Nationally, the aim is to have all bus stops easily accessible by 2040. Deputy Jeroen Olthof says that North Holland aims to achieve this much sooner. “We are tackling making the bus stops fully accessible that has been accelerated under our management. We are also trying to include as many adjustments to stops as possible in existing projects.”
He continues: “To accelerate the approach to our own stops, the ‘Stop Accessibility Project’ has been started. This project is planned to realize the necessary adjustments to stops in the period 2026-2027.”
3.5 million subsidy for municipalities
When it comes to municipal bus stops, the province also wants to help. Olthof: “Together we determine which stops will be improved first, for example due to frequency of use or the needs of travelers. The province subsidizes the construction of accessible stops or making existing stops (more) accessible. Nearly 3.5 million euros has been made available to municipalities for this purpose in 2025 and 2026.”
Association Dorpswerk Noord-Holland set up last year a call online to report poorly accessible bus stops and repeated that call last week. The association indicates that it wants to have insight into this, because subsidies for adjusting stops are limited and the stops where adjustments are needed most quickly are made first.
‘We welcome the fact that attention is being paid to this’
No one has responded yet, which Jaap de Knegt of Dorpswerk Noord-Holland thinks is a shame. This may change now that there is more media attention for the problem. “Our members are in the small centers, and those small centers have the least good public transport of all residents in the Netherlands.”
Bus company Connexxion has stated that it is pleased that attention is being paid to better accessibility of bus stops. “As a carrier, we actually play no role,” says spokesperson Rick de Vries. “We believe that everyone has the right to public transport and applaud the fact that attention is being paid to it: the more better stops, the better.”
