Abstract
At a time when mobility in Brussels is becoming increasingly critical from the standpoints of the environment and efficiency, this article gives a detailed and exhaustive analysis of the geography of traffic conditions affecting the trams and buses of Brussels’ main mass transit network. The finely disaggregated data that we were able to obtain from the Brussels Interborough Transport Company (STIB/MIVB) enabled us to calculate and map three indicators (commercial speed, irregularity, and lost time) that make it possible to identify the network’s problem spots. The figures show that, in the current state of affairs, fewer than a third of the city’s tram line segments meet the commercial speed performance levels that they are expected to achieve under STIB/ MIVB’s new management contract. The problem spots, which are found primarily but not solely in the first urban ring (from Saint-Gilles to Schaerbeek, via Ixelles), stem basically from a mixture of roads and public areas that are narrow and/or heavily used by cars, inappropriate traffic light management, and political stalemates that make it impossible to get around the first three factors. In this framework, the regional mobility and sustainable development plans can scarcely be achieved.
Highlights
SummaryAt a time when mobility in Brussels is becoming increasingly critical from the standpoints of the environment and efficiency, this article gives a detailed and exhaustive analysis of the geography of traffic conditions affecting the trams and buses of Brussels’ main mass transit network
The Brussels-Capital Region’s announced urban transport and environment objective is to reduce automobile pressure by means of a modal shift to mass transit and, more marginally, the bicycle and walking
The finely disaggregated data that we were able to obtain from the Brussels Interborough Transport Company (STIB/MIVB) enabled us to calculate and map three indicators that make it possible to identify the network’s problem spots
Summary
At a time when mobility in Brussels is becoming increasingly critical from the standpoints of the environment and efficiency, this article gives a detailed and exhaustive analysis of the geography of traffic conditions affecting the trams and buses of Brussels’ main mass transit network. The problem spots, which are found primarily but not solely in the first urban ring (from Saint-Gilles to Schaerbeek, via Ixelles), stem basically from a mixture of roads and public areas that are narrow and/or heavily used by cars, inappropriate traffic light management, and political stalemates that make it impossible to get around the first three factors In this framework, the regional mobility and sustainable development plans can scarcely be achieved. Xavier Courtois, is a geographer and researcher at Brussels Free University’s Environmental Management and Spatial Planning Institute (ULB-IGEAT, Brussels) His final thesis, entitled “Géographie de la vitesse commerciale sur le réseau de la STIB”, dealt with the geography of performance in Brussels’s major mass transport network. Brussels Studies is published thanks to the support of the ISRIB (Institute for the encouragement of Scientific Research and Innovation of Brussels - Brussels-Capital Region) the e-journal for academic research on Brussels
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