The Brussels Minister for Mobility, Elke Van Den Brandt (Groen), wishes to promote soft mobility by encouraging commuters to use a specially developed app to 'hitchhike' to work as part of the Good Move Plan.
Van Den Brandt wants to launch an app to connect drivers and passengers and reduce the number of one-passenger cars in the Brussels Region by encouraging carpooling.
“The goal here is not to have a business logic like BlaBlaCar or Uber Pop, but to offer an app that would allow drivers to get in touch with passengers who want to share part of their journey for free. This proposal could conveniently find its place in the MaaS (Mobility as a Service) proposed in the 2020-2030 mobility plan,” said Julien Uyttendaele (PS) according to NewMobility.
Helped by technology, the app would also reduce worries and increase safety, as some drivers do not always want to take a stranger with them in their cars. “All forms of mobility should be encouraged, which is still not the case for free ridesharing. I will shortly table a motion of resolution on this subject at the Brussels Parliament,” added Uyttendaele.
“The lack of a precise agenda and budgeted proposals were, among others, at the origin of the failure of the two previous mobility plans, IRIS I (1998) and IRIS II (2009),” said Anne-Charlotte d'Ursel (MR), the chair of the Mobility Committee.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
