2023-12-22 12:46:00
Lime, Dott, Tier, Bolt, Voi, Poppy, Pony, Gliize… There are around ten companies currently deploying scooters in the Brussels Region. But by next February, there will only be two left: “Bolt and Dott will be the only two operators authorized to offer a total of 8,000 self-service scooters in Brussels,” Brussels Mobility announced this Friday afternoon.
Faced with the worrying number of accidents and the anarchic parking of scooters on the sidewalks, Minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) had as a reminder decided last spring to drastically reduce the number of two-wheelers. Currently, there are around 20,000 scooters in Brussels, for around ten companies. From 2024, the number of machines will be reduced to 8,000 (two operators with a maximum of 4,000 scooters).
It’s official, Brussels is toughening up: 8,000 scooters from 2024 compared to 20,000 currently, limitation to 20 km/h and mandatory drop-zones
A call for applications was therefore launched this fall for scooter, bicycle, scooter and cargo bike concessions. In total, 15 companies applied.
The two companies ultimately selected for the scooters have already been active in Brussels for several years. Bolt, an Estonian company, operates bicycles and scooters, as well as an Uber-style taxi service. Dott, whose head office is in Amsterdam, also has bikes and scooters in Brussels, but also in Liège, Ghent, Aalst and Charleroi.
“Among the many selection criteria, the administration examined the ability of operators to ensure compliance with parking and road safety rules, fleet management with a view to limiting the impact on traffic, accessibility and the inclusiveness of services, the integration of these services with the Brussels transport offer, etc. Environmental and socio-economic exemplarity also weighed heavily in the balance,” notes Bruxelles Mobilité.
All scooters limited to 20 km/h in Brussels: the Region is tightening the screws for private vehicles
The other scooter operators (Lime, Tier, etc.) will therefore have to operate in Brussels next year. A transition period is planned until February 1.
Electric scooters soon to return to Uccle against the advice of the municipality? “I assume that operators will not be welcome”
Voi can stay for the bikes
On the bicycle side, the number will be limited to 7,500 from next year, for three operators. Bolt and Dott, in addition to their license to operate scooters, also won this call for applications. The two companies will therefore continue to operate their shared bikes in the capital. The third operator selected for bicycles is Voi. The Swedish company, present in Brussels for its scooters, already operates bicycles in other cities.
From 20,000 scooters to 8,000 in Brussels, from around ten operators to just two: the winning companies will be announced this Friday
Felyx and Go Sharing (already active in Brussels) were selected for self-sharing scooters. And new in Brussels, two operators have been chosen for cargo bikes: Tier and Pony. These two companies, already present in the capital for bicycles and scooters, will be able to operate 150 machines each.
Mandatory drop zones
The Brussels micromobility reform concerns the number of machines, but also parking rules. From February 1, parking a scooter must be done in “drop zones”, i.e. specific parking spaces. Applications integrate these zones into their maps, and it therefore becomes impossible for the user to complete a race outside of these drop-zones.
On a scooter, impossible to cross the Flemish border: the municipalities of the Brussels Rand block the arrival of two-wheelers, “we don’t want them”
Some municipalities already impose it, but all will be obliged to do so by February. “In the space of a few months, 1,000 dropzones have been implemented by Brussels Mobility and the Brussels municipalities. And the work continues every day to reach 1,500 dropzones in the coming weeks,” informs Bruxelles Mobilité.
Eleven municipalities have already mapped out their zones (Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Koekelberg, Evere, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Etterbeek, Ixelles, Saint-Gilles, Jette, Ganshoren, Watermael-Boisfort and Auderghem).
Two people, illegally, on a scooter: a decreasing phenomenon, but still very present in the Brussels Region
”For other municipalities, the operators will ‘lock’, via their GPS machine tracking system, ‘virtual’ dropzones to the locations chosen by the authorities and the markings on the ground will be made gradually as the beautiful weather returns. season.”
1703254429
#scooter #operators #remain #Brussels #number #machines #increase #20000.. #February