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”.

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:

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 :)

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.

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.

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.

“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

Het Europees Parlement heeft een twintigtal voorstellen gedaan om stedelijke mobiliteit te bevorderen.

De Europese Commissie had vorig jaar beloofd om tegen einde 2008 een Europees actieplan inzake stedelijke mobiliteit te lanceren, maar dat is er nog steeds niet. "Dus hebben we in het Parlement zelf maar het initiatief genomen om een aantal ideeën te lanceren", zegt Saïd El Khadraoui.

Het plan omvat onder meer maatregelen die lidstaten moeten toelaten om goede ideeën uit te wisselen om het verkeer vlotter te maken. "Er gebeurt immers heel wat in de Europes steden, maar ze weten niet steeds van elkaar wat goed werkt en wat niet. Een leenfietsenproject dat in de ene stad erg succesvol is, zou bijvoorbeeld gemakkelijk naar andere steden geëxporteerd kunnen worden die nog niet zo met fietsbeleid bezig zijn."

Saïd hoopt nu dat er snel een echt actieplan van de Commissie komt. "Ik heb vorige week nog in de plenaire vergadering in Straatsburg aan de Europese Commissie gezegd hoe ontgoocheld ik ben dat de Commissie onder druk van een paar lidstaten het hele plan op de lange baan lijkt te schuiven. Maar ik hoop dat ze in actie schiet. De verkeersknoop in onze steden moet dringend opgelost worden, en elk initiatief daartoe is een stap in de goede richting." 

El Khadraoui volgt het dossier samen met zijn Franse collega Gilles Savary van nabij op. De socialistische fractie heeft ook een manifest over stedelijke mobililteit geschreven, dat beschikbaar is op volgende website:  http://www.socialistgroup.eu/gpes/media/documents/107787_107787_Urban_Mobility.pdf