Initiatives introduced in recent years in Brussels are bearing fruit. A growing number of people in the Belgian capital are swapping use of their cars for public transport. And that's just the beginning, as a new low-traffic zone is set to be inaugurated in the city center in the summer of 2022.
Every year, the number of journeys made by bicycle 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 along the Molenbeek canal cycle path even passed the symbolic one-million-trip mark in December 2021, a first in the Belgian capital. And all over the city, such traffic records are being broken.
In terms of usage, nearly 15% of Brussels residents are now in the habit of cycling to work, according to a study conducted by Acerta, a human resources services company. This is twice as many as anywhere else in Belgium. Nevertheless, this figure could increase further with the introduction of tax incentives for companies, similar to what already exists for company cars. Note that nearly one in two Brussels residents (46%) travel to the city by public transport.
On the other hand, it appears that one year after the introduction of the 30 km/h speed limit throughout the whole city of Brussels, the number of road deaths has been halved. This speed limit has also contributed to a decrease in noise, of up to 4.8 dB in some places.
The introduction in August 2022 of a larger low-traffic zone in the city center should intensify all these trends and accelerate Brussels residents' adoption of soft mobility. It should be noted that these different plans are inspired by traffic reduction measures already implemented elsewhere in the country, such as in Leuven, where pedestrians, bicycles and scooters have replaced cars in nearly 75% of the city center streets.
