Mobiliteit Brussel

We're in the Belgian newspaper!

2009-02-10T14:43:06+01:00

Esten testen Brussels verkeer

Zeven op tien. Zoveel punten geven Triin Pahla en Villu Viidul aan de mobiliteit in Brussel.

Van onze redacteur

Tom Ysebaert

BRUSSEL

De twee studenten politieke wetenschappen uit Estland waren een weekje te gast in de Europese hoofdstad, met als opdracht er het verkeer te onderzoeken. Dat paste in de Courier Challenge, een project van het Europarlementslid Saïd El Khadraoui (SP.A). Hij stuurde vijf duo's van jonge mensen op stap om de mobiliteit tegen het licht te houden in vijf steden: Londen, Barcelona, Stockholm, Tallinn en dus ook Brussel. Villu is afkomstig uit de hoofdstad Tallinn. Triin komt uit Tartu, de tweede stad van de Baltische staat. Villu was al een keer in Brussel, als toerist met een bus. Maar deze keer was het werken. Na vijf dagen Brussel maakten we met het duo een balans op.

Voetpaden: genoeg maar vuil

Er zijn genoeg en goede voorzieningen voor voetgangers, vinden de twee Esten. Maar ze liggen er vaak vuil bij: papier, hondenpoep, sigaretten. En er zijn veel bouwwerkzaamheden, waardoor veel voetpaden versperd zijn.

Veel minder zijn ze te spreken over het gedrag van de modale voetganger. 'Voetgangers die oversteken, trekken er zich niets van aan of het groen of rood is. Dat zie je bij ons bijna nooit.'

Fiets: tof

Dinsdag probeerden Triin en Villu het fietsverhuursysteem CycloCity uit. 'Geweldig', vinden ze. 'Zodra je ermee weg bent, is het een goed en plezierig vervoermiddel. De Brusselaars zouden er meer gebruik van moeten maken. Het zou ook in Estland van de grond moeten komen. In Tallinn zie je hooguit twee fietsers in een dag, hier tientallen.'

CycloCity geldt als een flop. Het wordt weldra vervangen door een nieuw project in het hele Brusselse Gewest.

Trein, metro en bus: foei

De trein was het enige openbaar vervoermiddel dat vertraging liet optekenen. Erg gebruiksvriendelijk werden de stations niet bevonden. Een pluspunt: de trein is zeker het beste transportmiddel om van de luchthaven naar het centrum te komen. 'Het bussysteem is veel te onoverzichtelijk', vindt het duo. 'Je weet niet wanneer ze komen, waar ze naartoe rijden en aan welke halte je bent. Verdwaald zijn we niet. Dankzij de chauffeurs, die ons uitleg gaven.' De metrostations vond het duo vuil, en ze maakten geen veilige indruk. De metrodienst zelf was wel oké. Over de frequentie van het openbaar vervoer in het algemeen zijn de Esten dan weer zeer tevreden.

Automobilisten: te veel

Vreselijk. Er wordt te veel met de auto gereden in Brussel, luidt het Estse verdict. 'Het verkeer is druk, lawaaierig, chaotisch. En dan zie je bestuurders die doodleuk op de weg stilstaan, een praatje slaan met een voorbijkomende kennis en al het verkeer ophouden.'

Atomium: rolstoelvriendelijk

Donderdag ondervonden Triin en Villu wat het is om als rolstoelgebruiker door de stad te bewegen. Ze bezochten het Justitiepaleis en het Atomium. Zonder liften en hellende vlakken bleken veel plaatsen ontoegankelijk.

Het was ook een taaie klus in de stations en op de trein: 'Er reed een dubbeldekstrein voor. De treden naar de twee niveaus waren te hoog. Je moest uit je rolstoel komen om erin te raken. Gelukkig kwamen enkele passagiers ons te hulp. We namen contact op met de spoorwegen, maar ze zeiden dat we 24 uur vooraf hadden moeten bellen voor hulp. Tja.' In het Atomium verzwegen ze dat ze niet echt gehandicapt waren. 'Het personeel was heel vriendelijk en escorteerde ons tot in de bovenste bol. Gratis.' Zo bracht Brussel hen toch nog in de hoogste sferen.

www.courierchallenge.eu

5 Conclusions

2009-02-07T21:14:23+01:00

Following are our final conclusions regarding mobility in Brussels:

First, in Brussels everything concerning mobility is complicated.

On one hand, there are many different kinds of means of public
transportation and the networks of those take a lot of time to understand
and get used to. On the other hand, the political structures and involved
parties in the policy-making remain as a big question mark for us even
despite several meetings during our stay. Due to the complex structure and
number of involved parties in the decision-making, it is very difficult to
make amendments to the organization of public transportation. Thus it
seems reasonable that transportation is mainly decided and organised by
one council or office. In Brussels, though, that seems quite impossible.

Second, people lack the sense of security when using public
transportation, especially during night-time.

When we conducted interviews with local inhabitants, several of them
brought out that they do not feel safe due to long waiting times and the
atmosphere of the stations. This problem can be solved by renovating
stations and shortening the intervals of public transportation. Also
putting more police officers in the city might be of some help.

Third, for people with disabilities it is rather difficult to get from one
place to another.

During our stay we found that it is very difficult for a person in a
wheelchair to move around in the city. However, the situation is far from
being perfect in other cities, including Tallinn. Apart from the
difficulties, there are also several positive things that surprised us:
people's willingness to help, organized assistance from train service
providers and the possibility to visit Atomium free of charge. Many
constructions on the streets made getting from one place to another more
complicated but we hope and believe that once they are finished moving
around also in a wheelchair will be much easier.

Fourth, the idea behind the CycloCity project is really great but the
realisation needs some modifications.

At the moment there are 23 stations in the city centre, each of which is
equipped with several bikes ready to be used. Unfortunately most of the
bikes lay unused for most of the time. With the coming of new stations and
bikes the system should gain new users. Still, due to the static nature of
the station it is important that introduction-days are organised. From
the interviews we concluded that many people have heard something about
the project but the are afraid or just not interested enough to get
acquainted with the system on their on. Thus, when such days with people
explaining the system in the stations are organised, the project could get
many new users and turn into a successful one that could be a good example
for other cities, including Tallinn.

Last, there are too many cars in Brussels, especially in the city centre.

Traffic congestions and cars parking on streets meant for only pedestrians
was a typical sight while walking around in the city. Continuous
investments in public transportation are a precondition for introducing a
taxing-system for people who want to use cars. How exactly the car
owners/drivers will be taxed, is up for the ones in charge to decide.
Although, it may be an unpopular decision, the number of cars in the city
has to be reduced for the environmental and economical reasons as well.

The Best and Worst Practices of Mobility in Brussels

2009-02-05T19:57:08+01:00

It took us quite a while to think of a good example of a practice of mobility in Brussels. Eventually we decided upon two: trams and CycloCity.

Here are the reasons why:

- From all the means of public transportation trams are the most user-friendly:

o They are usually on time unlike the trains;

o Their network is logical and understandable unlike the one of buses;

o They are nicely clean and quiet unlike the metro.

It might still be a little weird – why trams? Maybe this will answer the question.

In Tallinn there are also trams but they are nothing like the ones here in Brussels. Most of the trams there originate from the 70ties. In addition, they are very slow and noisy. Compared to the ones in Brussels they are also shorter and very crowded during rush-hours.

We chose CycloCity as the second example of good practice. When the trams represent the current best practice of mobility in Brussels, CycloCity is the one of the future.

At the moment there are several CycloCity stations near the city centre. However, the majority of the bikes there just lay unused. Still, we believe that with the upcoming expansion and modifications in the systems in spring, the service will be used and loved by a great number of locals and tourists.

The CycloCity was chosen as a good example also because there is nothing similar in Tallinn. There may be a few bike rental places provided by private owners but nothing organised by the city government. As new roads for cyclists are being built this kind of system could also be implemented there.

For the worst example of practice of mobility we chose the ignoring of traffic laws, especially by the pedestrians. During the last few days here in Brussels we have seen that for pedestrians there is no difference what colour the traffic light is – they cross the street anyway. Also, on several occasions people have come out of their cars to talk to their acquaintances when they are supposed to keep on driving. Instead they just block the road for a minute or two.

Although it would be biased to say that something like that does not happen in Tallinn, the situation is far from being that bad. Usually there are only a few people that cross the street when the lights are red and those in general are really in a hurry.

Changing the habits of people is a very difficult task and so we wish the people in Brussels good luck and keep in mind the laws!

Meeting with BRAL

2009-02-05T19:52:56+01:00

In the morning we had a meeting with Ben Bellekens from BRAL (Brusselse Raad voor het Leefmilieu - Brussels Council for the Environment). At their office we had a very interesting and quite long discussion about the future of Brussels’ mobility from an environmental perspective.

During the discussion Ben brought out that:

- The number of cars has increased by 20% in the last year;

- In 2020 the traffic jams will be twice as big as now;

- In the last 10 years the usage of public transport increased by half;

- Brussels is the most polluted area in Europe;

- 25-30% of the cars driving in the city centre are searching for a parking lot;

- In 2015 it will be almost impossible to drive around by car unless something is done immediately.

The main focus during the discussion was on the idea of road prizing – collecting taxes from people who want to travel in the city by car. The plan is rather complex and considers several different aspects. According to the initial idea the city will be divided into three different zones. Also, when collecting taxes the character of the car, number of people in the car and time of travel will be taken into account. However, this plan still has to be voted on.

The meeting ended with Ben reminding the words of Pascal Smet about the organisation of mobility in Brussels: “Everybody is competent but no one is responsible”.

WHEEEEEEEEEElchairing

2009-02-04T19:46:00+01:00

Today’s mission was to learn about the possibilities for mobility for people with disabilities.

At 10.00 a group on five people met near the Central Station and headed off to discover Brussels through the eyes of the disabled. In addition the couriers (Triin and Villu) there was a journalist and a photographer from a Brussels’ magazine. Hans – an intern at Saïd’s office was leading the way.

The journey that lasted for five hours was quite tiring but also eye-opening and interesting.

Conclusions:

When you are in a wheelchair getting around in Brussels is very difficult. First, the curb stones on the sides of the road are very high and without the help of an experienced ‘wheelchair-pusher’ it is quite likely that you will fall off the chair.

Second, without any help it is impossible to use public transportation. Today we tried had to use the bus, tram, metro and train. For using the metro it is enough if you have one person that can help push the chair. However, for getting on the bus, tram and train two strong men were necessary to lift the chair.

Third, many public places are not accessible with a wheelchair as there are no inclined lanes nor elevators. For going to the Court of Justice and Brupark it was impossible for us to get in and out in a wheelchair. However, in time as people gain more experience in moving around in wheelchairs, it might be possible to visit places like those.

Still, not everything is so awful for people in wheelchairs. When in need, people around are very kind and helpful. Today quite a few people gave us a hand when the person on the chair was about to fall off the chair while trying to get off the metro or bus.

Furthermore, it turns out that visiting the Atomium is free of charge for people in wheelchairs. So we got to enjoy the view from one of Brussels’ most famous tourist attractions and use the elevator moving at the speed of 5 meters per second.

It is also possible to get help for getting on and off the train from the train personnel, but it is necessary to inform them in advance for at least 24 hours.

So, if you need to move around in Brussels in a wheelchair, it is best if you are of light weight and have an experienced and strong man to assist you. Preferably even two.

We also let Christophe and Hans try to use our wheelchair:

Bus vs tram - Triin vs Villu. Who is faster?

2009-02-03T22:11:18+01:00

Take a guess.

Separated at the North Station we saw each other again more than an hour later at the South Station.

Triin: I was the lucky one who got to take the tram. Though, you seriously call this thing a tram? Seemed more like a metro to me – the whole time the tram stayed under the ground. On the other hand, it was a bit shorter and didn’t move as fast as metros usually do. Anyway, after almost stepping on the tram heading the other way, I found the right stop and after a short ride of 9 minutes and 47 seconds I was at the South Station.

Villu: I was the lucky one who got to take the bus. The lucky one? Yes. I had the chance to see Royal Palace, The Arc near Jubelpark, the European Parliament and other interesting places. Tough the ride was a total of 55 minutes (10 minutes waiting for the second bus). But all the time I was worried – I was afraid missing the right stop, because there are no announcements in the bus, and the signs outside are quite small. I am sure I did not use the quickest route with the bus, but I used the one I got from www.mivb.be. Actually, the scedule I got from there was quite correct (I missed the second bus only because of the trafficlights).

Conclusion: If you are in hurry – use tram. If you would like to have some sightseeing – use bus, but if you do not like public transport or you do not have any money – walk (We think it will take approximately 1 hour on foot).

PS! We found CycloCity station near our hostel. We are going to use the service if we will have some free time.

Correct answer – Triin of course.

Another question – Who had more fun?

Villu :)

Mission three aka what people love and dislike about the mobility in Brussels

2009-02-03T14:09:24+01:00

For today we had two missions. First, to find out what the locals think of the mobility in Brussels. Second, to do a test: how can one get faster from the North Station to South Station during the rush hour – by bus or tram? So, what would be a more suitable place to interview people about local mobility than a place where they are greatly affected by the organisation of public transportation – the North Station.

The day started off at 9.00 as we started looking for people waiting for a train and willing to speak with us about the mobility in Brussels. At first we were very scared, because all the people seemed very busy and some even angry. After a little while, though, we managed to find many nice people who were gladly willing to help us by answering a few simple questions that we wrote down the previous evening.

We found out that:

*Most of the people questioned use public transport daily, some of them 2-3 times a week.

*Trains and metro are preferred to buses and trams.

*Main problems concerning the mobility in Brussels are:

- There are many delays in schedule (especially for trains);

- Public transportation is often overcrowded;

- Waiting times in the evening are too long and thus cause insecurity;

- There are not enough parking lots near the stations;

- The organisation of the networks is often confusing.

Positive things about the mobility in Brussels included:

- There is a wide network of public transportation;

- The security level in metro has improved greatly in the last few years since there are more security guards;

- Metro and buses are always on time.

* Students were satisfied with the ticket prices for public transportation, but also concerned about the time when they will be 26 years old and there will be no reductions.

Since we had a terrific time yesterday on the bikes we also asked people about the CycloCity project.

*Most of the people had heard something about it but none had tried it themselves.

* People thought that they would try it if someone would introduce the system and the network was bigger.

Meeting and the Second Mission

2009-02-02T18:41:53+01:00

At noon Leen took us to SPA headcuarters in Brussels where we had a brief meeting with Pascal Smet – Brussels Minister of Mobility. Among other things the CycloCity project was discussed and so quite soon after the meeting we were sent off on the second mission – to gain personal experience with the cycling system.

With this project several stations with bicycles were set up in the centre of Brussels. Unfortunately this really great project is not taken advantage of. According to Smet at the moment on the average each bycycle is used only about twice a month. However, as the number of stations and bikes will be multiplied, then hopefully local inhabitants and tourists as well will discover this wonderful way of transportation. At least we did.

PS! Racing on the gobbly streets in the heart of Brussels is really fun! We know now for sure and we will definitely do it again.

Our First Mission

2009-02-02T18:37:10+01:00

After having waited for quite a while for our luggage, we finally met the ones responsible for our being here – MEP Saïd El Khadraoui and his assistant Leen Tyrions. They also brought us our first mission:

It was 9.15 and so we decided to take a few minutes to discuss our war-plan before heading off to complete the mission. With a clear sight in front of our eyes, we started to take the steps towards it. First, it seemed very important to get a map of Brussels and the tourist office right behind us was just perfect for that.

A small booklet with a map of the city centre in the middle was soon in our hands. The guy behind the stand was also kind enough to tell us that the easiest way to get to ‘Grand Place’ was to take the train from two stairs below. So far things were great and we headed off to get the tickets and find a train that would take us to the Central Station.

The ticket-machines appeared quite cool at first, but just a few minutes later Villu found himself in a queue waiting for an elderly man to hand him the freshly printed train tickets.

As the train was 9 minutes late, we reached the station at 9.54. Nice snowflakes falling from the sky were probably one of the reasons for the delays. In addition, they had also made the streets extremely slippery. Still, coming from Estonia, we are quite used to it and the slippery roads were not going to stop us from achieving our goal.

Finally, at 10.02, only 47 short minutes later we successfully completed our first mission!

Now all we had to do was to get to the Sleep Well Youth Hostel to prepare for the meeting with Brussels Minister of Mobility Pascal Smet.

The chronometer:

9.15 – the mission was handed to us

9.17 – we got the map of the city centre of Brussels and a confirmation that the easiest way to get to the ‘Grand Place’ is to take the train two stairs below

9.25 – Villu received the tickets and we got on the train

9.54 – the train reached Central Station

10.02 – we were standing in the middle of the ‘Grand Place’ thus having completed our first mission

And a few more pictures:

Our tickets.

Three destinations: the Central Station, ‘Grand Place’ and Sleep Well Youth Hostel.

Happy but also tired after a successful journey.

The very beginning...

2009-02-01T23:59:22+01:00

“I haven't a clue as to how my story will end. But that's all right. When you set out on a journey and night covers the road, you don't conclude the road has vanished. And how else could we discover the stars?” has once been told by a wiseman that remains unknown today. These are also the thoughts in our minds as we are anxiuosly waiting for our flights here in Tallinn - the capital of Estonia that will soon host another couple from Belgium as a part of the Courier Challenge.

From a 400,000 population town we will soon head off to the capital of Europe. A quick stop at the airport of Riga, a change of flights and then – Brussels and Courier Challenge, here we come!

Though we don’t know yet what exactly we have got ourselves into, we are absolutely positive that this will be an amazing experience. We have a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of local mobility and hopefully we will do it well. Maybe we will even see the stars as we are strolling down the streets of Brussels or waiting for the next bus or train to come.

Anyway, it is now time to finish packing and take off. Take care and stay tuned :) !

Triin & Villu