Regional aims, local gainsA joint effort of governments and companies

Mark Degenkamp, City of UtrechtTim de Bruin, VNM

ECOMM Graz, 6 May 2010

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Utrecht region

Congestion Top 10 Netherlands 20091. A2 Utrecht->Den Bosch2. A2 Amsterdam->Utrecht3. A4 Amsterdam->Den Haag4. A50 Arnhem->Eindhoven5. A13 Den Haag->Rotterdam6. A27 Utrecht->Breda7. A10 Ring Amsterdam 8. A1 Amsterdam->Amersfoort9. A12 Utrecht->Arnhem10. A9 Amstelveen->Alkmaar

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● 10 governments working together– ministry, province, regions, municipalities

● Combination of budgets (€3,1 billion)● Investments in most efficient and effective

accessibility projects– Focus on 13 economically most important districts

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Mobility management as an integral part of regional accessibility plans

Infrastructure improvements alone not enough...Less car use during rush hour is necessary

... and not desirable1. Spatial development vision / programme

2. Different payment for mobility

3. Mobility management

4. Optimising public transport

5. Better use of existing infrastructure

6. Adaptation of existing infrastructure

7. New infrastructure

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Mobility management platforms within regional approach

● “No regret” measure● Companies within the 13 economic core districts

approached to join local platforms● Let their employees travel smarter, by alternative

modes or not at all

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Different motivation, common goal

● Different motivation– Companies: people, planet, profit– Governments: regional accessibility

● Find each other in the common goal: to reduce car use in rush hours with at least 5 percent

● Positive approach– companies rewarded with investments in alternative

modes within their district– more participating companies = higher investments

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How has this been implemented?● Covenants in each district● Joint action plans with measures of both

companies and governments (win-win)● VNM as neutral moderator

– Speaks companies’ language– Is there to help companies

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Amersfoort

● Characteristics– Second large city of the region– Start-up project 2008– 2 districts: inner city and office park near highway

● Results– 26 companies, over 16.000 employees– Goal 2012: reduction 875 vehicles (5%)– Companies want to set higher goals

Amersfoort (2)

● Government and companies working together

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Results so far

● 150 companies (100.000 employees) so far● Industrial sites, inner cities, office parks● Governments participate as employers● Learning from each other● In practise companies’ ambitions often well

better than 5% less car use

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Future

● Goal: 500 active companies

● New: theme based approach– For companies from all districts– Learn from experts and each other– practical knowledge to implement e.g. teleworking in

their own company

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Conclusions (1)

● A positive, district based approach can contribute well to regional accessibility goals

● Find the intrinsic motivation of a company– Regional goal too abstract: individual influence

limited; few direct benefits from their efforts– Gain close to the company, something they can

directly influence: people, planet and profit

● Different motivation, common goal!

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Conclusions (2)

Added value of regional approach:● Regional approach assures that in all districts

the same higher goals are strived for● Regional coordination gives local governments

easy access to state of the art knowledge● Efficient spending of resources

End