Since 1996, mobility covenants are part of the transport policy in Flanders (Belgium). These are agreements between the local authorities, the higher levels of government (provinces and the Flanders authority), the Flemish transport company De Lijn and, if necessary, third parties such as companies and schools. By way of this agreement, all partners engage to develop an integrated mobility plan on a local level and to assure its effective implementation. These covenants resulted to an integrated approach toward mobility policy. Recently AVV conducted a short study that was aimed to assess possibilities to transfer this covenant system to the Dutch situation. The most important conclusions of this study are: the Flemish covenant system can’t be integrally used in The Netherlands. This is due to administrative and institutional differences between the countries; the system can be used for inspiration. Some elements can be useful, such as: making agreements between different parties, horizontally and vertically; evaluating the quality of local transport measures. It would be desirable to start a discussion in The Netherlands between authorities and other involved parties about the existing wish to structure the making of agreements, horizontally and vertically, and to discuss the evaluation of the quality of (local) mobility projects in The Netherlands. The Flemish covenant system could serve as a useful example in this discussion. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting