Passenger kilometres in Dutch passenger transport, 1980-2002
Passenger cars account for 88% of passenger transport, by far the largest proportion. There has been a slight rise in the share of rail transport.
Passenger cars still most popular transport option
The proportion of domestic passenger transport accounted for by passenger cars remained more or less constant between 1980 and 2002 at 88%. This makes the passenger car the most popular transport option. The share of rail transport rose slightly in the same period from 7.3 to 8.4%.
From 1980 through 2002, passenger transport by train rose faster than passenger transport by passenger car. This is primarily the result of the introduction of the public transport ticket for students in 1991. Passenger transport by bus/tram/metro has remained more or less constant in the last twenty years.
An increase in passenger transport raises environmental pressure directly.
Policy developments as opposed to autonomous developments
The objective of government policy is to reduce the use of passenger cars. Government measures concentrate on fuel tax and fixed car taxes. Otherwise, the 'ABC location policy', the encouragement of carpooling, education based on the slogan 'the car can manage without you for a day', the encouragement of the use of public transport and so on have also had a certain positive impact. But other developments such as the increasing population, with a larger proportion accounted for by the 20-50 age group, increasing income, increased employment, smaller households, increased labour force participation by women and so on, as well as the expanding road network, have all pushed up the use of passenger cars further (RIVM, 2003).
