Brussels will once again become Europe's largest car-free zone on Sunday 22 September. Vehicles will be banned from the region all day, but increased and free public transport services will ensure people can still easily move around the capital.
For one day each year, cars are banned from the streets of the Belgian capital from 09:00 to 19:30 on Car-Free Sunday. This year, the event is on Sunday 22 September, marking the grand finale of the region's Mobility Week. Thousands of pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers and other "vulnerable" road users will dominate the usually car-filled streets.
As Mobility Week aims to promote sustainable transport, Brussels public transport operator STIB is making all its bus, tram and metro lines free of charge all day. It will also be providing extra services, resulting in higher frequencies than on a normal Sunday. "Buses, trams and metros will run according to the schedule of a Saturday, with even higher frequencies on some lines," the company noted.
One metro every three minutes
The four metro lines (1, 2, 5 and 6) will run at a frequency of one metro every 6.5 minutes from 13:00 to 19:00, while at stations on the common axes, one metro will stop every 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Before 13:00 and after 19:00, transport will run according to the Saturday timetable, albeit with a slightly lower frequency.
All tram lines, meanwhile, will operate according to the Saturday timetable, but additional reinforcements will be put in place on lines 7 and 25 (one tram every 7.5 minutes between 11:00 and 20:00), on lines 8, 92 and 93 (one tram every 10 minutes between 11:00 and 20:00) and on line 81 (one tram every 8 minutes between 10:00 and 20:00).
All buses will operate according to Saturday timetables, except line 12 (which remains on the Sunday timetable). "In addition, a free shuttle bus will run between car park C and Heysel station from 09:30 to 20:00," STIB noted. The route planner on STIB's website and mobile application will contain all adjusted timetables.
Travelling outside of Brussels on Car-Free Sunday will also be more affordable, as Belgian railway operator SNCB is once again offering its Mobility Ticket. Anyone anywhere in the country can buy a return journey for just €8.
