Electric bikes in Brussels: German company Tier introduces 1,500 vehicles

German micromobility company Tier is to deploy 1,500 shared electric bikes in Brussels, in addition to its current supply of more than 4,000 electric scooters, the company has announced.

Its expansion is part of a growing shared mobility offer in the capital and comes at a time of reflection for the Brussels region on how best to regulate the rising number of shared bikes and scooters on city streets.

With its increased service, Tier is now positioned behind Dott, which has around 6,300 shared vehicles, according to Brussels Mobility’s figures for the end of June.

In addition to these two free-floating players in Brussels, Bolt has 900 similar self-service bicycles. Blue-Bike's 'back-to-one' shared bicycles must be returned to the station where they were borrowed, in a similar style to Villo!, whose bikes need to be taken back to the one of its many stations across the capital.

While many vehicles are free-floating, Brussels has a few compulsory parking areas, points out Tier. But new rules and regulations are likely in the coming months. A study on micromobility is heading to the Brussels Parliament, according to the office of the regional minister for mobility Elke Van Den Brandt (Groen). Consultation is being carried out with the various municipalities on the topic of drop-off zones for shared bicycles.

Brussels Mobility currently boasts a total of nine operators who run more than 23,000 devices without a dedicated parking station.