3.4 Mobility: The Bicycle, The New Engine for Sustainability For several years, ULiège has been implementing a strong modal shift policy with concrete effects on behaviour. Numerous levers are being used to observe needs, support sustainable trends and restrict the most energyconsuming habits. Over the last four years, solo car use has fallen by 7% among staff and by 11% among students. However, it still accounted for 66% of staff journeys in 2021. The aim is to reduce car use by 15% by 2025 compared to 2019, when the first mobility plan was adopted. One of the measures has been to stop building new parking areas, even though the institution’s population is growing. The post-pandemic period has been marked by the success of cycling. “We didn’t expect this to happen so soon,” says Pierre Duysinx, Vice-Rector for Mobility and International Affairs, “even though we have been working for a long time to encourage bicycle use. In particular, we have created a ‘ULiège, j’y vais à vélo’ (ULiège, I’m going by bike) team so that cyclists can identify each other, talk to each other and feel part of a group. This allows the organisation of group departures, the sharing of information, ideas and problems to be solved, etc.” The bicycle workshop, which was set up in 2012 and whose new structure was inaugurated in September 2021 on the Sart Tilman campus, has become one of the bases of the community. One person is employed there four days a week, offering repairs and maintenance, providing training, organising the loan of electric bikes... A reassuring source of technical assistance. “We have also obtained the permits for the deployment of 450 secure bicycle parking spaces on the Sart Tilman campus. These are planned for the summer of 2023 and will be divided into ten outdoor shelters and rooms within the buildings. At the same time, work has been carried out to provide new shower and changing areas,” continues Véronique Loiseau, head of the Urban Planning and Mobility Unit of the Property Resources Administration. Meanwhile, steps have been taken to renovate and expand the bicycle network on all areas of the Sart Tilman site and towards Boncelles. Afterwork drinks or lunches, as well as two annual events, are also organised for cyclists: the spring cycling season, which marks the end of winter, and which is accompanied by the organisation of ‘critical masses’, free bike check-ups and mechanics training; and the mobility week. “During this mobility week, we won the ‘Tous vélo-actif’ challenge, by cycling 5,730 km in one week,” says Pierre Duysinx. This is a challenge open to all cyclists travelling in Wallonia to reach their place of work. Currently, 11% of staff travel by bicycle (compared to 4% in 2017!). The proportion of students remains fairly marginal, and will only change significantly once the City has installed more secure overnight bike shelters. The dialogues between the two institutions are moving in this direction. The growth prospects for cycling are impressive. In Liège, Gembloux and Arlon, almost 50% of the staff and students live close enough to the universities to make the bike a comfortable alternative to the car. Micro-mobility solutions are also being tested on the campuses (provision of electric bikes and scooters). BOOSTING WALKING AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT Walking remains a viable means of mobility, mainly for the city centre of Liège, and for Arlon and Gembloux. “The results are good,” acknowledges Pierre Duysinx. “They hover around 10% for city locations. But they are not changing much. We are going to relaunch communications around walking, particularly in an urban context, which discourage the use of other forms of mobility.” Public transport enjoys great loyalty among students. “One of the challenges remains the decongestion of line 48,” says Véronique Loiseau, “as well as the anticipation of the reorganisation of routes around the end of the tram works in 2024. We are in constant dialogue with the TEC and the various levels of government involved. A new line was implemented this year, the 158. It starts in Chênée and passes through Colonster. Recently, the Marche-Liège (E20) and Charleroi-Gembloux (E83) lines were reclassified as express lines. We had been insisting on this since 2013. This new feature has had a positive impact on the use of these lines. We are also trying to adjust the timetables of the courses according to the availability of the buses, while asking the TEC to reinforce the offer at times that remain congested. In spite of this, these buses remain saturated.” A financial effort has also been launched this year. The TEC is offering a monthly pass at a price of 12 euros for 18-24 year olds. “For students who do not fall into this age bracket, ULiège will pay the difference. In 2022, this compensation was requested by 500 people.” On several other fronts, experiments and reflections are aimed at reducing the greenhouse gases (GHG) attributable to mobility. For example, course scheduling means that there are almost 400 trips per day between the city centre and the Sart Tilman campus. Professors Louveaux and Teller have developed optimisation software to drastically reduce these mid-day trips from next year. “The tool will enable those who make the timetable to divide these trips by four,” says Pierre Duysinx. Carpooling has been declining since the pandemic. An initial campaign, accompanied by offering cinema tickets, was carried out. Continuous awareness-raising must now transform the trial into a permanent habit. In order to increase this fraction to 6% of trips by 2025, a satisfaction survey of the UGO carpooling platform will be launched. Consideration is also being given to reserving certain parking areas for carpoolers. As a final example, many employees telework one or two days a week, and some courses are still given online, deploying digital and interactive teaching devices, which has an impact on the demand for mobility. But social interaction is still paramount, so this measure should remain limited. Sustainable mobility behaviour is accelerating and responding favourably to the measures initiated by ULiège. They allow ambitious perspectives for the years to come. 80% of those who sign up for the bike mechanics training courses organised at ULiège are women. 52% of students travel by public transport and less and less alone by car (-11%) 11% of staff members are cyclists; they travelled more than 390,000 km in one year! Pierre Duysinx Vice-Rector for Mobility and International Affairs 16 | ANNUAL REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT ULIÈGE | 2021 – 2022 17 | ANNUAL REPORT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT ULIÈGE | 2021 – 2022
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