One measure following another affects the car, but in the meantime the number of cars in the city continues to grow. Why do we remain so attached to our vehicle?
You will want to enter Amsterdam with a car. Parking is expensive and getting more and more expensive. And the number of parking spaces in the city is getting a little smaller month following month. Plus: last month the municipal council announced that it wanted to close a long series of busy roads to through traffic. Those who want to go from one part of the city to another by car are forced to drive via the Ring.
There seem to be few guests in Amsterdam as uninvited as the car. The motorist has become someone who has to explain how on earth he got it into his head to travel with such a polluting, nuisance-causing and space-consuming means of transport. In a city that has reached the limits of growth, the car is outdated.
The switch really needs to be turned, said traffic alderman Melanie van der Horst last month. “The car takes up an enormous amount of the scarce space, we will have to look at it differently.”
The car is on its way to the exit, so you might think. But the numbers indicate otherwise. More and more Amsterdammers own a car: since 2016, car ownership has grown from just over 231,000 to almost 250,000 in 2022. In twenty years, on balance, 23,000 cars have been added to Amsterdam. The growth is mainly in the suburbs.
Anyone who thinks that all that gaze is mainly stationary is also mistaken: residents and visitors travel more than 13 million car kilometers per day within the municipal boundaries, according to the Monitor Autoluw of 2021. That is more than ten kilometers per person. Why is the car so important to the Amsterdammer?
Rich enough
According to Jeroen Slot, head of research at the municipality, it is true that car ownership has increased. He points out that the number of inhabitants of the city has grown even faster. “But it’s true: there are more cars, they all take up space. Apparently we’re rich enough to want the car. Car use is a habit, we come from a tradition of car ownership. If you suddenly want to go somewhere, it is nice if there is a car at the door.”
Logistics expert Walther Ploos van Amstel sees that the car still plays a major role for many people, even in a city like Amsterdam. He refers to a statement by responsible minister Mark Harbers. “He said in March that the car is an indispensable part of the street scene. In fact, he said that with the car becoming cleaner, quieter and safer, the best era of the car is still ahead of us.” According to the minister, it is time ‘for the car to be given a prominent place once more at the government’s discussion tables’.
Ploos van Amstel likes to look at Amsterdam, where the car plays a less important role. “In metropolitan areas, walking and cycling account for the largest share of trips within city centers at 65 percent, followed by the car at 25 percent and public transport at 10 percent. For trips to and from city centers, the car even has the largest share with 60 percent, followed by public transport with 30 percent. More than four in ten households in the city still have a car at their doorstep.”
Safe cocoon
The average car ownership in Amsterdam is 0.23 car per inhabitant and 0.43 car per household, according to figures from the municipality. In Noord, Zuidoost and Nieuw-West, the districts further away from the city centre, average car ownership per capita is higher, in line with car use. Those who travel to North and Southeast also use the car more often than those who travel to other parts of the city. This is probably due to free parking and more limited public transport accessibility.
According to Ploos van Amstel, the ‘car extortionists’ show little tolerance in the discussion towards people who do opt for a car or who sometimes simply need the car. “They often have a strict vision regarding how someone else should organize his or her life: no flying, oat milk in the coffee and peeing in the shower. That makes a meaningful conversation regarding essential mobility impossible.”
While the car is an important asset for many people, they don’t just want to get rid of it, says behavioral scientist Reint Jan Renes, lecturer in Psychology for a Sustainable City at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. “There have been tests in which people exchanged their car for a mobility budget for a period of several months: but in the end really saying goodbye to their own car was a step too far.”
According to Christiaan Kwantes of traffic consultancy Goudappel, many people see the car as a ‘cocoon’. “For many people, the car is the frame, the starting point of their thinking. That car is there and you need it, they think,” says Kwantes. “People feel safe there, safe enough even to pick their noses.”
No straw in the way
Kwantes does see opportunities to change that car thinking. “We see in studies that society looks at car mobility differently: people see traffic jams as less of a problem than ten years ago, for example. Road safety is now much more important to people. We are also making increasingly higher demands on our living environment.”
“There must of course be alternatives to the car, for example public transport and bicycle routes must be good. But in the end you won’t get there with seduction alone: presenting people with a carrot is not enough, the real power is in the stick. Those can be difficult choices, it can be at the expense of the interests of a minority.”
Ploos van Amstel is very clear: the measures do not go far enough. “Amsterdam is one of the most mobile cities in the world, as comparisons show time and time once more. If you look abroad, you can say that the motorist is not hindered in any way: at many times you are in a curse and a sigh through the city by car.”
The Amsterdam metropolitan region is successful, says Ploos van Amstel. This also leads to car dependence. “The number of jobs, especially within the Ring, may grow by 100,000 in the next ten years. Not everyone who works in Amsterdam can or wants to live in Amsterdam. More attention is needed in municipal mobility policy for the almost 60 percent of employees in Amsterdam who come from outside Amsterdam. Their commuting distance is much more than ten miles. They come from all over the Netherlands. I have colleagues who spend two or more hours in the car or train every day.”
Call: join the conversation with Het Parool
Is the car indispensable for Amsterdammers, or an unnecessary luxury? Join the discussion with Het Parool: tell us what you think regarding car ownership in Amsterdam and the plans of the municipality to make the city car-free. Send your opinion, in a maximum of 150 words, [email protected] and also include your name and place of residence. Some of the responses are published on Parool.nl and in the newspaper.
Auto-matismen
Research shows that almost half of the Dutch say they are increasingly dependent on the car. Behavioral scientist Renes says that there are ‘automatisms’. “People say they need the car, but in many cases that is also a matter of priority: you can really organize your agenda differently.”
And Renes also has a tip for policymakers: taking action often works best. “Just do it, take action. A strong discouragement policy can change behaviour. You have to explain what you are doing and why you are doing it, for example if you are going to close streets to cars. That you don’t do it to tease little cars, but because otherwise things will get hopelessly stuck.”
Look at Utrecht, he says, where an important traffic route was canceled because water had to be brought back to the place where the canal once was. “Mainly look at what you win. When you present people with a fait accompli, you often get rationalization followingwards: people realize that the new situation also entails all kinds of important advantages.”
Rijk Griffioen (61), Oosterdokseiland, an electric Kia Nero and Renault Mégane (shared cars)
“Why don’t we share the car with the neighbours, we thought in 2019. With three households we had three fossil cars, which we exchanged for one shared electric car. It works perfectly, never a single problem. You enter in the agenda when you need the car and if things go differently, you just have contact with each other. Once I had to go to Tilburg in the evening because my father was in hospital, then that can easily be arranged. I don’t really understand why people still want to have their own private car. We now have a group of four households who also drive a car together. We’re putting that together now. Again: this is ideal.”
Peter Links (26), Rivierenbuurt, Seat Ibiza (lease)
“Every month I spend 150 euros on the parking garage. I need my car, because as a consultant I have to go to all kinds of places in the Netherlands and Belgium. I live with roommates and all three of us have a car, but we have to share one parking permit. The person who lives there the longest gets the place. If the municipality wants to encourage people to park their cars as little as possible in the city center or in residential areas, it must facilitate a solution. Think cheap parking hubs, just outside the busy areas. At the Amstelpark, for example. That is five minutes by bike from the Rivierenbuurt. Then I think it’s fine if flower boxes are placed in front of my door.”
Tilly Duijts (61), North, Mazda 323
“My car is my freedom. I’ve had it for twelve years. I take it on vacation, to family and friends, but also use it for my work as a family advisor. For example, on Tuesday I had to pick up a client in Koog aan de Zaan and then to the head office in West. You almost have to have a car for this job. The municipality wants Amsterdam to become very green and car-free, but it is not really realistic, especially because they are simultaneously undermining public transport. By car I am in West in 20 minutes, with public transport it takes more than an hour. I’m getting older, so public transport is also a hassle. In Noord, the car is still easy to do, and I have an affordable parking space in front of the door. But you can see that it is becoming increasingly difficult and that Amsterdam is really discouraging car use.”
Alphons de Vries (25), Jordaan, shared car
“I regularly use my parents’ car, but since 2019 or 2020 I have taken a shared car regarding twice a week to go to work or to do some shopping for my restaurant in Zuid. It’s getting easier as more and more are added. They are super cool cars and people treat them nicely. Such a ride costs me regarding 6 euros. I’m a big fan of the sharing economy, especially since there are way too many cars gathering dust along the canal. That is a thorn in my side, so I think a car-free city center is a good idea. But I don’t think the stricter rules, such as more expensive parking permits and closed roads, discourage drivers. I think you tackle a big part of the problem when you replace parking spaces with garages. Amsterdammers should get a discount on that, because in the center you really lose a kidney to it.”
Marc Kruyswijk and Jelin Schut
