The opportunities in traffic to spread passenger flows are not being used, says Mobility Alliance partnership. According to the association, the traffic jam pressure was above the level of the same period in 2019 last week and the positive effects of the corona crisis on mobility are disappearing. Travelers also fall back into old patterns.
"Despite all the warnings, it seems as if we have learned nothing from the corona crisis," said chairman Steven van Eijck in a press release about the increasing crowds now that society is being reopened further. “For some time now, we have emphasized the importance of more flexibility by better spreading passenger flows: spreading over time and spreading over means of transport,” said the chairman.
The Mobility Alliance denounces the lack of concrete agreements on mobility, despite earlier warnings of future problems with traffic. In addition to more flexibility in travel, the association has also argued for investments in the current capacity of public transport and maintenance of existing infrastructure. These are "indispensable to enable spreading", according to the association.
Van Eijck also refers to the Budget Day documents, in which, according to him, there is talk about investing in housing, but "insufficiently about how we should reach those houses and shops in the future".
The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency recently painted a completely different picture. According to the PBL, there will also be fewer traffic jams in the long term because more people will continue to work from home. The PBL advised the government to take a closer look at planned billions in investments in the road network and public transport due to changing travel behaviour.
Together with employers' and entrepreneurs' associations VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland, the alliance has already pointed to the growth of both the economy and the population, which will increase the demand for public transport and increase traffic. The PBL would not have included this in its calculations.
Also read: We are no longer used to standing in traffic
