Car Vrum

“Investing in mobility is indispensable for the housing challenge, strengthens our economy, contributes to a better climate and makes it possible to participate in society,” says Frits van Bruggen, chairman of the Mobility Alliance. “To give the coming cabinet a helping hand, we have already written a mobility section for the Coalition Agreement with our own coalition of twenty-five parties.”

An additional 3 billion euros per year for mobility

According to Van Bruggen, the Netherlands is in the middle bracket in Europe, with less investment in mobility as a percentage of GDP than Poland and Bulgaria. According to the Mobility Alliance, an additional 3 billion euros per year must go to mobility until 2040. To make the Netherlands attractive for companies, but also to eliminate existing backlogs in road and rail maintenance.

Mobility Alliance has a seven-point plan

The Mobility Alliance has drawn up a plan with seven points, including more flexible work, school and travel times, tackling bottlenecks on the road, investments in road safety, and the introduction of payment according to use. In other words, road pricing. According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), this would result in fewer traffic jams and fewer emissions.

Kilometer charge of 7 or 6 cents per kilometer

The election programs of various parties contain plans to abolish (or reduce) the road tax (MRB) and to introduce a kilometer charge in its place. For example, D66 and the PvdA want a rate of 7 cents per kilometer, according to GroenLinks it should be 6 cents. The CDA and the VVD want a kilometer charge only for electric cars.

Road pricing expensive for commuters and the government

A kilometer charge is good news for people who drive little. The pain comes from commuters who have to travel many kilometers every day to get to the office. A disadvantage of paying according to use is that it is also expensive for the government. After all, it is a lot more complicated to keep track of than a relatively simple system such as collecting the current MRB.