2.4 million motorists during morning rush hour

On an average working day in 2011, there were 2.4 million cars on the Dutch roads during the morning rush hour versus nearly 2.8 million during the evening rush hour. In the central part of the Netherlands, most people travel by public transport during the morning rush.

Evening rush busier than morning rush

Last year, there were on average 2.4 million people behind the wheel during the morning rush. The evening rush is busier with nearly 2.8 million cars. Apart from people travelling between home and place of work, there are other categories of road users like pensioners. Carpooling is rare during the morning rush hours when most car passengers are children.

Public transport passengers leave earlier

Public transport users tend to leave earlier than people who travel by car. The busiest hour in train, bus, underground or tram is between 7 and 8 am, but on the roads the peak is around 8 am. This is due to the fact that, during the morning and evening rush hours, motorists have an average travelling time of just under thirty minutes versus nearly sixty minutes for public transport passengers.

Rush hour traffic by use car and public transport, 2011

People in Limburg use their cars most often during rush hours

Proportionally, residents of the provinces of North and South Holland, Utrecht and Flevoland, most often opt for public transport in the morning. One in ten morning rush hour travellers in these provinces prefer public transport, as against one in twenty in the other Dutch provinces. With more than 40 percent, the province of Limburg has the highest proportion of motorists during the morning and evening rush hours. In absolute terms, the highest number of motorists during the morning and evening rush hours is recorded in South Holland, followed by the provinces of North Brabant, North Holland and Gelderland.

Morning and evening rush hour traffic by province, 2011

Retired car drivers tend to avoid rush hours

More than four in five motorists in the morning and evening rush hours are commuting between home and place of work. Retired motorists tend to avoid the morning and evening rush hours: more than six in every ten times they travel by car, they travel during the daytime outside rush hours. Relative to other categories of road users, pupils and students most often travel by car when travelling in the evening or at night.

Car drivers during rush hours and daytime by social participation, 2011

Marjolein Korvorst and Ilona Bouhuijs