In 2020, Brussels registered 64% more bike rides

The measures taken in Brussels in recent years are bearing fruit. From now on, the inhabitants of the Belgian capital increasingly leave their car behind for public transport. And this is just the beginning, when a new car-free zone in the city center will be inaugurated in the summer of 2022.

Every year, the number of bicycle trips in Brussels increases by an average of 20%, according to data from Brussels Mobility. In 2020, a record year, it even increased by 64%. A counter, located along the cycle path along the Molenbeek canal, even crossed the symbolic threshold of one million journeys in December 2021, a first in the Belgian capital. In general, traffic records are being broken all over the city.

In terms of use, almost 15% of Brussels residents are now used to cycling to work, according to a study conducted by Acerta, a human resources services company. That is twice as much as anywhere else in Belgium. However, this figure could rise further with the introduction of corporate tax incentives, similar to what already exists for company cars. It should be noted that almost one in two Brussels residents (46%) comes by public transport.

On the other hand, one year after the introduction of the maximum speed limit of 30 km/h in the entire city of Brussels, it appears that the number of road deaths has halved. Note that this speed limit has also helped to reduce noise, up to 4.8 dB in some places.

The implementation in August 2022 of a larger traffic-calmed zone in the city center should confirm all these trends and accelerate the adoption of soft mobility by Brussels residents. These different plans are inspired by traffic-limiting measures already implemented elsewhere in the country, such as in Leuven, where pedestrians, bicycles and scooters have replaced the car in almost 75% of the streets in the city center.

ETX Daily Up

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