You may have noticed: the files are back! The congestion in the Netherlands last week was even above the level of the same period in 2019. It seems that the positive effects of the corona crisis on road traffic are quickly disappearing again. Partly because travelers fall back into old patterns …
“We see that people are moving more now that society is increasingly reopened,” said Steven van Eijck of the Mobility Alliance. “Despite all the warnings, it seems as if we have learned nothing from the corona crisis. We have been insisting for some time on the importance of more flexibility by better spreading passenger flows: in time and in means of transport.”
‘Agreements must be made about working from home and avoiding peak hours’
In the coming decades, the need for mobility and the number of trips will only increase further. The Mobility Alliance – which includes the ANWB, BOVAG and Rai Association – has therefore presented a plan for the new coalition agreement. It states that clear agreements must be made between governments, employers, employees and education about working from home and avoiding rush hours.
Mobility Alliance: ‘Invest more in bottlenecks to prevent traffic jams’
Research shows that a majority of the Dutch are in favor of making work, school and travel times more flexible. To make this possible, investments must not only be made in the current capacity of public transport, according to the Mobility Alliance, but also in tackling bottlenecks for road transport and accelerating the construction of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.