Population decline and mobility. Impacts of population decline on mobility.

The population of the Netherlands is expected to increase by approximately

1 million residents by 2030. Population growth is especially expected to occur in the Randstad (i.e. the Amsterdam-Utrecht-Hague-Rotterdam conurbation) and in the Randstad's surrounding cities: Almere, Alkmaar, Zwolle, Arnhem, Breda, Tilburg and Eindhoven. The population will however decline in the rural and peripheral regions of the Netherlands: Northeast-Groningen, Zealand-Flanders, the Achterhoek and South-Limburg. How will these developments impact traffic and transport? Will the Randstad become even more congested? Will car use decrease in the so-called ‘population declining' regions? The latter appears not to be the case. In this report, KiM Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis presents an overview of the regional population changes in the Netherlands and reveals the consequences this will have on car use, road haulage, traffic jams and the supply and use of public transport.