“Safe Streets, Smoother Traffic” at Intertraffic Amsterdam

From March 10th to 13th, 2026, the Dutch Cycling Embassy attended the Intertraffic expo at the RAI Amsterdam in the Netherlands. With over 900 exhibitors across 13 halls, the annual four-day event attracts over 30,000 professionals in the infrastructure, traffic management, safety, smart mobility and parking industries.

As well as providing the focal point for an incoming study visit from the China Academy of Transportation Sciences, International Relations Manager Chris Bruntlett was asked to curate a session as part of the event program using experts from the DCE’s public-private network. Entitled “Safer Streets, Smoother Traffic: Linking Cycling Investment to Congestion Reduction”, it featured contributions from Sjors van Duren of Haskoning, Simone Jorink of Movares, and Max Mooij of MobilityLabel.

Sjors van Duren discussed the effectiveness of cycling infrastructure as a cost-efficient transport investment, using examples such as cycling highways and bridges compared with motorway expansion. He argued that relatively low-cost cycling projects (around €20 million) can potentially delay or reduce the need for far more expensive motorway widening projects (hundreds of millions to over €1 billion), generating economic benefits through improved accessibility, reliability, productivity, and public health. Evidence from the RijnWaalpad cycling highway showed increased cycling usage and shorter travel times, while research indicated cycling’s modal share on evaluated corridors rose from 28% to 32%, which reduced rush-hour car traffic.

Simone Jorink explained the importance of integrating cycling with train travel in the Netherlands to reduce car use and improve accessibility. Although most travel kilometres are currently made by car (68%), combining bicycles with trains offers significant potential to shift trips away from cars, with estimates suggesting up to 3.4% of car rides could convert to bike-train journeys—equivalent to about 650,000 additional travellers. To support this shift, the Dutch government is investing heavily in bicycle parking at train stations through the MIRT infrastructure program, allocating about €470 million between 2016 and 2026 and working with stakeholders such as ProRail, municipalities, regional authorities, and the Dutch Railways.

Max Mooij argued that tackling urban congestion and accessibility challenges requires shifting from building more infrastructure to influencing commuter behaviour through employer engagement. With cities facing dense populations, limited budgets, and aging infrastructure, the traditional approach of expanding roads or heavily subsidising public transport is increasingly unsustainable. The Dutch “Beter Benutten” programme demonstrated that small behavioural changes—such as remote work, cycling, and multimodal travel—can significantly reduce congestion, with only about 10% of drivers needing to alter their habits to make a measurable impact.

We’d like to thank the three experts for providing their perspectives, the many attendees who joined the sessions, and the organisers of Intertraffic for offering this stage to share our knowledge and insights.