This Tuesday, February 25th I sat down with Niek Verlaan, he is a behavior specialist and policy advisor at the Mobility Department within the Utrecht municipality. Together, we discussed the published plans by the municipality and dived into the several initiatives already put in place for transportation facilitation.

The goals for accessible transportation in the Mobility Department follow the prioritization of resolving the 5 B’s: Available, Usable, Affordable, Understandable, and Experience (In Dutch: Beschikbaar, Bruikbaar, Betaalbaar, Begrijpelijk, and Beleving). Transport options should feel safe, should be nearby residents, and be easy to understand. Mr. Verlaan explained that the basis around accessibility is to grant citizens sufficient options; while taking into consideration different existing personal barriers. These can be small budgets, physical/mental disabilities, insufficient skills (digital, reading, time-telling, etc.), and more. The goal is that “everyone should be able to get where they want to be and be able to access it”. Citizens come with different obstacles, but they should always have access to options to be able to reach the necessary places for their own development. This can be to maintain connections, family matters, or economically driven development.

At times environmentally oriented goals can clash with access for lower-income residents. For example, paid parking is spreading in implementation across the city of Utrecht as a means to stimulate more environmentally friendly means of travel, and make more room for green recreation. However, the paid parking increase affects residents who either need to use cars for incapacity reasons or more. To counteract this, the council has proposed an increase to U-Pas mobility budget to compensate for these rising mobility costs. Further information on this is found here: https://ureka.utrecht.nl/app/instrument/raadsvoorstel-984cb903-6e55-4b1e-aef7-c4cb02f69442

Cycling accessibility is highlighted as important to allow for personal autonomy within transportation, and the municipality has the ongoing Bike Deals (Fiets Deal) program implemented for all U-Pas holders. What does this consist of? Any resident of Utrecht who is 18 years or older with a U-Pas can sign-up (Website: https://www.heelovervechtfietst.nl/fietsdeal ) to have an appointment to get a 30-euro bike. This initiative is paid for by the municipality, and utilizes bikes removed from public parking spaces after abandonment.

What are some future plans within the province of Utrecht? Nearing March of this year, the province is suggesting the implementation of a discount scheme (Link to blog: https://www.provincie-utrecht.nl/actueel/nieuws/ov-kortingsregeling-voor-mensen-met-krappe-beurs-provincie-utrecht ) that allows a discount of 40% in province transportation (bus and tram). For citizens of the city of Utrecht with a U-pas, the municipality of Utrecht explores the possibility of a one-time payment for a year of free traveling during off-peak hours. More on this will follow throughout the year and will be published by the municipality. The latest news on this can be found here:https://ureka.utrecht.nl/app/instrument/6aaa5a35-d0ec-43dc-ac5b-04b7043ea6f7

For more resources posted by the municipality, refer to this website (https://www.utrecht.nl/hulpbijvervoer) for an outline of transportation alternatives to allow for access to destinations in the case of incapacity or other personal obstacles.

Here is the link to the council letter on implementations for transport inequality, including the action list update for 2024 (https://ureka.utrecht.nl/app/instrument/c93c74c1-d412-4b9a-aacd-79d6f1686c2e) and the council letter regarding actions per mode of transport with a pdf overview of the goals for transport accessibility (https://utrecht.bestuurlijkeinformatie.nl/Reports/Item/30a2961f-f7bb-4f2f-ab80-305669b3a031).