The lower traffic volume due to the corona crisis is leading to special insights. Research by the Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management shows that a relatively small reduction in traffic can have major consequences for the congestion problem.
It is not the first time that interesting statements have been made during this crisis about the consequences of the reduced traffic density. According to I&W, it is the first time that it has really become clear to the national main road network. Henk Taale, of the I&W ‘Monitoring and Evaluation’ team, lets on BNR News Radio know that a relatively small decrease in traffic has significant consequences for possible congestion. “I have often shouted out of a gut feeling: if we could just lose ten percent of the traffic, we would probably have lost most of the traffic jams.” That kite does indeed appear to go up. I&W has established that the number of traffic jams in the Netherlands is already halving with eight percent less traffic.
That eight percent reduction is the situation we are in now. According to Taale, there are now ten percent fewer trips during the traditional morning rush hours and five percent during the evening rush hour. Viewed over the entire day, this is eight percent. According to Taale, the traffic you ‘miss’ now is mainly in working from home. “We know this now, let’s continue on this now by encouraging people to (stay, ed.) Work at home, travel less during rush hour, choose different mobility, you name it. If you mainly reduce traffic during rush hour, then you see that the number of files is a lot less. “