A central register of bicycles will be set up in January to combat bicycle theft, Belgian Mobility minister Georges Gilkinet confirmed to Le Soir and Sudinfo on Saturday. It is one of the pillars of the "Be Cyclist" programme, which aims to promote the use of bicycles in Belgium.
The register is an extension of the Mybike system in Brussels, which combats bicycle theft by identifying bicycles in a register. Bicycles can be registered in the register on a voluntary basis and receive a sticker to identify them.
More than 43,000 bicycles are currently registered in the Mybike register. Gilkinet hopes to increase the number of registrations by extending the system to the whole country. Mybike will consist of a single database at national level, but each region will have its own website and organise its own communication on the subject.
Strict insurance policies
It remains to be seen how well Mybike will combat bike theft, which is becoming an increasing problem in Belgium. According to Het Nieuwsblad, more and more insurers are introducing additional conditions for bicycle insurance.
Most Belgian insurers already require that a bicycle be secured to a fixed point. But some are going one step further. Aedes only insures bicycles if they are parked in a fully enclosed private space that is covered and locked with a key. And AXA Belgium no longer insures bicycles left on the street in Antwerp or Brussels between 10 pm and 6 am.
The insurer points out that bicycle theft is mainly a phenomenon in large cities. In Brussels, the risk of having a bicycle stolen is four times higher than the national average. Bikes in Antwerp and Leuven are twice as likely to be stolen as the Belgian average, while thefts in Ghent and Bruges lie slightly below the national average.
Insurance ombudsman Laurent de Barsy says he is receiving more and more complaints about bicycle insurance, especially about the way these bikes must be locked. The number of bicycle insurance policies has more than doubled in two years. Customers mainly want to protect themselves against theft.
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