Mobility Week: Belgians break records in commuting time

Belgian residents take the longest time to get to work compared to other Europeans, according to a study of 16,000 workers in 16 European countries carried out by human resources company SD Worx.

The results show that Belgians spend an average of 57 minutes commuting each day, compared to the European average of 48 minutes per return journey to work and back.

Belgium tops the commuting time list, followed by Sweden (54 minutes), the Netherlands (52 minutes) and Germany and Ireland (51 minutes). At the bottom of the table come Serbia and Italy (43 minutes), Croatia (42 minutes) and Slovenia (40 minutes).

The researchers also showed that Dutch commuters clock up the most kilometres getting to and from work with 40km, followed by Belgium (37km), France (34km) and Slovenia (34km). This compared with the countries enjoying the least commuting distance – Serbia (19km) and the UK, Romania, Poland and Croatia (all 23km).

“Belgium’s result is partly due to the higher proportion of commuters in the country, nearly one in five, who spend more than an hour and a half travelling each day,” explained SD Worx mobility expert Valérie t’Serstevens.

Despite the surge of people choosing to use a bicycle or scooter to get to work, the study showed that private cars are still the main method of transport (55%), followed by cycling (18%) and public transport (11%).

“The private car remains the main means of transport for commuting to work in Europe,” said t’Serstevens. "The challenge now is to make this fleet greener, even though in some countries cycling already dominates.

"Those who cycle or walk to work are also the most satisfied. They are less dependent on external factors and have more control over their time.

"Other solutions such as carsharing or carpooling remain marginal. Partial remote working is of course also part of the solution, especially for people who spend more than an hour and a half on the road every day."

On the positive side, with 18% (10% for ordinary bikes and 8% for electric ones), Belgium is one of the countries that uses the bicycle the most, with the Netherlands heading the table).

The research also showed that Belgians work from home only 7% of the time, but this is still more than in Norway, Italy, France, Slovenia and Croatia.