There are still no concrete plans for running metros at night. Previous preparations for a test have been stopped and no money has been allocated for it. This is what councilor Melanie van der Horst (Transport) writes in response to a question from councilor Jazie Veldhuyzen.
Veldhuyzen, leader of the List Ahmadi-Veldhuyzen, asked Van der Horst about the night metro in October this year. “Unfortunately we haven’t seen any of it yet,” he said. While it was discussed in 2020 in the Low-traffic agenda of the municipality:
Agenda Car-free (2020) about the night metro:
“We are starting a pilot night metro. This will provide a serious alternative to the car in a city where there is activity 24/7. We will drive longer during the nights from Friday to Saturday and Saturday to Sunday. An experiment may be started with a longer weekend operating time from tram 26 to IJburg. Night-time public transport also contributes to the reduction of taxi nuisance in and around entertainment areas. This improves the quality of life (noise, air quality and nuisance) in the evening and night-time hours.”
“It also shows why I worry about some groups being hit hard by specific policies,” Veldhuyzen said. during the meeting. “That risk will of course only increase if, on the one hand, you make it more difficult for people who are dependent on the car, but on the other hand you do not meet them well or not well enough when it comes to public transport, for example.” He proposed running line 54 at night on weekends.
Staff shortages
Van der Horst promised to come back to it by letter. That letter is now on the agenda of the Mobility, Public Space and Water committee meeting of January 11. In the letter the councilor emphasizes that the focus in recent years has been on preventing further downscaling of public transport. According to her, ‘challenges in the area of staff shortages’ have also recently been added. The night buses that previously ran through the city have not even returned.
The GVB should need ‘sufficient implementation time’ to allow metros to run at night. According to Van der Horst, this would require at least a year of preparation time. In addition, people seem to be waiting for the new public transport concession in Amsterdam, which will not come into effect until December 2024. A so-called draft Program of Requirements will be established in December 2023. Van der Horst states that council members may respond to that document in the first quarter of 2024 and that they can then draw attention ‘to the requirements for public transport at night’.
“The appreciation of travelers will increase, but will also decrease if this is limited to a pilot”
Melanie van der Horst, Transport Councilor
If a night-time metro does not end up in that Schedule of Requirements, the municipality can make additional agreements with the GVB and allocate money for it. However, the CFP seems critical. Van der Horst: “A point of attention of GVB in a pilot is that there is a prospect of continuation of the measure. After all, the appreciation of travelers for public transport in Amsterdam will increase with a metro that runs longer during the weekend, but also decrease again if this is limited to a pilot.”
Financial consequences
A second problem is that there is less time for managing the metros and for maintenance work at night. “This can have financial consequences, but also mean that it will be necessary to take it out of service at other times,” says Van der Horst.
On January 11, the letter will be debated in the Stopera at the request of Eduard Mangal van Denk. “The council indicates that there are problems with carrying out a night metro pilot. In the meantime, it is continuing the car-free agenda,” Mangal writes. “I would like to discuss how one thing relates to the other and in the meantime try to prevent people from actually having to rely on the car to get home after a certain time.”
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2023-12-25 21:44:47
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