Half an hour a day in the car

People in the Netherlands travelled an average 32 kilometres a day in 2000. This comes out at an average travelling time of about one hour per person. They spent more than half of this time in a car as a driver or passenger, cycled for eleven minutes, spent seven minutes in some form of public transport and another seven minutes walking.

Average travelling time by reason for journey, 2000

Men more often travel for work

Men spend twenty percent more time than women in traffic. Compared with women, men more often commute to and from work. In 2000 they spent more than twice as much time on commuting than women. They also spent more than four times as much time on work-related journeys than women. Women on the other hand spend more time going to the shops: just under ten minutes a day on shopping-related journeys, while for men this is only seven minutes a day.

Travelling time and degree of urbanisation

People living in the most urbanised areas of the Netherlands spent most time on journeys. In 2000 their total travelling time was seven percent higher than average. There is a correlation with the means of transport: as an area is more urban, the less likely inhabitants are to travel by car.

Average travelling time by degree of urbanisation, 2000

Inhabitants of extremely urbanised areas spent an average 27 minutes a day driving, while people living in more rural areas spend 35 minutes a day in a car. People living in densely populated areas more often travel by train, bus or metro. They spend three times as much time in public transport as inhabitants of hardly urbanised or not urbanised areas.

Hermine Molnár-in ‘t Veld