The municipality of Amsterdam has not yet sufficiently considered the consequences for public transport of lowering the maximum speed, says Rover Amsterdam in a letter to the municipality. Rover fears additional costs and longer travel times.
The Municipality of Amsterdam wants to reduce the maximum speed within the city from 50 km/h to 30 km/h. Although Rover welcomes this measure, the consequences for public transport should be re-examined. After all, public transport is the safest mode of transport. Rover Amsterdam therefore wants public transport to become faster rather than slower, to make travel time more attractive. Cars will soon be able to make a detour on the A10 ring road or on roads where the speed limit is still 50 km/h. More attention must therefore be paid to the competitive position of public transport.
Rover Amsterdam therefore argues for an exception for public transport from the reduced maximum speed in some cases, especially for busy through lines. This requires customization. More priority must also be given to the flow of public transport. With priority at traffic lights and more free tram and bus lanes, public transport would not be so slowed down by the reduction in the overall speed limit. It would not be good if stops were removed to keep the speed high, since the walking distances for the traveler would then increase.
Rover Amsterdam warns that operating costs will increase sharply for the public transport companies because the journeys will take longer, which means that more trams and buses will have to be deployed and purchased. The alternative is that frequencies have to be lowered or lines canceled – which in turn costs travelers and therefore leads to less revenue for the carriers. Should the travel time indeed increase, Rover will ask the municipality of Amsterdam to reimburse the extra costs. If passengers in public transport are no longer taken into account, Rover foresees major problems for travelers and public transport companies in and around the city.
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