A number of large infrastructure projects may no longer be necessary. If employees continue to work (partly) from home, this can have major consequences for the infrastructure, because more working from home leads to fewer traffic jams. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) writes this in a report on working from home, living and mobility.
A small reduction in the number of kilometers driven can already lead to a reduction in traffic jams. During lockdowns, 20 percent fewer car kilometers led to about 70 percent less traffic jams. Edwin Buitelaar, lead author of the PBL report: “Community traffic is usually during rush hour. That is why there is a major effect on traffic jams. This is interesting for our mobility system, which is geared to peak loads.”
The main road and rail network in the Netherlands is more or less finished, according to Bert van Wee, professor of transport policy at TU Delft, who has conducted research on the same subject. “We no longer have missing links. Most of the infrastructure expansions are therefore aimed at reducing congestion; increasing existing connections.”
Falling back into old patterns
That is why the PBL states that it may be wise to reconsider some major projects. Buitelaar: “You can wonder whether projects that are only profitable with a large growth in mobility are still necessary. Or in a slimmed-down form or at a later moment.”
Van Wee agrees. “The efficiency of reducing traffic congestion is going down. I would say: consider whether you can make decisions later, so that you can first see what the lasting behavioral changes of working from home are. Depending on that, you can see whether infrastructure expansions are still needed, possibly in a later stage, or in a slimmed-down form, or no more. Infrastructure is horribly expensive. Just wait a while.”
The need for extensions therefore depends on how working from home will develop. According to the PBL, that is not yet certain. The agency therefore recommends encouraging working from home. Buitelaar: “We have to hurry if we want to retain the benefits of working from home, such as a better combination of work and private life, less travel time and traffic jams. Otherwise people will quickly fall back into old patterns.”
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