Brussels bike register to expand nationwide

With efforts increasing to crack down on bike theft in Belgium, Brussels’ bicycle registration scheme will be extended nationwide from January, the country’s federal mobility minister Georges Gilkinet has announced.

The plan is part of the federal government’s ‘Be Cyclist’ action plan (2021-2024) that aims to promote bicycle use all over Belgium.

In practice, from 2024, the Brussels-based Mybike system - which combats bicycle theft by keeping track of bicycles via a registry - can be used countrywide. All Belgian cyclists will be able to register with the scheme and receive a sticker to place on their bicycle.

Campaign group GRACQ (Group for Research and Action for Daily Cyclists) welcomed the news, saying “it will mean that reselling stolen bicycles will be more difficult”.

The Brussels Mybike system has already noted more than 43,000 bicycles in the capital, and Gilkinet hopes that registrations will rise sharply following the scheme’s expansion to the rest of the country.

As well as the single national database, each region will still have its own website and manage the communication of the initiative.