Encouraging high-quality car sharing activities in Brussels

Quality standards are another way that cities can encourage high-quality car sharing activities. This can mean offering support to car sharing providers that meet standards such as those set by the German Blue Angel (see above) or establishing a set of standards such as those set by the city of Brussels (Ville de Bruxelles, no date) in order for car sharing operators to be allowed to station their vehicles in public space. In Brussels, to be accepted as a car sharing operator, a strict set of conditions must be met (see box).

Further, car sharing operators in Brussels must report twice annually with statistics of use (subscribers, hours of vehicle use, kms driven by station, age and environmental standards of the vehicles, percentage of demand satisfied, number of stations and vehicles). The city may suspend or withdraw the agreement at any time if the operator does not fulfil the conditions and the operator must apply for renewal every two years, with the renewal application accompanied by a declaration confirming that they continue to meet the criteria and a report summarising their plans for new stations foreseen for the coming two years with justification for these based on mobility needs and the interests of residents.