The use of self-service "Villo!" bikes in Brussels has stepped up a gear since the attacks last March. The Brussels Minister of Transport, Pascal Smet, has indicated this to the Infrastructure Commission in the Brussels region's parliament. The Minister says that sales for both daily tickets and yearly season tickets have tripled.
He said, “In the weeks following the 22nd March attacks, the number of yearly season tickets went from 75 to more than 250 per week.”
The Minister went further stating, “The number of one-day tickets went from 900 to more than 2,600 per week.”
This renewed popularity might lead to issues of bike availability and demand, which the automatic redistribution system cannot yet meet.
Pascal Smet implied that his department was working on expanding supply at 24 popular "Villo!" points, through increasing bike racks over the next few months.
A definite decision on which bike points are to be expanded is yet to be made.
(Source: Belga)
