No travelers: this is why there are unused bus stops in Zoetermeer

In some places in the city, such as opposite the church on Osylaan, there are bus stops where no bus ever stops. There is no timetable and travelers are nowhere to be seen. Why are those boxes there?

An example of two unused bus stops is at the intersection between Schoolstraat, Osylaan and Van Diestlaan in Palenstein and het Dorp. In the past, buses stopped there, but the bus connections will be discontinued in 2022. indebuurt is looking into what happens to the empty bus shelters.

Bus lines canceled

Bus line 173 ran through Zoetermeer for years, until the Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Region (MRDH) decided to cancel the line in 2021 due to too few travelers, according to an article by AD Zoetermeer. The subsequent bus line 73 was given a year to prove itself. Unfortunately, it was not a success and the bus line between Centrum West and Lansingerland Zoetermeer station was closed. Since then, the two bus stops at Schoolstraat have been abandoned.

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Advertising in exchange for a bus shelter

“The owner of the bus stops is not the municipality, but a media company,” says a spokesperson for the municipality. In 2002, the municipality of Zoetermeer entered into a contract with media company Viacom Outdoor (now Global) for the management and maintenance of bus shelters in Zoetermeer. In return, Global places advertisements in the bus shelters, from which they generate income.

An empty stop but with income

Since this contract was concluded, a number of bus lines have been canceled and stops abandoned in Zoetermeer. Normally Global removes those bus shelters. But a removed bus shelter means one fewer advertising spot for Global and therefore lower income. With the last canceled line 73 and the change to line 71, the municipality decided to leave the bus shelters at the abandoned stops for a while.

The municipality has put out a tender for new bus shelters. This means that Global or another media company will take over the management of the bus stops. Next summer, all old bus shelters in Zoetermeer will be removed, including those on Schoolstraat. New bus shelters will be installed at existing stops.

Also spotted a mystery?

Another mystery solved! Do you also have a question about Zoetermeer? Maybe you are curious where the Hulk of Zoetermeer is or which special animals live in the Plas van Poot. indebuurt will find out! Mail your mystery to [email protected].