Survey shows electric bikes gaining in popularity in Wallonia, Brussels

In Flanders, the electric bicycle has been established for some time, but now the means of transport is also gaining popularity in Brussels and Wallonia. According to a survey by road safety institute Vias, 40% of Walloons and 47% of Brussels residents who ride an electric bicycle are those who started using one less than a year ago. In Flanders, about 23% of the users can say the same.

"Last year, one in six Belgians used an electric bike,” said Vias. “Every year, this mode of transport is gaining popularity. The phenomenon was initially limited to Flanders, but the electric bicycle has now also conquered Brussels and Wallonia. The diversification of the different types of electric bicycles has certainly played a role in this."

In Flanders, one in three users, around 34%, has been riding an electric bicycle for more than three years, according to the Vias survey. In Wallonia it is about one in six, about 16%, and in Brussels one in nine, around 11%. The health crisis may have played a role in the growth of the electric bike in the south of the country, Vias suggests.

Some 30% of electric bicycle riders use it to get work. In Brussels this is 36% compared to 27% in Wallonia and 29% in Flanders. Furthermore, about a third of Belgians have already fallen off their electric bicycle. In Flanders this is 26%.

The survey also shows that about a third of Flanders residents who ride an electric bike travel more than 50km a week.