Amsterdam public transport money woes less severe than thought; staff shortages an issue

The financial problems facing public transport in Amsterdam are less severe than initially thought, thanks to some extra effort by transport company GVB and the municipality, alderman Melanie van der Horst (Traffic) said in a letter on Tuesday. While staff shortages will persist longer than predicted, planned cuts to public transport in the Dutch capital will no longer be necessary, she wrote.

In March, the GVB published a plan to significantly scale down public transport in Amsterdam due to staff shortages, increased prices, and declining income during the pandemic. The GVB said it would run trams, buses, and metros less often from the summer and cut entire tram- and bus lines next year.

But thanks to extra investments from the city and transport region, those cuts no longer seem to be necessary, Van der Horst said. The transport region released a budget of up to 20 million euros, and the municipality set 7.5 million euros aside to help the GVB absorb financial setbacks. The GVB also took steps to improve its financial position. For example, it took steps to reduce the number of people traveling without a ticket, took energy-saving measures, and launched campaigns to attract more travelers.

The GVB is still facing significant staff shortages, and due to the tightness in the labor market, Van der Horst expects that to continue for some time. The municipality already permitted GVB to run trams less frequently on tram lines 13, 14, and 19 this year due to staff shortages.

The GVB’s efforts to attract more staff and keep existing employees resulted in tram line 13 being able to run on the full schedule. But Van der Horst expects to have to allow frequency reduction for tram lines 14 and 19 next year too.

The alderman stressed that those involved are committed to “limiting the number of network changes to the minimum necessary.” She is also looking into whether further measures are needed “to continue to guarantee the accessibility of public transport.”

Amsterdam Regional Council for Transport will discuss the plans for public transport in the city for 2024 again next month.