Making better mobility choices

In 2019, Brussels, the capital of Belgium, received the notorious title of being the traffic jam capital of Belgium. This is not surprising given Brussels is the largest city in Belgium, an economic center, and that nearly a fifth of the country’s population resides in or around the city. The COVID-19 pandemic had its usual effect on traffic and congestion—but with the return of economic activity, traffic and congestion have picked up and are creeping toward pre-pandemic levels. Riders in Brussels lost 78 hours per year in traffic in 2021—a 4% decline since 2019, but a 5% increase since 2020. So, it can be safely concluded that traffic is inching back to “old normal” levels.

This prompted the Brussels government to evolve a mobility solution that could address the growing congestion cost in the city, including health, economic, and environmental. It tapped into the EU Horizon 2020 program funding to develop a smart kilometer-charge solution for the city called SmartMove.

The challenge

More than 1.2 million people live and work in Brussels, a figure that is constantly growing. And every business day, countless road users lose precious time in traffic. Despite the various alternatives available, driving a car is often the top choice, and most cars are occupied by a single person. Our mobility choices not only affect the environment, but the health and quality of the life of citizens, and the local economy.

 Road-user charging (RUC) is not a new concept—multiple cities and regions worldwide have piloted such solutions already. However, while most of these have been smaller pilots that have either not been scaled up or were restricted to smaller geographies in a city—especially in business districts—SmartMove is aspiring to be the first citywide smart-road user-charging system in the world.

SmartMove has four foundational components that could upend the traditional mobility system in Brussels. It primarily focuses on implementing a smart-kilometer charge where users can pay for road usage, a mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platform for drivers, a nudging tool based on behavioural insights to move people to more sustainable transport options through incentives, and ensuring privacy by design.

The solution

SmartMove charges users for road usage based on multiple factors, including the time of day, destination (geographic auto zones), engine type, and emissions. For instance, a driver will pay less for an electric vehicle (EV) than internal-combustion (IC) vehicles. Also, someone driving to the central business zone during peak hours will pay more than those driving to other zones.

SmartMove also encourages and nudges drivers to make more economic and sustainable mobility choices in the long run. The city administration is focused on moving people from single-occupancy cars toward more sustainable options like carpooling, public transport, walking, and cycling.

Moreover, SmartMove is expected to replace the existing annual road and car registration taxes, except for large, high-powered vehicles. SmartMove could prompt people who prefer individual cars to move to EVs or low-powered IC-based vehicles that cause less pollution. 

The administration is also trying to change the mobility behaviour of citizens by gamifying the user experience. When a driver uses public transport instead of a car, they receive points on the app. During the current testing phase, the rewards are merely virtual. However, when scaled up, users could be rewarded with gifts or be able to collect points for showcasing “good” mobility behaviour and redeem them for rewards. 

The results

SmartMove shows a lot of promise in moving the mobility system from a flat-tax system to a more dynamic system focused on charging people for usage based on different factors. Moreover, the city wants to use SmartMove to shape commuter behaviour by encouraging them to move to more sustainable transportation modes.

 The habits of Brussels travellers are already changing, thanks to the mobile application that allows users to plan and visualise their journey and to choose their mode of transportation. It offers an integrated view of all possibilities (public and private transportation means), and shows the ecological impact, duration, distance, and cost of each trip. Users can plan and book their trip, and pay for it with a credit card or a mobility budget, which is increasingly offered by companies.

 Cloud empowers Bruxelles Fiscalité to develop new solutions or technological components, procure and deliver them quickly, and to scale the solution extremely rapidly and efficiently.