Because transport companies such as Connexxion and the NS are dealing with staff shortages, public transport is becoming increasingly unreliable. Nevertheless, Connexxion does invite travelers to travel by bus: ‘A day by bus going to the office saves you 4.5 cubic meters of gas at home. David Vestering from Velserbroek no longer believes in it: he bought a motorcycle to study in Leiden.
“I don’t like traveling by public transport at all. Then you have to wait, then the train comes 20 minutes later and then it doesn’t come at all,” says David. “Buses are even worse. In Velserbroek I only have one connection, and often it does not come at the indicated time. Then it is either late or simply does not show up.”
Wait even more often
For now, the wait will not be any less. on November 7 NS adjusts the timetable again, resulting in fewer trains running again. “We are doing everything we can to extend the trains where possible,” said the NS. Express trains on the Alkmaar-Haarlem and Schagen-Alkmaar routes will sometimes be canceled altogether, but sprinter routes will also be adjusted. It is expected that by mid-December 10 percent fewer trains will run.
The timetable plans for 2023 promise little improvement. Travelers may have to deal with 15 to 20 percent fewer trains on weekends. Travelers association Rover thinks these measures go too far. Rover writes in a letter of advice to the NS that the company chooses too easily to cancel trains, and asks to pull out all the stops to prevent this.
To get around all this, David bought a motorcycle: “Car insurance is unaffordable and gasoline is also very expensive. My motorcycle also runs on gasoline, but is much more economical than a car. The biggest advantage is that I now have my can determine their own departure times.”
Heavy traffic
While it is quieter on the rail and bus lines, it is slowly but surely getting busier on the roads. Figures from Statistics Netherlands show that since 1990 car ownership in the Netherlands has increased from 0.8 to almost 1.1 car per household. Compared to other European countries, this increase is significant.
We are also more often and longer in traffic jams, but David is not bothered by that: “I can get through that. Turn on the flashing lights and make noise, then they will move to the side anyway!”
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