Cycling to work is not only good for people's health, but also good for their wallet – or in Belgium, at least. Employees receive compensation for every kilometre they ride, with some cyclists earning up to €810 per year.
All employees in Belgium who cycle to work are entitled to a bicycle allowance of €0.28 per kilometre of their commute.
"One in six Belgian employees (15%) cycled to work in 2024 and received compensation," said Veerle Michiels, mobility expert at HR services SD Worx.
Thanks to this scheme, people cycling to work in 2024 earned an average of around €460 net per year, or €38 per month, a calculation by SD Worx showed. This average amount has increased by 20% over the past year.
The total amount of money that cyclists receive depends on the frequency, the compensation per kilometre and the distance to work.
Distance is also a key determining factor in an employee's decision to cycle to work in the first place. "One in four workers (26%) living up to 5 km from work cycled in 2024," said Michiels. People living 5 km from the office commute by bike at least twice a week on average, earn almost €300 net per year.
Enthusiasm drops to one in ten employees (11%) for those living between 21-30 km from work. However, this group does cover the most kilometres on average: about 220 km per month, or 2,640 km per year. "This group receives an extra net amount of €810 per year on average," she said.
Most popular in Flanders
There are significant regional differences in the number of people cycling to work. One in five people (20%) in Flanders commuted by bike and received compensation last year. This figure is significantly lower in Brussels (7%) and Wallonia (2%).
This is due to Flanders having better cycling infrastructure. It is not as easy to cycle longer distances in Wallonia.
While workers in Flemish Brabant (10%) and Brussels (7%) cycle the least, they cover the most kilometres on average (143 km and 137 km per month).
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The number of people cycling to work (both those covering long-distance and those living close to work) increased in 2024, as did the number of companies paying their employees to commute by bike.
"The cycling allowance certainly constitutes an incentive: it is financially attractive because it is exempt from social security contributions and taxes," said Michiels.
