It’s not always easy to get around Brussels. Fortunately, numerous transport-sharing apps have come to the rescue. There are essential apps for cars, bikes, scooters and taxis – all of which can be downloaded to your smartphone to help you get around Brussels.
Free-floating and multimodal
Free-floating is where you use shared vehicles (bikes, scooters, cars, etc.) by picking them up and dropping them off anywhere within a designated zone. It’s all managed by a smartphone app.
The latest trend? Combining different means of transport to shorten your journey times. To make life easier, there are many apps. Check out our guide!
By car
Poppy: the 3-in-1 platform
As well as providing a fleet of around 300 energy-efficient cars in Brussels and Antwerp, Poppy lets its members hire sit-down and stand-up e-scooters. It is the only platform to offer three means of transport under the same banner, and also to allow travel between zones (Brussels and Antwerp) in its cars. Zaventem Airport and Heysel are considered part of Brussels.
Price: free registration
Use: 1 euro service fee, then:
Cars: 0.36 euro/min for cars (90 euros/day), 0.35 euro/min for keeping the vehicle parked
Scooters: 0.30 euro/min (90 euros/day) 0.15 euro/min for keeping the vehicle parked
Stand-up scooters: 0.25 euro/min for cars (90 euros/day), 0.15 euro/min for keeping the vehicle parked
Cool:
- choice of energy-efficient cars
- All-in price
- You don’t have to pay for parking (except at the airport)
- possibility of using cars between Brussels and Antwerp
- the app clearly shows the three types of vehicle available, according to how close they are.
Less cool:
- a Poppy car is still a car… sometimes stuck in Brussels traffic (but then you have the option of a scooter)
Sit-down scooters
Felyx
These keyless sit-down scooters come with two helmets (with hygienic protection) and insurance cover. A class ‘B’ driver’s licence (or class ‘B’ motorbike licence) is required.
Price: 30 minutes free after registering
Use: 0.30 euro/min. Parking with reservation: 0.15 euro/min
Cool:
- No emissions, no noise
- Get around fast (45 km/h) and effortlessly in Brussels
- You may carry a passenger (2 helmets + hairnets)
- 30 minutes free after registering
Less cool:
- Moving around in the Brussels traffic can be hazardous, especially when people can’t hear you coming. So be careful!
Poppy sit-down scooters
See above in the 'By Car' section
By bike
Here too, the times are changing in Brussels… Traditional shared bikes (of the pedal power type) have all but disappeared from the urban landscape. Electric bikes are increasingly seen as the only option for cyclists looking to get around a city known for its strenuous hills.
Billy
A pioneer in shared electric bikes in Brussels, Billy has improved and expanded its range with new electric cycles. They can be recognised by their black frame and blue wheel rims.
Price: 0.20 euro/min or 0.15 euro/min per 200 min pack (30 euros).
Cool:
- 600 bikes in 14 districts
- No administration fee.
- Possibility of buying a bundle of 200 minutes
Less cool:
- The bikes are quite heavy
Villo!
Shared bikes that you pick up and drop off at docking stations. This is the biggest service of its kind in Brussels, with 5,000 bikes and 360 docking points. The bikes are not activated by an app (you have to take out an annual subscription or buy tickets valid for 1 day or 1 week) but a new app developed by Villo! is making life easier by showing you what’s available nearby. New in October 2019: a third of the fleet is now electric. To use these bikes, as well as an annual subscription you need to rent a battery (4.15 euros/month), and store/recharge it at home.
Price: Various types of subscription are available: annual for 34.70 euros (33.70 euros with Mobib), daily for 1.60 euros or weekly for 8.20 euros. The first half hour is free. The second costs 0.50 euros and the third 1 euro, with any time above this being charged at 2 euros per half hour. e-Villo!: 4.15 euros/month on top of the subscription.
Cool:
- You can find Villo! bikes throughout Brussels!
- More than 1,300 e-Villo! bikes on top of the existing fleet!
- Affordable prices to encourage frequent use
Less cool:
- Fairly heavy bikes
- Lots of Villo! bikes are taken into the city centre but don’t find their way out again, causing availability problems.
- Unwieldy subscription system
Stand-up scooters
You either love them or hate them. But what’s sure is that, in Brussels, the competition is fierce on the shared stand-up electric scooter market. Operators are jostling for space and disappearing no sooner than they’ve arrived!
At the time of writing (September 2021), 6 operators were offering scooters at different prices: from 0.17 to 0.25 euro per minute, with or without an unlocking fee: Bird, Bolt, Dott, Lime, Poppy and Voi. Bolt and Voi are the most comfortable scooters with inflatable tyres (and also offer a beginner mode with speed and acceleration limitation).
Cool:
- Travel fast and cheap in the city!
- Abundant offer in Brussels with 6 operators
- Relative comfort of the latest models introduced by the operators
Less cool:
- Scooter riding remains a dangerous exercise in traffic: be careful!
Dott
Price: 1 euro basic cost plus 0.19 euro/min (in Brussels).
Lime
Price: 1 euro basic cost plus 0.22 euro/min (in Brussels).
Bolt
Price: No basic cost and 0.17 euro/min (in Brussels).
Voi
Price: No basic cost and 0.20 euro/min (in Brussels).
Bird
Price: 1 euro basic cost plus 0.19 euro/min (in Brussels).
Poppy stand-up scooters
See above in the 'By Car' section
Stand-up scooters and bikes: safety first and then insurance!
Electric scooters and bikes are not toys and, like any vehicle, must follow the highway code. Helmets are not mandatory but are highly recommended. Using cycle lanes where available can reduce the risks significantly. It is forbidden to ride on the pavements. When you have finished riding, park your scooter without hindering the movement of other users: think of PRMs in chairs, prams and visually impaired people who use the facades for orientation.
To ride a stand-up electronic scooter, you must be at least 18 and have a debit or credit card in your name. If you allow a minor to use a stand-up electronic scooter, you are responsible for their actions. In the event of an accident (with a pedestrian or other road user), it’s best to have liability insurance to avoid any problems. You can use you family insurance for that.
Are you properly insured? Make sure you check!
Car ride services
Uber
Similar service to the traditional taxi, but controlled entirely by an app. When ordering a ride, you enter your destination and the app identifies your location and dispatches a driver to it (or to a different address if you prefer). You are notified in advance of the estimated price. It’s easy to spot your driver: you know the model of car, its colour, number plate and even a photo, the driver’s name and their approval rating. On arrival, you don’t have to pay anything: the ride is automatically billed by the app and charged to your credit card. All you have to do is rate your driver and the quality of the service.
Price: the app calculates the estimated price of the journey in advance. This could be higher during periods of peak demand (surge pricing). You are told the multiplier and can choose whether to book or wait until later.
Cool:
- No phone call, no money changes hands: it’s all done by the app
- Available 24/7
- 3 vehicle types: classic, luxury or van
- Driver ratings encourage service quality
- The app offers 3 services: taxis, shared bikes and meal delivery
Less cool:
- Prices increase when demand is high
Victor Cab
This Brussels rival to Uber was launched in June 2018 by the head of a taxi firm. The platform offers the same benefits as Uber (ordering by app, ride price known in advance, payment by app, etc.) with the same price zones. There are slight differences, in that you can also pay by bankcard or even in cash. Prices are a bit higher than Uber’s, but they are fixed by the meter and don’t increase during peak demand.
Price: the app calculates the estimated price of the journey in advance.
Cool:
- No phone call, no money changes hands: it’s all done by the app
- Around 500 drivers available 24/7 with a choice of several types of vehicle, including wheelchair-accessible ones
- You can hail a Victor Cab in the street by making a ‘V for Victory’ sign!
Less cool:
- Frequently long waiting times for wheelchair-accessible vehicles
Collecto
Shared night taxi service available every day between 11 pm and 6 am throughout the Brussels-Capital Region. It is operated by a group of traditional taxis and transports several passengers at a time who wish to make the same journey. Pick-up is at a fixed time at specific locations (200 points, mostly STIB bus stops). They are identified by Collecto signs and can be found using the app, which also lets you reserve and identify your taxi. You can then have yourself dropped off at your chosen destination for a very affordable price.
Price: six euros per person per journey (five euros if you have a MOBIB card)
Cool:
- Affordable price for getting home safely at night
Less cool:
- Fixed pick-up points and times (similar to public transport)
Forget Rome, all roads lead to Jeasy
Ever wished you had an interactive guide on your mobile to tell you the best way of getting around town, in real time? Well, here it is: Jeasy, a start-up at the StartIT@KBC incubator. The app looks at your needs, weighs up the options and tells you how best to get to where you need to be in Brussels. Combining public transport, taxis and shared bikes, cars and scooters. Plus help with parking. And, like its forerunner apps, Jeasy lets you pay direct for your entire trip, without fiddling for cash.
What it costs: sign-up is free. When you use it: you pay the standard fares and fees charged by each facility.
Cool:
- the comprehensive approach to optimising all your urban travel in the capital
- solutions are personalised to suit your preferences
Less cool:
- nothing! Jeasy's so cool, you've arrived before you even set off!
The keys to your travel: a smartphone and credit card!
Most of the apps that let you use or hire shared transport require a credit card. Don’t have one yet? Choose from the range offered by KBC Brussels!
