Polluting vans and trucks are banned from inner cities, but the government and municipalities continue to argue about it

The Gouda canals are surrounded by cameras and brand new signs. “Zone”, it says above a red prohibition circle, containing a truck and a van. Below that there is an icon of a camera. The message: as of January 1, polluting company vans and trucks will no longer be allowed to pass here. It does not mean that every diesel bus is banned. The ban currently applies to the most polluting vehicles. By 2030, the aim is for all company vans and trucks to be electric.

Richard Mooijekind is behind the counter in the Goudse Feestwinkel. Mooijekind has a van that runs on diesel to deliver balloon decorations, but that bus is not yet so polluting that it needs to be replaced immediately. “We still have two years,” he says, while a customer pays for a Thunder Cracker. Still, Mooijekind is concerned. “If we have to replace that bus, it will cost us around 60,000 euros.”

‘Thorough preparation’

Gouda is not the only municipality where a zero-emission zone for entrepreneurs is being introduced. From 2025, there will be such a zone in the city center of fourteen municipalities, including Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Utrecht. According to Gouda councilor Judith Sargentini (GroenLinks), these zones are the result of “years of thorough preparation” by Dutch municipalities, which involved collaboration with dozens of organizations from, among others, the transport sector and the central government.

According to Sargentini, entrepreneurs are not asked to do the impossible. Transitional arrangements and exceptional situations have been agreed for companies that cannot afford it or that are nearing retirement. The municipalities are responsible for introducing the zones and enforcing them.

Yet, due to commotion in The Hague, a lot of confusion has arisen in recent months. Did the zones go ahead or not? Sargentini: “I’m disappointed about that. It is no longer possible for people to follow it. As a result, we are not in a good position as a joint public administration in the Netherlands.”

Confusion

The confusion started after VVD MP Hester Veltman submitted a motion last October. The outline agreement states that it must be examined how the establishment of zero-emission zones could be postponed. In the motion, Veltman asks the government to shape an exception for entrepreneurs until 2029. The motion has a parliamentary majority.

PVV State Secretary Chris Jansen of Infrastructure and Water Management responded on November 22, less than a month and a half before the introduction of the zones. He wants to ease the transition to the emission zones. For example, the State Secretary wants a fine-free period of one year to be introduced and the transitional arrangement for a certain category of diesel buses to be extended.

41 trade organizations from the mobility sector, including Techniek Nederland and the RAI Association, then sent Jansen an angry letter. According to the organizations, consultations have been taking place about the feasibility of the plans “for years”, including with Jansen’s ministry. The organizations supported the introduction as of January 2025, the plans would ensure that all entrepreneurs can participate. According to the organizations, Jansen’s letter creates ambiguity and unfairness because some entrepreneurs have already become more sustainable. “An extremely undesirable situation.” Ultimately, in mid-December it became apparent that the cabinet and the House were not going to sideline the municipalities with an emergency procedure.

Clean city centers

According to Rob van Tilburg, director of programs at environmental organization Natuur en Milieu – also involved in the consultations in recent years – the actions of the cabinet and the House have completely overshadowed why the zones were ever devised. “For clean inner cities and to achieve the climate goals. We have committed ourselves to this together with the trade organizations.”

A cacophony of uncertainty

He calls The Hague’s involvement “an example of unreliable politics.” He is annoyed that the government has pretended that they have something to say about the zones, while that is not the case. “The result is a cacophony of uncertainty.” That the zones will still be introduced “despite these turbulent times bumpy ride” Van Tilburg calls “a compliment to the municipalities.”

Amsterdam councilor Melanie van der Horst told news channel AT5 at the end of December that she had the feeling that the House of Representatives was trying to undermine the authority of the municipalities, including through the adopted motion by MP Veltman. The conversations with State Secretary Jansen had given Van der Horst “a very uncomfortable feeling.”

Gouda councilor Judith Sargentini believes that this way of doing politics is a form of “management by shouting around” is. “The zones are being talked about as if they are poorly prepared and major disasters are about to happen. And that’s just really not right.”

‘Taking entrepreneurs seriously’

According to Hester Veltman, it is up to national politicians to take action if there are signals that schemes are not being implemented properly. She says she has spoken to “many entrepreneurs” and trade associations who had concerns about the zones. “I want to take seriously the entrepreneurs who say that they are getting into trouble because of the new rules.” She is not yet satisfied with how the zones are currently being implemented and wants to continue to monitor the situation in the near future.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management says that the cabinet has presented “a well-considered and balanced package of measures” that do justice to previously made agreements and “the new political reality.”

So the zones continue. But there is still discussion between the cabinet and municipalities. Various municipalities NRC approached indicate that they will not impose fines for the first four months on people who enter the city in a van or truck that is too polluting. First they give warnings and then fines of 120 euros per van and 300 euros for a truck follow. According to a ministry spokesperson, on the other hand, the government is still committed to “a fine-free period of one year.”

For entrepreneur Maurice Koster, from the Gouds Kaashuis, things have not become any clearer. “The municipality says this and the national government says the opposite. I have decided that I will not get rid of my diesel van for the time being, because I feel like this new zone could be reversed very quickly.”

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