Almost 4 in 10 Belgians are now using their bike or scooter to travel at least part of the way to work. The figure has never been so high. The data comes from an annual mobility barometer drawn up by human resources services company Acerta. The car is losing some ground, even though almost 78 per cent of commuter trips last year still involved the car, but here, too, a greening has begun.
The popularity of cycling is increasing year by year. In 2021, 33 per cent of commuters cycled to work; by 2023, this had risen to 39 per cent. "There’s the bicycle allowance which has enormously boosted the increased use of bicycles," explains Charlotte Thijs, mobility expert at Acerta Consult.
"Nowadays there is also a wide range of types of bike available, including electric bikes. There’s also the infrastructure, the cycle highways that are busy these days. That too has boosted the popularity of cycling."
Over 15 per cent of commuters cover the entire route from home to work on their bike or scooter, nearly 22 per cent combine cycling with the car, and almost 1.5 per cent of commuters combine public transport with their bikes.
Greening continues
The car still remains king, though: 77.7 per cent of commuter trips are made by car, whether combined with other means of transport or not. That figure stood at 78.3 per cent in 2022.
But here too the greening continues, notes mobility expert Charlotte Thijs. "There are the company cars that are part of the payroll system. Every four to five years these are replaced. Compared to last year, the share of fully electric cars has more than tripled and hybrid cars have risen from 10 to 17 per cent."
About a quarter of white-collar workers (23.5 per cent) currently have a company car, but private cars are also greening, notes Charlotte Thijs. "Here too, the turnaround has started."
Public transport
The number of employees opting for the train, tram or bus to commute to work is back at pre-pandemic levels, Acerta's barometer shows. In 2023, 8.5 per cent of commuters used public transport.
This means public transport is still quite a bit less popular than private forms of transport. "This is of course strongly related to the location of the place of work and the home and the public transport on offer. The disadvantage is that you are dependent on an arrangement that is set up for you," Charlotte Thijs explains.