Hajo Beeckman

Orateur
Modérateur
Néerlandais
Anglais
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Who is Hajo Beeckman?

Traffic in Belgium is congested. VRT traffic reporter Hajo Beeckman is your daily guide through the traffic jams on the roads of Flanders. From his privileged position, he also monitors the latest trends in mobility for VRT NWS. Hajo's lectures take a critical look at the many proposals and analyses from policy-makers and analysts aimed at resolving our traffic congestion problems. What will work? And who is talking nonsense? He looks for rational solutions in an often emotional and polarised debate.

Hajo studied political science, spatial planning and traffic engineering in Ghent, and later worked as a researcher at the universities of Leuven and Ghent. From 2001, he helped to expand the new Vlaams Verkeerscentrum (Flemish Traffic Centre). He also became spokesperson for the centre in 2008. Hajo decided to switch to the VRT in 2015, where he works for the traffic team and the newsdesk. In 2018, he won the Grote Prijs Jan Wauters award for his excellent use of language.

    Our mobility in 2040: comfortable but also more expensive

    Hajo walks with you through the most important evolutions that will come in the next two decades and goes into more detail on measures that should make our mobility manageable and sustainable. Because yes, that has to be because of Europe's climate goals.

    Has car use in Flanders reached its peak? Has the corona crisis changed our travel behaviour? What is the influence of teleworking and the flexibilization of the labor market on commuting, and of the changing mobility behavior of active older people and young people? Will the government succeed in reducing the current overconsumption in our mobility with the so-called construction shift? Is the self-driving car a blessing or does that technology bring new problems? And to what extent can European climate targets really force us to drive and fly less? And if so, how much will it cost us?

    In this lecture, Hajo takes a detailed look at a whole series of measures with which policymakers want to solve our traffic junction. Which ideas really work and which less so? The aim of this lecture is to give the listener an insight, preferably in the form of questions and answers, into the sometimes technical but wonderful world of mobility.

    How the climate goals will radically change our mobility

    Those who went through newspaper articles about mobility before the corona era mainly came across stories about the increasing traffic jams, cut-through traffic and road safety. These problems still exist today, but in recent years the mobility issue has become even more complex than it already was. After corona we still move a little less, but the traffic jams are back nevertheless.

    At the same time, there are dynamics in society that were sometimes reinforced by the corona crisis: sustainability, digitization, e-commerce, the crisis in public transport, teleworking and the arrival of hybrid workplaces. And then, of course, there is also the effect of the war in Ukraine on our daily lives.

    Despite the presence of that undercurrent, Hajo argues that after corona we still revert to our old habits. To untangle the traffic node in Flanders, external pressure is needed. This comes from the European climate targets that oblige member states to drastically reduce their CO2 emissions by 2050.

    But will that work? And what consequences does that have for companies and for us as individuals? Hajo looks for rational solutions in the form of a clear overview. What potential do the bicycle and public transport have? Is the salary truck really the cause of our traffic jams? Will Flanders ever succeed in organizing efficient public transport? Do carpooling, self-driving and shared cars offer a solution? And shouldn't you just introduce road pricing?

    Will bikes finally help us to avoid traffic jams?

    The bicycle is becoming extremely popular. However, the Flemish Region and municipalities are having great difficulty keeping pace with this increased popularity. The required infrastructure is simply not available. Even if the current budget is doubled, it would still take another 15 years for people to be able to cycle safely and comfortably on regional roads.

    Analysts are calling for clear decisions to be made. First invest in cycling infrastructure; the rest can follow later. If you want to make bikes even more popular, then make cars more expensive. This can be done via kilometre-based taxation and high parking prices in cities. But is all this realistic?

Hajo Beeckman was a very likeable speaker. He was also very accessible before and after his presentation, and spent a long time talking to our members.

Hendrik Staels

Lions Club Pajottenland

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