Mechelen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Blue-bike partners with Telenet to enhance eco-friendly transport in Mechelen. The project offers easy bike access for commuters and reduces traffic.
Blue-bike is joining with Telenet, a major telecom company in Belgium, to set up a new bike-sharing point at the telecom company main office in Mechelen-Noord. It has been said that this move helps Blue-bike reach more people and make its service easier to use. With bikes available at Telenet’s workplace, employees and visitors can quickly grab a bike for commuting or errands.
Why did Blue-bike team up with Telenet in Mechelen?
The goal is to help train passengers who struggle to get to their final destination after a train ride. Sven De Cremer from Telenet mentioned that with this partnership, Telenet is giving people a simple way to switch from the train to a shared bike, making their trips easy.
Sustainable mobility can only succeed if we make it as simple and attractive as possible,” says Sven De Cremer of Telenet. “With this initiative, we are already offering a strong answer to the last mile that train passengers have to travel to work. The collaboration with Blue-bike, therefore, fits nicely with our vision of sustainability.”
This project supports Telenet’s goal of a cleaner and less crowded city. By promoting bike-sharing, Telenet wants to help reduce traffic and pollution in Mechelen-Noord. They mentioned that the partnership with Bluebike shows Telenet’s commitment to making commuting easier for everyone and improving life in the community.
Community responses on Blue-bike and Telenet’s transport in Mechelen
Stefan Butaye from Blue-bike is happy about their work with Telenet. He says it helps show the benefits of using different types of transport. They set up a bike-sharing point at Telenet to prove that green travel can happen in more places. Now, Mechelen has five Blue-bike points with around 170 bikes. Alexander Vandersmissen, the Alderman for Mobility and Economy, says this project shows how businesses can help with better transport and city life.
Blue-bike is a bike-sharing service in Belgium that started in 2011. It aims to make it easier for people to use public transport by adding bikes to their daily trips. The service was created by the former NMBS, which is the Belgian National Railway Company. Blue-bike mainly helps train passengers by offering shared bikes at key places like train stations and bus stops.
Over time, Blue Bikes has grown and now has bike sheds where travelers can pick up and drop off bikes. These bike stations are located at many transport hubs, including the Mechelen Cattle Market. In 2018, De Lijn, the public transport company in Flanders, became the main owner of Blue-bike. TEC still has a small share in the service.
