The accessibility of major economic centres is one important aspect of the investment climate in the Netherlands. The AVV Transport Research Centre (part of the Ministry of Transport, Public Affairs and Water Management) was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs to compare the accessibility of economic locations within the Netherlands with that in the following surrounding countries: Germany, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. Foreign managers based in the Netherlands perceive the general investment climate in the Netherlands as good. The transport infrastructure and accessibility of economic centres are perceived as moderately good. Transport infrastructure and accessibility levels are rated slightly higher in France and Germany than in the Netherlands; those of the UK are rated lower. Congestion on the trunk road network in the Netherlands is increasing. About the level of road congestion in surrounding countries, no fully comparable empirical data are available. However, we were able to make a comparison of the numbers of vehicles per lane, based on data gathered by the UN (UN-ECE, 2000 Combined Census of Motor Traffic). In 2000 a larger proportion of E-roads in the Netherlands had a high amount of vehicles (more than 20 000 per lane per day) than in the surrounding countries. Only in the UK was the length of road sections carrying a high amount of vehicles greater. The amount of vehicles in the Randstad during the day can be compared with that in the Ruhr area and the regions around London, Manchester, Paris and Frankfurt. The relative high amount of vehicles on E-roads in the Netherlands does not appear to be related to a higher level of car use; neither has it to do with a lower level of road infrastructure provision. The length of motorways and the main regional networks exceeds or equals that of the surrounding countries. It is supposed that a combination of factors causes the relative high amount of vehicles on Dutch E-roads: a relatively long distance of car trips, short distances between the E-roads and origins and destinations, and a less dense network of secondary regional roads. In the transport policies of surrounding countries, there is a a tendency towards emphasising a better management and use of the existing network, and the removal of bottlenecks instead of building more roads. (Author/publisher)
Abstract