Experts warn Amsterdam IJ River cable car faces financial risk, reliant on tourists

Amsterdam’s proposed cable car over the IJ River may face financial problems and rely heavily on tourists, experts hired by the city say.

City Councilor for Transport Melanie van der Horst told AT5 that the experts conducted a “sensitivity analysis,” which showed that “with lower tourist flows or reduced ticket prices, the business case quickly turns negative. This highlights the financial vulnerability and dependence on a tourist market.” The city is expected to decide on the cable car in 2027.

Project planners expect 40 percent of cable car users will be tourists or event visitors. These riders would pay higher fares than regular commuters because the service is positioned as a premium experience. Planners estimate that these higher-paying passengers would generate about 60 percent of the cable car’s total revenue.

Studies also show that new public transit connections could affect how many people use the cable car. “Without this connection to new public transit routes, the transport value is insufficient and the cable car would have only a limited function in the public transit network in this part of the city,” Van der Horst said. “The tourist function would then become dominant.” A potential second phase would extend the line to a future Hemknoop station, connecting it to the metro ring line.

Van der Horst emphasized that the city does not want a service mainly for tourists. “A connection mainly for tourists does not align with the added value for public transportation that the city government wants,” she said.

It was previously made known that if the proposed IJ River cable car is built, it could depart from Hemknoop metro station in Westerpark, Alderman Melanie van der Horst told the city council Wednesday. The line would stop at Minervahaven, continue to Softwareweg on the west side of the NDSM-werf in Amsterdam-Noord, and then return across the river.