Companies wanting to offer rental services of bikes and scooters in Brussels will need a license
As of the 1st of February 2019, the rental services of at least 50 bicycles, scooters and other two-wheeled vehicles in Brussels will require a license. This was decided on Thursday by the Brussels’ government when it adopted a decree to regulate these services.
Operators already active in Brussels will have until 1 September to apply for the license. This will be issued for a period of three years. The new regulations are aimed at: electric and non-electric bicycles, but also scooters that are becoming increasingly popular with the public, mopeds and motorcycles equipped with two parallel wheels or hoverboards.
The arrival without warning of new operators offering this type of service in recent years, quickly generated a lot of troubles, especially due to the fact that the gear was being left anywhere on the sidewalks.
The application for a license must contain an approach plan in which the applicant explains, among other things, how he will the company enforce the operating conditions; what is the expected lifespan of the proposed bike-sharing vehicles and how they will be recycled. The company requesting the license will also have to explain how these two-wheeled machines will be (re) distributed, and what price he will charge.
On a technical level, the proposed vehicles will have to be equipped with mudguards, be able to support a load of 100 kg (120 for the bicycles); and be usable for people between 1m50 and 2m10. The operator will have to provide in real time the number of bike-sharing vehicles that will be made available to users in the Region. Each quarter, it will report to the administration the routes taken by the users; the places where the cross-country vehicles are being removed and dropped off; the number of users, the routes traveled and the vehicles on an hourly, daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Advertising on these vehicles is prohibited. For recharging, “green-generated” electricity must be used; there will be places like Grand Place where it will be forbidden to leave the bike-sharing vehicles, permanently or temporarily, depending on the places concerned.
In the concentration zones, there will be a maximum number of vehicles operating. A regional fee for the removal of vehicles is set at € 100 for a moped; 300 euros for a motorcycle; 50 euros for a bike and for other vehicles in cycling.
