Amsterdam pushes €7.5 million into making public transport more accessible, affordable

Amsterdam is investing 7.5 million euros into making public transport more accessible and affordable, with measures particularly focused on the districts Noord, Nieuw-West, and Zuidoost. The city wants to make public transport stops easier to access for people with disabilities, adapt roads to allow more buses in underserved neighborhoods, and improve the link between bicycle use and public transport, alderman Melanie van der Horst said.

The money for these measures was previously released to maintain public transport in the face of disappointing passenger revenues. However, due to staff shortages, the money remained unused. The city, therefore, decided to redirect it into improving accessibility to publid transport in the short term.

According to Van der Horst, proximity to public transport stops is an important condition for improving its use. There are currently neighborhoods like De Eendracht, Cruquiuseiland, and Rijnbuurt, where the distance between stops is too great. The city will modify roads in these neighborhoods so that buses can use them more easily. It will also build additional stops in a way that is more accessible to people with disabilities.

In Zuidoost and Nieuw-West, the city will take measures to absorb the increasing number of travelers resulting from new construction in these areas. In Zuidoost, the public space around several metro stations will be improved. In Nieuw-West, the public transport initiative to Riekerpolder will get once-off financial support.

The city will create more bicycle parking at public transport stops in Noord, Zuidoost, and Nieuw-West. In Zuid, the tram track on De Boeleaan will be made suitable for buses, and the tram stop in the Sluisbuurt will be widened to accommodate more travelers.

“Many people are already dependent on the metro bus and tram. But we will also need public transport in the future because the city is becoming increasingly busy, and public transport is a very efficient way to transport people,” Van der Horst said. “It is not yet easily accessible to everyone due to the distance, the costs, or because they cannot easily reach the stops. With these measures, I want to ensure that more people can travel by public transport in a pleasant way.”

Amsterdam is also pushing money into investigating whether it can run metros longer into the night during the weekend. That is a long-cherished wish of many locals, but complicated to implement given the current staff shortages and the fact that maintenance to the tracks happens at night.