for about […]
October 31, 2017
The Belgian Walloon regional government has agreed last week on an ambitious plan to reduce car usage from 83 to 60% by 2030. Its Transport, Mobility and Road Safety Minister Carlo di Antonio (cdH) wants 4 out of 5 car trips in the future to be with at least two passengers and boost public transport […]
October 31, 2017
Swedish Anders Hedin Invest is taking over seven Mercedes dealerships in Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium. Anders Hedin is Sweden’s largest Mercedes-Benz dealer group. The dealerships, managed until now by Mercedes-Benz Belgium-Luxembourg’s own succursal, are concentrated around Ghent (Ghent, Gent Zeehaven, Sint-Martens Latem, Eeklo) and in Aalst, Ninove and Zottegem. Together the dealerships realize a turnover of around […]
October 30, 2017
According to information gathered by the Belgian newspaper “La Libre”, 110 pilots have quit Ryanair last week. Since 20.000 flights were cancelled due to the shortage of pilots available, Ryanair experiences a resignation rate of 23 per week. Ryanair had to cancel 20.000 flights until next March due to employee’s vacation scheduling problems. Since then, […]
October 30, 2017
The Executive Board approved the new 2018-2022 investments plan for Belgian railways SNCB/NMBS. It foresees 3,2 billion euro for commuter transport, train stations and equipment management and maintenance. On Friday, the SNCB/NMBS executive board approved the new power delegation and sub-delegation allowing the CEO Sophie Dutordoir to appoint her own general managers and department heads. […]
October 30, 2017
The stone marten is again on the up in Flanders. Side effect of this is that the number of cars with chewed through cables peaks. Although not scientifically proven yet, substances on the rubber coating of the cars wiring might be similar to the one stone martens use to mark their territory, so they attack […]
October 30, 2017
According to American real estate experts Justin Thompson and Garth Bostic the autonomous car can tempt people in the future to flee the city and move back to the green countryside, while traffic jams around the city will still remain and parking spaces in the city will become obsolete. The Los Angeles based experts asked […]
October 30, 2017
Philippe De Backer, State Secretary for Social Fraud, but also leader of the Open VLD faction in the Antwerp city council, calls for a kilometre tax for lorries in the inner city of Antwerp for certain critical time slots. Unless they pay a substantial fee. “Circulation plans sound good, but the solution is just there […]
October 30, 2017
Japanese carmaker Subaru has confirmed that its certification method for home market cars wasn’t done by certified inspectors, just like Nissan. The company plans on recalling 250.000 cars. “These methods involving controlling new vehicles by non-accredited inspectors for the Japanese market have been going on for 30 years at Subaru”, declared CEO Yasuyuki Yoshinaga. The […]
October 30, 2017
In spite of earlier Belgian bus manufacturers’ objections, Brussels Airport has confirmed its order of 30 full electric busus with Chinese BYD. BYD Europe gets 330.000 euro per bus, which is 33% cheaper than the second best bidder, VDL Roeleare. Dumping practices Bus builders VDL and Van Hool suspect Chinese battery giant and bus and […]
October 27, 2017
Belgian Rail is challenging technical students to find a solution to warn passengers being too close to the edge of the train platforms while waiting, despite of the yellow line indicating the safety distance, the signs and the public call systems. Every day, railway company NMBS/SNCB transports 850,000 passengers in 3.500 trains on the world’s […]
October 27, 2017
In Wallonia starting 2018, all classic cars will have to go through a periodic technical inspection every two years. For cars aged between 25 and 30, it will be every year. In Belgium, a car is considered a classic car if it is older than 25 years old, counting from its first registration date. In […]
October 27, 2017
Two Brussels police zones will be given bait-bikes equipped with GPS trackers and use them to catch bicycle thieves. The justice deems the method to be legal. “Lately, the Dutch Tilburg University published a study reveiling that the number of bicycle thefts in the municipalities using bait-bikes had decreased by 40% in one year”, explains […]
October 27, 2017
Environmental organization Greenpeace is preparing the summons for court to demand ‘representative measurements of air pollution’ from the Flemish and Walloon governments to know the impact the air quality really has to people’s health. On 11 September, after conducting its own NOx measurements in Antwerp showing far higher values than the official ones, Greenpeace sent […]
October 27, 2017
After numerous driver associations reached out to the government concerning its new and harsher tax plan for plug-in hybrid cars, the federal government reworked its copy. The new draft exempts cars such as the Toyota Prius PH or the Passat GTE, but its still reduced the tax advantage on what the government calls “fake hybrids” […]
October 27, 2017
After the indignation about the bicycle crashes in Antwerp, the political parties are now focusing on road safety. The collective ‘Samen’, joining political parties sp.a and Groen, wants to introduce a drastic new traffic plan like Ghent did. The left-wing collective asked professor Dirk Lauwers (UA, UGent), an authority in the field of road safety, […]
October 27, 2017
Without drastic measures Belgium will never achieve the CO2 targets set by the Paris agreement. Kris Welkenhuysen, researcher at the Belgian Geological Service, thinks in theory two thirds of industrial CO2 emission could be stored underground in the former coal mines or under the North Sea. Welkenhuysen studied the matter for his PhD thesis in […]
October 26, 2017
More than two years after the dieselgate scandal, around 100,000 cars are still circulating in Belgium with the so-called cheating software. According to D’Ieteren, importer of the Volkswagen group’s brands, some 1 million letters have already been sent out. However, 30% of customers have not yet had an update carried out. This update is completely […]
October 26, 2017
Toyota and Opel/Vauxhall are freezing their investments in the United Kingdom due to the uncertainty of what Brexit might bring. Toyota wants to be certain that a free EU market access without customs levies is maintained before investing in its UK plant. Toyota is uncertain about its future in the UK. In March, the Japanese […]
October 26, 2017
With the launch of its new Leaf 2, Nissan wants to remain the world’s number one in electric vehicle. In Belgium, it hopes that the new model will oversell the Tesla Model S that is currently the country’s best selling EV. Nissan has been playing in the electric vehicle segment for much longer than its […]
October 26, 2017
Because of the persistent nuisance of cut-through traffic, the kilometer tax for trucks is to be extended to some district roads. This was confirmed by a reliable source to De Morgen. Minister of mobility Ben Weyts (NV-A) is expected to put the proposal up for approval in parliament on Thursday. The kilometer tax for trucks […]
October 26, 2017
On Wednesday East Belgian transport and logistics company Jost Group announced its order of 500 LNG-trucks (Liquified Natural Gas) at the Italian truck and bus maker Iveco. With these 500 Iveco Stralis NPs the transport company wants to convert 35 per cent of its fleet to LNG along with the intention to built up its […]
October 26, 2017
Cars that are less polluting, more comfortable, but especially more ‘intelligent’ are put on the stage at the 45th Tokyo Motor Show that is opening its doors to the public on Friday. Japanese car manufacturers use their local platform to show some remarkable prototypes like cars that can recognize emotions of their drivers or self-balancing […]
October 26, 2017
Wednesday, the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB) presented its first self-driving minibus. This “intelligent” urban shuttle’s maiden voyage happen in the spa resort of Bad Birnbach in Bavaria. The new autonomous shuttle Deutsche Bahn introduces, is capable of transporting up to 12 passengers. This electric minibus has been developed by the French start-up EasyMile. […]
October 26, 2017
Belgian Federal Minister for Mobility, François Bellot (MR), is going to amend the law on the crossroads bank for vehicles, so that French and Dutch citizens can also be fined if they violate the rules of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ). At present, foreign drivers who violate the LEZ-legislation cannot be booked. Due to the […]
October 26, 2017
Swedish NEVS, the former Saab which is owned by a number of Chinese investment companies, is going to build electric taxis for taxi hailing and private car sharing service DiDi, the ‘Chinese Uber’. An agreement was signed on Wednesday in Trollhättan (Sweden) for developing a specific electric vehicle, capable of autonomous driving in the future. NEVS, […]
October 25, 2017
A Walloon TEC bus transports on average 11 passengers and thus emits as much CO2 and NOx as eleven cars. Occupation in TEC buses is too low due in part to the loss of confidence in the availability of the public transport service, according to Walloon deputy Jean-Paul Wahl (MR). “According to the region minister’s […]
October 25, 2017
Simultaneously green light for all cyclists and pedestrians at crossroads could prevent accidents. But that road code is still not valid. According to Member of Parliament Jef Van den Bergh (CD&V) it could be applied sooner. Federal Minister for Mobility François Bellot (MR) is working on an adaptation of that traffic regulations. The proposal includes […]
October 25, 2017
The rich city-state of Singapore won’t allow any extra cars on its already congested road network, not a single one. Only replacement cars will be allowed and the government promises to invest billions in public transport. From February 2018 on, the city state won’t allow its motorized vehicle fleet to grow anymore, including motorcycles. The […]
October 25, 2017
The automatic gearbox gains in popularity. Seven years ago only 11,5 per cent of the cars sold in Belgium had an automatic gearbox. Today a third of the cars sold in 2017 are ‘automatics’ while experts predict the disappearance of the manual gearbox. “In family cars the manual gearbox remains the most popular”, says Maarten […]
October 25, 2017
Uber has created a fake city near Pittsburgh (US) on an old industrial lot to test autonomous cars in “real world conditions”. It is also used to train the future security drivers that will be present in Uber’s autonomous cars in case something goes wrong. On an old industrial lot of 17 acres, Uber has […]
October 25, 2017
Belgian federal government blows the whistle on NMBS/SNCB CEO Sophie Dutordoir on her intention of cancelling the project to provide wireless internet on the train. Dutordoir thinks it’s to costly and unnecessary as the entire train network will be covered by 3G and 4G in the near future. But government persists. Sophie Dutordoir, the new […]
October 25, 2017
The sale of Opel to French car group PSA pushed General Motors into losing 5,4 billion dollar. Without the write off of the costs related to this sale, the profit in the third quarter would have been 1,32 dollar per share. Which is more than the analysts expected. When General Motors sold Opel to PSA […]
October 25, 2017
Ex-GM daughter and one of the worlds major automotive suppliers Delphi buys the nuTonomy start-up created by MIT researchers for 400 million dollars. nuTonomy will reinforce Delphi as the most important provider of autonomous technologies. On Tuesday, Delphi announced that it would acquire the American start-up nuTonomy. The company’s 100 employees, of which 70 are […]
October 25, 2017
Without unexpected obstacles, one of Europe’s biggest road construction sites, the Antwerp Oosterweel connection, will start in spring 2018 on the left bank of the river Scheldt (Linkeroever) and Zwijndrecht. A job that will take four and a half years and will cost 386 million euro. The Antwerp Ring will be open for traffic all […]
October 25, 2017
VDL, Holland’s biggest bus, car and lorry builder, announced on Tuesday it received new orders from Belgian logistics group Katoen Natie and German chemical giant BASF for 18 fully autonomous driving lorries. The Antwerp based Katoen Natie will use the 11 new lorries they ordered on its Singapore petrochemical site, where they have already one […]
October 24, 2017
In a document sent to all Ryanair pilots, the European Employee Representative Council explains that they “have to consider the possibility to go on strike to ensure being heard on the negotiation table”. Ryanair pilots want to push the company’s management to offer the same benefits as other airlines. Last week, Madrid and London-Stansted Ryanair […]
October 24, 2017
London mayor Sadiq Khan starts his fight against growing air pollution by making every pre-2006 car driving in the city pay a 10 pound (11,21 euro) ‘Toxicity-charge’, officially called ‘Emissions Surcharge’ in addition to the already existing congestion charge. In the near future, every new bus and taxi will have to be hybrid or electric […]
October 24, 2017
The Flemish government agreed on lowering the threshold for refunding road taxes to transport companies that (partly) use waterways or railway instead of sending trucks on the road. The required minimum of 220 transshipment moves (from truck to boat) is lowered to 100. “After an adjustment of the rules, that were so severe hardly any […]
October 24, 2017
The European Commission opened on Friday an anti-dumping investigation on Chinese electric bicycles, after complaints from EU bike producers. “These Chinese bikes are sold at ridiculously low prices and don’t respect the same quality standards as bicycles built in Europe.” Europe’s electric bicycles market is booming in terms of sales and production. In 2016, 1,1 […]
October 24, 2017
Three days after invading the BMW headquarters in Munich, several other German car makers had a visit on Monday of EU inspectors, accompanied by inspectors of the German cartel authority, in the alleged ‘cartel investigation’. The EU press release did not specify which ones, but sources indicate this time Daimler and Volkswagen were targeted. Big […]
October 24, 2017
The first of 14 new trams of the Albatros-type is delivered in Antwerp. They will offer an extended capacity of 1.600 passengers. If everything goes as planned, nine more will be operational before the end of the year, while the last four are expected at the beginning of 2018. The Albatros-tram is 60 meter long, […]
October 23, 2017
At the age of 59, Toyota’s no.2 worldwide is French, native from Lille, close to the Belgian border: Didier Leroy. He saw Toyota predicting the switch from the combustion engine to electric 15 years ago. Financial newspaper L’Echo interviewed the man on the eve of the Tokyo Motor Show. Leroy’s career at Toyota got a […]
October 23, 2017
Commercial free floating bike-sharing is on its way. Thirteen Flemish cities are approached by companies that intend to install those bicycles. To prevent the situation to derail like in Holland, measures have to be taken before they arrive, Ghent alderman Filip Watteuw (Groen) thinks. Unlike city-bikes such as Velo in Antwerp or Villo in Brussels, […]
October 23, 2017
According to the Wall Street Journal there is an agreement between American electric car maker Tesla and the Chinese government to start the construction of a Tesla plant in the free-trade zone in Shanghai. China is an important market for Tesla. It counts for 15 per cent of Tesla’s turn-over with an expected growth of […]
October 23, 2017
Federal Justice Minister Koen Geens (CD&V) and Mobility Minister François Bellot (MR) proposed a new law aiming at reducing the number of vehicles driving without insurance. Penalties go from a three months driving ban to nine months imprisonment. In 2016, 29.233 drivers were caught circulating on the roads without any insurance for their vehicles. This […]
October 23, 2017
A mere 600 employees of chemical company BASF, which is based in the Port of Antwerp have exchanged their car for a bike. The change is possible thanks to the Commuting Fund of the Flemish government. BASF receives 195,000 euros and invests the money in bicycle infrastructure. “We offer our staff lease bicycles,” explains BASF […]
October 23, 2017
On Saturday, 40 drawn lots of Brussels citizen were invited in the city’s parliament to give their opinion on the capital’s mobility. The government’s objective is to include inhabitant’s recommendations in the future regional mobility plan. On the 8.000 letters sent to Brussels’ inhabitants to ask them if they would like to take part in […]
October 23, 2017
Dutch company Prodrive Technologies introduces a sensor that is capable of detecting PM2.5 particulates entering the car interior and shutting of air intake or filtering it out by the air con. The sensor is developed for a not yet disclosed German car maker, who intends to launch the product in 2018. Prodrive Technologies already developed […]
October 23, 2017
After numerous discussions with Paris city authorities, SeaBubbles won’t introduce it’s autonomous electric hovering boat taxis on the Seine but on the Geneva Lake instead. SeaBubbles is a new type of electric hydrofoil boats created by two French boaters that could revolutionize public transport. In only eighteen months, ex hydrofoil skipper Alain Thébault and windsurfing […]
