Mobility report 2009

The Mobility Report 2009 by KiM Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis provides an overview of the current state of mobility in the Netherlands. This report details the recent developments in mobility and provides explanations for the growth in passenger and freight transportation

Mobility in the Netherlands continues to increase, although less sharply than in the 1980s and 1990s. From 2000 to 2008, the number of kilometres travelled by car rose by 10 percent, while during the same time period, air travel grew much more rapidly at a rate of 21 percent. Similarly, freight transportation also grew by 21 percent from 2000 to 2008. Rail travel increased from 2000 to 2007 by 9 percent.

In recent years, time loss due to traffic jams and road congestion has remained relatively unchanged. Road safety, meanwhile, has generally improved, although it has not improved for cyclists. Meanwhile, air pollution resulting from road traffic decreased, owing to the use of cleaner, low-polluting cars.; CO2 emission levels fell for the first time since 2006, but only slightly.

Past experience has shown that we do not travel substantially less during times of economic crisis: home-to-work travel does decrease, but leisure time travel increases. During economic downturns, there are indeed fewer traffic jams and less congestion on the roads. Freight transportation and the airline industry are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the economy. If economic forecasts prove correct, there will be fewer traffic jams on the roads in 2009 and 2010.