Travel advisors call for the Amsterdam-Noord bridge to have public transport on it

There should be space for public transport on the cycling and walking bridge over the IJ in Amsterdam. If that does not happen, there will be a "significant and truly unacceptable decline" for public transport travelers. Reizigers Advies Raad (RAR), the Travelers Advisory Council, and the Amsterdam regional transport authority said this in a letter addressed to the alderwoman of Traffic and Transport, Melanie van der Horst.

At the start of this month, it became clear that the total sum of money needed for the bridge over the IJ was completed. De Oostbrug, which is planned to be between the Azartplein and the Johan van Hasseltweg, will be finished in 2034 at the earliest and is meant to better connect Amsterdam-Noord to the rest of the city.

Cyclists will no longer have to take the ferry, as they can use the bridge to reach their destination. However, the council said that public transport travelers who do not live or work near the Noord-Zuid subway line will still have to transfer several times.

Although a bridge that also carries trams or buses is more expensive, the council believes the "societal return of a combined bridge is considerably higher than that of a mere bicycle bridge." "We, therefore, strongly appeal to you to continue saving, so to speak. It is better to do something right at once than to do prematurely do it partially right."

A spokesperson for Van der Horst said that the Oostbrug would be 2.5 times more expensive if public transport also went over it. Buses and trams over the bridge are also "not necessarily necessary" because the subways on the Noord/Zuid line and bus 37 also run towards the North of the city. According to the councilor, these can accommodate the future growth of travelers.

In addition to the Oostbrug, plans are also underway to build a Westbrug, which would be a bridge between the NDSM Werf in Amsterdam-Noord and the Danzigerkade in Amsterdam-West. The scheduled completion date for this would be 2040.

According to the alderwoman, it is a lot more important for Westbrug that public transport can drive over it: "Because we do not have any public transport there yet, and we want to make a quick public transport connection to Zaandam."

The RAR states that the arrival of the West Bridge "is still extremely uncertain" because of the costs. "The Oostbrug is now possible, so give it the highest possible future value and return," the council said.