Good Move has – as observed from the first measurements – no negative influence on the number of visitors to the center of the capital. This is the conclusion of the council of the City of Brussels on the basis of various data. There are even fewer visitors in October than immediately after the roll-out of the mobility plan at the end of August.

In October 1.25 million people in the shopping area in the center of the city. In concrete terms, this concerns the area between the Grote Markt, the Stock Exchange, the De Brouckèreplein and the Muntplein. The number of visits was 13.6 percent higher in October than in September, but especially 4.8 percent higher than in May, 6.4 percent higher than in June and 5.6 percent higher than in July.

Based on the data, the City of Brussels also made a breakdown of the movement of visitors: of the 1.25 million visitors in October, 27 percent were Belgians outside Brussels, 35 from Brussels and 38 percent tourists from abroad. The Belgians mainly come from Flemish Brabant, but also from Walloon Brabant and Antwerp.

The figures have been collected by the City of Brussels on the basis of Proximus, among others. To validate the figures, the telecom operator ‘counts’ the number of smartphones that spend more than three hours in the vicinity. This method therefore largely excludes residents, employees and people in transit.

Proximus data is not available for usable years. But om to further refine its analysis, the City of Brussels used a second counting system that uses the Wi-Fi sensors in Rue Neuve. Which every hour the number of people in a street.

It showed that 991,000 visitors to Nieuwstraat in October during the store’s opening hours. Residents and employees are not excluded in this data. A comparison with the same figures of the year which showed that there were 4 percent more visitors than in October 2021.

In addition to Good Move, also view the electricity bill

Alderman Fabian Maingain (DéFI) for Economic Affairs concludes that the circulation plan of the City of Brussels has had no negative impact on the number of visitors coming to the center of Brussels since its introduction on August 16, 2022. He states that it is impossible to blame Good Move.

Maingain attributes the problems faced by retailers mainly to factors that transcend the City of Brussels and Good Move. Such as the consequences of the energy and floating crisis. “They have a double impact, both on the turnover of the merchants and on the purchasing power of the customers.”

Does everything run smoothly as far as Good Move is concerned? Remarkable: Maingain is not in the camp that applauds the plan completely, or completely denounces it. He acknowledges that it can sometimes also cause problems, for example with regard to congestion during tunnel works. “We can’t say that Good Move is all wrong, but we can even say that all is well with Good Move,” he summarizes his position. “I will continue to work to adjust the plan where necessary.”