More electric bikes are now being sold than ordinary bikes, and 45 per cent of households in Flanders already own an electric bike according to figures from Fietsberaad, the advisory body on cycling policy. In terms of the total number of journeys, the electric bike is already more important than public transport. Moreover, users are getting younger and younger.
Fietsberaad, the knowledge and advisory body for cycling policy in Flanders, has highlighted the importance of the electric bike in a new report. It analysed figures and graphs from various travel behaviour surveys that have been carried out annually in Flanders since 2015. Its annual FietsDNA survey also provided insights.
The rise of the electric bike is undeniable and is particularly clear when we look at the ‘modal split’ – that is, the distribution of journeys across the various modes of transport used: car, bicycle, public transport or on foot.
Whereas in 2015 Flemings made less than one per cent of journeys by electric bike, last year this figure had already risen to over 7 per cent. The total number of cycle journeys, both electric and non-electric, has risen from 12 to 20 per cent over that period.
‘That increase can be attributed entirely to electric bikes,’ says Wout Baert of Fietsberaad, ‘as the number of journeys made by conventional bicycle remained virtually unchanged during that period.’
It becomes even clearer when we factor in the figures for journeys by public transport. Journeys by train, tram, bus and underground account for less than 5 per cent in the latest survey, whilst we already make 7 per cent of our journeys by electric bike. In Flanders the electric bike is outperforming public transport as a whole.
Increasingly a trend among young adults
Ten years ago, it was mainly people aged 55 and over who rode electric bikes, but in the most recent surveys we see the average age of e-bike riders falling.
In the 35 to 44 age group, the majority of cycle journeys are made by electric bike (54.7 per cent). This age group already covers 70 per cent of all the kilometres they cycle by electric bike.
In the younger group, aged 28 to 35, we are already seeing 21 per cent of journeys made by electric bike. More than half of the kilometres cycled (52 per cent) in this group are already covered on an electric bike.
Commuting
If we look solely at commuting, the latest report from 2025 shows that 22 per cent of journeys to and from work are already made by bicycle. Of that 22 per cent, just over 12 per cent are made on electric bikes and nearly 10 per cent on conventional bikes. Electric bikes have therefore become more important for commuting than conventional bikes.
“The many options for leasing a bicycle through work contribute to this, and people can choose from a range of electric lease bikes: speed pedelecs, cargo bikes, as well as fat bikes with thick tyres. It is worth noting here that the range – or the number of kilometres a person can travel – increases significantly with an electric bicycle.”