Opening showcase 2010
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Ladies and gentlemen,
Unfortunately, Minister Camiel Eurlings is unable to deliver the opening address here today, because he is engaged in an emergency debate in the Dutch Lower House. He deeply regrets not being able to be with us and has asked me to speak on his behalf.
Recently I went from the south of the country to the ministry in The Hague. Half way, I had to drive very slowly for a few kilometres. This delay was caused by the workers of the department of public works, busy repairing the road from frost damage. Had there been more traffic on the road, a severe traffic jam would probably have developed.
You can’t question the fact that the work has to be carried out. Of course the department of public works has to take action in a cold winter like this.
And besides the maintenance, we are also very busy expanding and improving the national road network, to be able to deal with the increasing number of cars on our roads. We have put the spade into the ground many times these years!
So, you wonder, how to solve this puzzle? How can you assure a maximum of proper maintenance, improvement and safety of national roads? How can you at the same time bring delays and traffic jams to a minimum?
That is a challenging issue indeed for a country like mine. The Netherlands is making its way in the world with a mere 16 million inhabitants. We are the 16th on the world economy rankings and the fifth exporter. The Netherlands has an open economy and transport takes a very important part. With its large port of Rotterdam and Schiphol airport, my country functions as the gateway to Europe.
The number of road participants now totals 7.5 million cars – more than one car for each household. That number will still increase in the years to come, due to a population growth of 1 million. We have to act. The transportation organisation TLN estimates that road delays already cost 750 million euros per year.
We can’t afford to be in one large traffic jam all together.
Where to look for a solution? Now, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to find a precious stone, of course you can just examine one hole and dig deeper and deeper. But I believe your chances of finding a treasure go up when you look for it in many different places.
In other words: I am convinced there is not just one solution to this complicated problem. There is no such thing as one simple cure. But I do believe in smart solutions, which will assist us to overcome our difficulties, such as ITS and co-operative systems.
Our national projects on mobility management will also be presented during these days, here in the Rai. Eleven projects have been launched in the six regions of the country with the most traffic jams. Of course, cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague are involved. The results are very promising. For example, in the final months of last year, a mobility project was carried out near the city of Nijmegen. The department of public works was working on the bridge over the River Waal. A great deal of traffic crosses that bridge on weekdays, so there was a big risk of a major traffic jam. But thanks to smart mobility management in that region, instead of worse, the traffic jam was less! 6,700 road users volunteered for the project, drawn by a small financial incentive. Normally, they drove over the bridge three times a week during peak hours. But thanks to the project, they changed their habit to twice a week. Instead, they took, for example, the train, they went on their bicycles or worked at home. As a result, the number of cars during peak hours was diminished by ten per cent. This looks like a small amount but it was enough to prevent the region around Nijmegen becoming gridlocked.
This mobility project will have a follow-up with more participants, in a larger area and in combination with new GPS technology. Combinations of mobility projects with smart traffic technology and intelligent road systems are very promising for the future of this densely populated country. It is no coincidence that the Showcase 2010 is held here in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. This event is all about the smart solutions we need to keep this bustling country on the move.
I am actually thrilled that we are offered the opportunity to discover everything about the latest developments in the field of co-operative systems. I would like to thank the organisations that co-operated with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works to make this event possible.
The European co-operation in these projects is an important base for the future implementation of such systems. It’s not just a case of money or techniques. If roads and cars should share information beyond national borders in the future, then companies and institutions should first start to communicate with each other. Many parties are involved. We will only succeed if they will co-operate on a European scale. The Dutch presidency of Easyway in 2011 by the department of public works will certainly offer an opportunity to unite all road operators in Europe.
The phase of lab testing is over. Now, we have to move on to the next level: testing these systems in a real-life situation.
With great pleasure I announce on behalf of the Minister that the Netherlands volunteers to serve as the international testing ground for ITS and co-operative systems. The Netherlands is already very active in the field. And we plan to continue this effort by participating in the next call for European projects such as MOOVE and DRIVE.
The Netherlands already has an interesting network of information that helps road users to plan their way. We are also investigating the possibility of replacing all our current roadside units in the short term with new roadside units that have a co-operative platform. These national and international activities will be in line with the EU ITS action plan as much as possible and we invite our fellow member states to follow this example.
My country has the most busily used road network in Europe. We also have a very low rate of road casualties, last year a total of 750 fatal accidents. But every life taken is one too many. And if a co-operative systems approach can help to increase traffic safety, this would be very welcome.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have to act. We have to think beyond today, we have to invest in the future. We can’t afford to let the most promising and bustling parts of Europe become silted up in one large traffic jam of thousands of kilometres. That is why the Netherlands volunteers as the international testing ground for the smart, intelligent (and co-operative) solutions that will be presented today. Solutions that will enable Europe to keep going with a maximum of safety and a minimum of delay.