In Wallonia, nearly 70% of the population did not take public transport at any point during 2017. This emerges from the sixth national investigation for INsécurité Routière produced by the institute Vias on Monday. The Flemish are far more more numerous in using public transport or travelling by bike than the Walloons, whilst the car is King of the road everywhere in the country.
On average, 81% of Belgian citizens drove a car at least once last year, according to Vias, the former Belgian institute for road safety, which surveyed more than 6,200 people. More than 40% took public transport at least once, with 46% taking the bike and 10% the electric bike. However the investigation shows these figures hide major disparities between geographical areas, including the findings for each province for the first time.
With 68% using bicycles, Antwerp is the champion of the bicycle. In Luxembourg, there are barely 17% using the bicycle. Moreover, in Wallonia, this proportion is around 25%. At the same time, it goes up to 45% in the Flemish province which reckons to have the lowest number of cyclists, namely Flemish Brabant. Brussels is positioned between Flanders and Wallonia, with nearly 30% of inhabitants having got on their bicycle at least once last year.
The capital is distinguished by its very high rate of public transport users: 63%. Outside of Brussels, the train, the tram and the bus are more regularly used in Flanders than in Wallonia. Within the Flemish provinces, between 40 and 45% of the population use these modes of transport. This is with the exception of Limburg, where this share reaches only 32%. In Wallonia, 32% is the score achieved by the province which accommodates the greatest number public transport users; Liège. Across the whole of the Walloon region, as indicated above, almost 70% of the population have not used public transport at least once over the past year.
The Brussels Times
