Brussels-Capital Region invests in car-sharing

Brussels mobility minister Pascal Smet (SP.A) has approved a grant of €38,500 to encourage car-sharing in Brussels. The grant will go to car-sharing organisation Autopia, the first step in a series of initiatives to encourage the practice, reports brusselnieuws.be

Car-sharing is a growing market in Belgium. 2Fewer and fewer people, especially young people, feel the need to own a car," said Smet in a press release. "Hence the success of professional organised car-sharing companies such as Cambio. But private car-sharing schemes are also on the rise. People are increasingly coming together to make agreements about costs, operation and maintenance."

Autopia, a service point for private car-sharing that is so far mainly active in Flanders, supports such initiatives. Autopia organises information evenings to attract interested people and provides them with the necessary assistance to get started. Autopia has already helped to set up 350 car-sharing groups across Flanders, which account for a total of about 2,500 people sharing 400 cars. With the new grant from the Brussels-Capital Region, Autopia aims to set up as many as 20 new car-sharing groups in the capital.

"This system helps to get more cars off the roads, which would be a good thing in Brussels," said Smet. “A car is used on average for just one hour a day. That means that most cars are standing still 96% of the time. If we want to make the city more pleasant for pedestrians and cyclists, we have to aim for fewer cars, but cars that are used more intensively."