National government's "short-term thinking" is jeopardizing public transport, critics say

The public transport systems in Dutch cities are at risk of stagnating or deteriorating due to decisions by the national government to either cancel or block funding for improvement projects, said labor union FNV Spoor and public transport passenger association Rover in interviews with AD. The union said it demonstrated "short-term thinking" by national politicians who only want to approve projects that can be completed quickly, and which will not cost them voter support over time.

“There is a real need to invest in a robust, reliable and fine-meshed public transport network. But because investments in public transport will only become visible in ten years, they may be afraid that it will cost votes now," said Henri Janssen from FNV Spoor. He advocates for a multi-year long-term vision to bolster the local networks.

In Amsterdam, the caretaker Cabinet withdrew the 1.7 billion euros it pledged to help fund the extension of the Noord-Zuid metro line. The route currently runs between the Buikslotermeer neighborhood in Amsterdam-Noord to Station Zuid in the city's financial district. Amsterdam wants to extend the metro line to Schiphol Airport and Hoofddorp. There is also local political support to extend the route in the opposite direction to Zaandam and Purmerend.

Then in Rotterdam, the City Council dropped plans to construct another metro tunnel, and instead approved a third city bridge. The city went for the bridge because of a belief they would miss out on hundreds os millions of euros of funding from the national government.

Both Amsterdam and Rotterdam metro projects would have paid off in the long-run, the FNV Spoor argues. “The government is slowing down municipalities, that is stupid,” Janssen said. “There really needs to be a national vision on mobility. We now have to make a plan for the coming decades, but that takes courage.”

Like Rotterdam, Amsterdam said it will drop its metro extension and the Zuidasdok project if the national government does withdraw the 1.7 billion euros. “It is time for the government to take a much more integrated look at transporting people,” said Rover director Freek Bos. “If we want to be able to take everyone where they want to be, like school, hospitals or informal care, this requires more public transport. The government, and therefore a new Cabinet, will have to do things differently.”

Without a long-term vision, the roadways will remain clogged by traffic jams, and the municipalities will be hamstrung and unable to develop their local public transport networks, they argued. “You can see it in the traffic jams in cities, the traffic jams, the parking pressure... We should not deny people the car, but also offer good public transport,” said Janssen. “That is much more attractive for society than going bumper to bumper through the city.”