Amsterdam will ban heavy coaches from the city center from next year. The buses cause too much nuisance for the residents of the city, the municipality reports.
The coaches are moved to the edges of the city as much as possible. Visitors to the city can then continue their journey by public transport.
The municipality makes an exception for the Weesperstraat-Valkenburgerstraat-Kattenburgerstraat route. Popular museums such as the Hermitage, the Jewish Museum and NEMO are located along this route.
“Many visitors come to Amsterdam by coach every year. These are not only tourists, but also children on a school trip to ARTIS or the elderly who go to a museum. We would like to provide space for that,” says Amsterdam’s traffic alderman Melanie van der Horst .
“But with 300 to 450 coaches a day, there is too much nuisance for the residents of the center, where there is very little room for these large cars. We will put an end to that from next year.”
The heavy coaches cause congestion in narrow streets and unsafe traffic situations for cyclists and pedestrians in the busy city centre. They are also too heavy for the vulnerable quays and bridges and they emit CO2 when they are waiting for their passengers with the engine running.
