bicycles and social entrepreneurship in belgium strasbourg, 16 january 2014 jan vanhee, director...

Bicycles and social entrepreneurship in Belgium

Strasbourg, 16 January 2014Jan Vanhee, director FietsenWerk

FietsenWerk gathers, supports en energizes social bicycle entrepreneurship

anddevelops pioneering bicycle products for and together with

social entrepreneurs

• Umbrella organisation of 17 social bicycle enterprises in Flanders and Brussels (non profit)– Management trademark ‘bicycle points’ and support– Exchange between members– New products– Contacts main stakeholders

• Activities:- 45 bicycle points at railway stations- Bike repair workplaces- Company bikes: rent, maintenance and repair- Recycling bikes- Other activities, linked at sustainable mobility

• Main target groups:- Commuters (railway stations)- Employees- Students- Tourists

FietsenWerk

FietsenWerk

FietsenWerk

• Activities:45 bicycle points at railway stations

FietsenWerk

Period before bicycle points With bicycle points

FietsenWerk

• Public transport: Belgian railway company ‘NMBS’• Government• Other:

– Universities: student bicycles– Blue Mobility– Private bicycle enterprises– Public transport company ‘De Lijn’– Associations in the field of sustainable mobility or

social economy

Stakeholders

Some results

year 2008 year 2013

Members 11 17

Bicycle points 8 45Employment (bicycle points) 30 250

• Tidiness of bicycle parkings ↑• Stations with bicycle points: modal split of 21%

cyclists (stations without bicycle points: 18%) • Survey 2013: > 80% of the commuters are very

satisfied with the presence of bicycle points

• FietsenWerk

– Member fee– Fee trademark ‘bicycle points’– Projects

• Members – bicycle points: model of shared responsibility*

– Employment and social economy: federal and Flemish government (43%)

– Railway company: 16%– Local authority: 16% – Revenues: 13%– Other (Flemish department of mobility, tourism, innovation):

12%

*Figures: 2011

Revenues

• Revenues• Employment• Quality – uniformisation• Private sector: collaboration? How?

Barriers

• Expansion of the model in Wallonie (region in Belgium)• Bicycle points: grow and quality ↑• Development new ideas, for instance:

– Company bicycles– Bicycles for secundary schools (trips)– …

Near future

– Cooperation with authorities– Broad variety of activities– Objectives of ‘sustainable mobility’ and ‘employment’– Umbrella organisation

Key factors for success in other countries

More information:www.fietsenwerk.bejan.vanhee@fietsenwerk.be Tel. +32 3 239 62 24

Thank you for your attention!