Busy roads expected as holidays start for more schools, bus drivers strike

The schools in the center and south of the country are closing for the autumn holiday today. The ANWB expects heavy traffic on the road as motorists go to their holiday destinations. Returning traffic will also be a problem - today is the last day of the autumn holiday for school pupils in the Noord region. Friday is also the last day of a three-day nationwide strike by regional public transport workers.

The ANWB expects that the first traffic jams will start building at noon. The longest jams will be on the A2 between Utrecht and Maastricht in both directions and on the A27 from Utrecht to Breda.

There is also a chance of problems on the A1 and A12 towards the east. Rijkswaterstaat will close the Afsluitdijk after the evening rush hour for road works in both directions. Road users will have to use detours between 10:00 P.m. on Friday and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.

In addition to road traffic, travelers at Schiphol and other airports can also expect longer waiting times. Holidaymakers traveling to France by car may still have to deal with a fuel shortage. They’re advised to fill their tanks before crossing the border.

Regional transport workers also enter the last three strike days for a better collective bargaining agreement. Trade union FNV demands a wage increase to compensate for higher prices and a reduction in the workload. The union never signed the current collective agreement, which runs until the end of this year. CNV did sign the agreement in June. The Association of Public Transport Employers (VWOV) does not want to continue negotiating the current agreement with FNV but did invite the union to discuss the future one in 2023.

The two sides disagree about the effect of the strikes. VWOV said that, on average, 70 to 80 percent of the timetable ran on the first day because CNV members and non-union members did not stop working. FNV said that the strike “hit” 65 to 70 percent of the timetable.

About 13,000 people work in regional transport. FNV said on Wednesday, the first day of the strike, that over 6,000 are members of FNV, and 2,500 took part in the strike. In addition to bus drivers, it included tram drivers, traffic controllers, and train drivers who fall under the collective labor agreement, according to the union.