The widespread car ownership in the Netherlands

Outside the larger cities in the Netherlands, the number of car-dependent people is growing, as the travel distance to employment, social network and facilities is increasing, while at the same time public transport becomes less attractive. In the large cities, attractiveness of cars is decreasing due to alternatives for privately owned cars, parking regulations and reduced travel time benefits of travelling by car. While private car ownership per resident in highly urbanised areas declined in the past decade, there was a clear increase in car ownership in the more rural areas. For car use a similar trend is visible. These are conclusions by the KiM Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis in research on 'The widespread car ownership in the Netherlands'.