Mobility Newsletter January 2023
What’s new in mobility? Every beginning of the month, we share with you the latest mobility updates.
In the news 📰
The punctuality of SNCB trains last year was 86.3%. This includes all trains that were delayed by less than six minutes. A year earlier, in 2021, the figure was still 92.6%. Source
A new campaign involving the emergency lane has been launched. Two years after its introduction, only two-thirds of all drivers still know what an emergency lane is. Creating an emergency lane saves lives as it allows rescue workers to arrive at an accident faster and more smoothly. Source
In Flanders, the new cycling vademecum has been published. The vademecum suggests that one-way cycle paths should be at least 2 metres wide. This means that only 5.4% of cycle paths next to regional roads are compliant. Source / Vademecum
Mobility facts 🧮
Last year, 366,303 cars were registered in Belgium. This is a decline of 4.39% compared to 2021. The most popular car brands were BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes, respectively. More than a third (37.2%) of the company cars registered in 2022 were electric vehicles (fully electric or plug-in hybrid). Source
The number of step accidents with injuries in Brussels rose to a total of 567 accidents. That's a whopping 104 percent increase compared to 2021. In absolute numbers, that is a big tragedy, but given the large number of additional steppers, that needs to be nuanced a bit. Source
Did you know❓
There will be a national bike register from this year on? It is an equivalent of the Brussels system that already exists under the name MyBike.Brussels. The bike owner can store all the details of his or her bike and also report theft. Source
Eurostar and Thalys have officially clinched their merger. Both companies behind the high-speed trains will become one. All trains will operate under the Eurostar name from the end of 2023. Source
The city of Amsterdam is exploring options to introduce a speed limit for cyclists. Exactly what speed limit that would be is not yet clear, but according to the councillor, cyclists should maintain an appropriate speed. Source