(SOURCE : MONITEUR AUTOMOBILE)
In collaboration with Yago, Le Moniteur Automobile provides an overview of mobility in Belgium and the challenges ahead. The first observation is that Belgians remain attached to their cars!
In a survey conducted with our partner Yago – an insurance specialist – we wanted to learn more about how Belgians view mobility. The survey focused on two main themes: on the one hand, the problems, challenges, and solutions related to mobility, and on the other hand, the Belgians’ relationship with their modes of transportation. In this first part, we discovered that Belgians are still born with a steering wheel in their hands… but they are not necessarily opposed to other ways of getting around.
Who responded?
The survey gathered about a thousand responses, with 98% of respondents owning a personal vehicle. In general, the trends observed in the survey reflect the views of private car owners, with 79.3% of those owning their own vehicle being the actual owners, while only 13.6% use a company vehicle. It is also worth noting that women made up just under 10% of the respondents.
What type of vehicle do you drive?
For getting around, Belgians still prefer cars (90.5%), while other frequently used modes of transport include walking (20.9%), cycling (17.2%), public transport (12.7%), and motorcycles (11.3%). In a market that is shifting towards electrification – partly forced – and strongly influenced by tax legislation applied to company vehicles, the reality for private Belgian drivers remains largely dominated by thermal vehicles, whether electrified or not. Among these, 40.7% drive gasoline engines, 31.9% use diesel, while self-charging hybrids (HEV/7.2%) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV/7.3%) are neck and neck. Only 7.8% of respondents drive an electric vehicle.
How do you get around?
More than half of the respondents use their car daily (55.5%), while 37.5% drive several times a week, showing how essential the car is as a mobility tool. Contrary to popular belief, home-to-work commutes do not constitute the majority of trips. With 52%, they rank fourth, behind family/friend visits (57.9%), leisure activities (62.5%), and daily shopping trips (72.8%). The survey also reveals that nearly one in two respondents (47%) drive between 10,001 and 20,000 km annually, while 24.3% stay under the symbolic 10,000 km per year, and 28.7% are heavy drivers with more than 20,000 km annually. Furthermore, while Belgium has several cities among the 100 most congested in Europe, nearly 20% of respondents prefer not to drive during rush hours, and about 45% lose less than 15 minutes daily in traffic. However, around 11% endure between 31 and 60 minutes in traffic daily, and 6% spend over an hour.
Why the car first?
The question of why the car remains so popular during times of financial uncertainty and crisis arises. Contrary to what mainstream media may suggest, the “cost” factor is not the number one consideration when choosing a mode of transport. At 11.6%, it lags behind comfort (35.7%) and speed (31.1%), both of which are top priorities, along with flexibility (11.5%). Environmental concerns remain marginal at less than 3%. This is also reflected in the lack of appeal for carpooling, as nearly 80% of respondents never use it, and only 2.5% regularly use carpooling. Given that comfort and speed are top priorities, sharing a vehicle with others and having to take less-than-optimal routes to work or home are considered major inconveniences.
However, individual mobility will need to evolve to comply with legal changes (electrification, environmental goals, etc.) and the needs of people (cost, flexibility, etc.). These factors are already influencing the mobility behavior of Belgians, and this issue will be further explored in a second article, which will delve deeper into alternatives to the car, their pros and cons, current mobility issues, and the solutions already in place or upcoming…