People in low-income communities in Brussels with difficult access to public transport networks will receive a discount on their e-scooter and e-bicycle rides.
Micromobility operator Dott and ‘Molière’, a project set up by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), have joined forces to provide transport access in communities across the capital region that are not as easy to reach by tram and metro.
As part of the initiative, residents in certain areas of the municipalities of Anderlecht and Schaerbeek will benefit from reduced-price trips on Dott’s fleet of shared e-scooters and e-bicycles.
"People that might have otherwise been disconnected due to transport costs or lack of public transport will now have access to efficient, effortless and environmentally friendly travel across their city," Maxim Romain, Co-Founder and COO of Dott, said.
Replacing reliance on cars
Riders using the vehicles within areas with below median average household income and "suboptimal access" to trams and metros will receive discounts of 30% on each ride. The aim of the initiative is to encourage more people to move away from their reliance on cars in an affordable way.
The aim is to encourage locals in these neighbourhoods to instead bicycle or ride an e-scooter to a tram or metro stop where they can then access the public transport network.
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The pilot scheme will run for a period of six weeks and aims to show how targeted subsidies can help cities meet their goals of greener transport and reduced congestion and pollution. Data will be used to ensure that subsidies are only applied to those that need them.
"This is an example of how the use of accurate mobility data, shared between governments and transport operators, can support all communities to achieve their goals and enable freedom of movement for all, regardless of their socioeconomic circumstances," Josep Leoparda, Molière's Project Coordinator, said.
