THE MOBILITY COVENANTS PROGRAM IN FLANDERS, BELGIUM

The Mobility Covenants Program of the Flemish regional government promotes and sustains local governments\u27 processes of sustainable mobility policymaking. Its aim is to incite municipalities to make a mobility plan and to encourage traffic safety, livability, and modal change. The program is structured around three key items: a task force of transport specialists that sets out the procedures for policy planning and communication and education strategies; a covenant between the municipality, the Flemish public transport company, and the administration for transport, public works, and land use; and approval of the municipality\u27s plan in an audit by external experts. The program has turned the traditional, unimodal traffic policy planning into a multimodal process. In addition, the public transport company has developed an aggressive new strategy, funding new bus lines, bicycle routes, and other consumer-demanded transit projects