Keep promoting working from home to avoid public transit crowds: Coronavirus think tank

The government should continue to encourage employees to work from home in order to prevent everyone from taking the car or public transit again after the summer, according to the Coronavirus Crisis Think Tank, an initiative of the social and economic council SER. In education, a combination of online and physical education must be found, the think tank said, Het Parool reports.

The think tank looked at how government policy with regard to the coronavirus crisis could be supported from September 1, at the request of the cabinet. "The largest home-working experiment ever" was the solution it came up with. 

Healthy working from home practices should be encouraged, the think tank said. Employers can create satellite offices in central location sin cities or towns. And investments must be made in childcare to make working from home easier. Working people should spread their working hours out over the day, so that offices don't get crowded. 

This current period should be used to gain experience. "What are we running into? What do we experience as bottlenecks and what do we want to keep? By using this period for a large perception study into working from home and online eduction, we can given even better substance to the policy in September," SER chairman Mariette Hamer said, according to the newspaper.

When it comes to education, the 'time slot' for physical education should be widened, schools should work on a combination of online and physical education, and the use of bicycles should be encouraged, the think tank said. 

To avoid crowds during the rush hour of public transport, "positive price incentives' are advised for traveling outside rush hour.