Sint-Martens-Latem (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Sint-Martens-Latem relaunches car- and bike-sharing campaign after 2 years of low use. Shared cars average 5 bookings monthly. Alderman Peter Draulans cites communication and bike locations as key challenges.
As VRT News reported, Sint-Martens-Latem, in the province of East Flanders, Belgium, is relaunching its campaign to promote its car- and bike-sharing system. The shared cars have been available in the municipality for 2 years, but residents use them only about 5 times a month. The council wants to increase awareness.
“We conducted a survey about interest in car sharing two to three years ago, and it turned out there was interest,”
says Alderman Peter Draulans (N-VA).
What’s next for Sint-Martens-Latem’s car and bike sharing after low use?
The bike-sharing system was added just over a year ago, but it also sees very little demand. The municipality hopes that renewed communication will encourage more residents to try the shared bikes for short trips.
Alderman Draulans says the low use of the car-sharing and bike-sharing services is because of different reasons. He mentioned that many households already own several cars, which reduces the need for shared vehicles. The bike-sharing system also struggles because most residents prefer to use their own bicycles for short local trips.
Alderman Draulans said,
“For the cars, I think there is insufficient communication, and that people prefer to use their own car rather than a shared car.”
“I think it’s because of the location of the bicycles, which is in a remote corner of the municipality, and that’s too far. We’re looking into relocating them to something closer to the center of Sint-Martens-Latem.”
The municipality has now launched a social media campaign to draw more attention to the 2 systems. The campaign will run for 6 months and aims to boost awareness and daily use. If there is no clear increase in demand, the council will end the car-sharing service.
“Car sharing is a municipal initiative, which is expensive,”
Draulans explains.
“It’s different for shared bicycles; they will remain. They’re free for us; they’re part of a complete network within the Ghent transport region.”
Sint-Martens-Latem introduced its shared cars in 2022 after a mobility survey in 2020 and 2021 showed interest in new transport options. The municipality expanded the offer with shared bicycles in mid-2023 as part of the Ghent Transport Region’s push for more sustainable travel.
Despite these steps, use stayed low through 2023 and 2024, with only a few car bookings each month and little demand for the bicycles. The renewed campaign, launched at the end of 2024, comes as the council prepares to decide in early 2025 whether the car-sharing service can continue under the current conditions.
