Cambio tests cars with child seats in Brussels

Belgium’s car sharing scheme Cambio will soon be testing shared cars with child seats in Brussels to support families in the capital and respond to their mobility needs.

Research by the organisation working for parental rights, De Gezinsbond - La Ligue des Familles being the French-speaking equivalent - shows that many families do not rent a shared car because it does not have a child seat. Parents have to bring that essential equipment themselves, which often causes a problem.

That is why Cambio is testing the offer of cars with booster or child seats. Families can indicate in the Cambio app that they need a seat, and their car will be provided with one. This service, previously only available in Flanders, is now open to Brussels residents.

The test is part of the Green Deal Inclusive Carsharing, an initiative of outgoing environment minister Alain Maron (Ecolo) and mobility minister Elke Van den Brandt (Groen) to make shared cars more inclusive.

Some 52 organisations have now signed the Green Deal initiated by Brussels Mobility and Brussels Environment.

“Brussels residents are thus encouraged to move around more easily and at the same time contribute to less pollution,” said Maron.

During the trial period, at least one Cambio car with a child seat will be able to found per commune. The vehicles will be based at a central location easily accessible by public transport.

Cambio currently provides about 3,000 vehicles in 147 towns and cities in Belgium.

"In 2024, no fewer than 1.1 million journeys were made using Cambio cars," the firm said. "These vehicles are therefore used intensively, enabling Cambio users - 80% of whom do not have their own car - to benefit from a vehicle without taking up a parking space for a car that would otherwise only be used once or twice a week.”

Keen to meet the growing demand of families tired of battling with traffic and traffic jams, the company has also opened two new stations for cargo bikes – very popular especially with young families to take children to school.

The Green Deal Inclusive Carsharing launched in February 2024 aims to give a "sustainable and inclusive boost to car sharing in Brussels". The aim is to extend car sharing to families (single parents), people with reduced mobility, senior citizens and low-income households.

The signatories – car-sharing operators, regional and local authorities, associations and businesses – have undertaken to make car sharing more accessible to vulnerable groups, for example by providing child seats, offering vehicles near social housing, and solutions for people with reduced mobility or with a "digital divide".