New centralised transport management hub opens in Brussels

The six Stib dispatch offices and the Brussels Mobility traffic management centre came together in a new centralised hub in the heart of Brussels on Monday. The creation of the new Brussels Mobility Centre should optimise communication and collaboration between the capital’s transport operators.

Some 300 Stib staff members and 60 people from Brussels Mobility will now work together in the new 2,500m² office.

Previously, the various Stib dispatch centres responsible for the bus, tram and metro network, the infrastructure and power supply, safety and IT were spread throughout the city. The tram and the metro offices had been situated in the Park metro station for almost 50 years, but have now moved out, allowing that location to be renovated for future use.

"This move was the ideal opportunity to group all Stib dispatchings in one place," a press release from the Brussels transport company stated. Stib was in charge of the design of the new Brussels Mobility Centre, work on which started in mid-2019.

Stib chief executive Brieuc de Meeûs described the new centre as a "tool to strengthen the cooperation between Stib and Brussels Mobility."

"If you are managing an integrated bus, tram and metro network, which is largely immersed in urban traffic, it is essential to communicate and work together with the managers of all these modes of transport in order to offer Brussels residents and commuters the smoothest possible transport service," he said.

The centre has a crisis management room with access to all systems and camera images to to allow a rapid response and communicate quickly with the emergency services in the event of a major incident. The IT systems have also been modernised and there is a fully equipped training room in the building.

"Step by step, our streets must become smarter so that everyone can move around in complete safety," said Brussels mobility minister Elke Van den Brandt. "This requires an improvement of the infrastructure for all modes of transport, something on which we have been working hard since the beginning of the legislature. It also requires efficient and well-coordinated traffic management together with all our mobility operators," she concluded.