Close to three fifths of Belgians live within 200 metres of public transport

Some 58% of Belgium‘s population lives within 200 metres of a public transport stop, new data from Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, has revealed.

The data, which was compiled to examine Belgian citizens’ proximity to essential infrastructure such as hospitals, stations, schools, nursing homes and public transport, found that residents of the Brussels-Capital Region were best served when it came to public transport, with 83% living within 200 metres of a stop.

This compares to 60% of those living in the Walloon Region and 52% in the Flemish Region, highlighting ‘significant disparities’ between regions, Statbel said.

Provincial access

At provincial level, some 45% of residents of West Flanders lived within 200 metres of a stop, followed by 52% of those in Flemish Brabant and 52% of those in Walloon Brabant.

Provinces with higher access to public transport included Liège (66%), Luxembourg (64%) and Limburg (59%).

Finally, at municipal level, residents of Stoumont are least served when it comes to public transport, with 46% of residents having to travel more than one kilometre to reach a public transport stop. In contrast, just 2.5% of residents of Koekelberg live more than 200 metres from the nearest stop.

About the data

The data was compiled using population figures and mapping of transport infrastructure, including 771 motorway slip roads across Belgium. Overall, Belgium boasts some 64,160 active public transport stops, across bus, tram and metro.

Other findings from Statbel indicate that 72% of Belgians live less than five kilometres away from a motorway entrance, and 58% of the population lives in a five-kilometre radius of a hospital. Read more here.