Analysis of accessibility and income for targeted bicycle infrastructure investments

Where can investment in cycling infrastructure make the biggest difference? TML carried out a study for the Flemish government to identify areas where limited access to public transport coincides with lower incomes. It is precisely these areas that offer the greatest potential for improved cycling infrastructure to help reduce transport poverty.

More and more policy decisions focus on where investments can have the greatest social impact. As part of the Social Climate Fund, Flanders aims to demonstrate that new cycling infrastructure not only promotes sustainable mobility but also helps people who currently have fewer transport options. We therefore mapped out where poorer accessibility by public transport and by bicycle coincides with lower incomes.

We updated the accessibility maps previously developed by our team using the latest De Lijn timetables and combined them with income data at the statistical sector level. This led to the creation of maps that clearly show which areas are home to people with a lower average income and where transport links are less convenient. In addition to the maps, we also provided the underlying GIS data, so that the results can be further utilised in policy analyses and decision-making.

These analyses provide Flanders with a data-driven basis for demonstrating to the European Commission that targeted investments in cycling infrastructure contribute to fairer mobility and tackling transport poverty.