Why will buses and trains sound their horns tomorrow for 20 seconds?
At 8:45 AM on Tuesday, June 10, bus and tram drivers in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague will sound their vehicle horns for 20 seconds in protest against significant cuts to the public transport budget. Transport companies hope this action will serve as a 'wake-up call' to the Dutch government.
GVB, HTM, RET, and EBS, in collaboration with "Regio Vervoer Amsterdam" (VRA) and "Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag" (MRDH), issued a joint statement calling on the government to retract its plans to cut 335 million euros from the public transport budget.
These horns will be heard in central locations during the morning rush hour in the three major cities, in an attempt to attract the attention of politicians. VRA Chair Melanie van der Horst said, "If we don't wake up now, these cuts will be implemented silently. It will be catastrophic for the Netherlands." She added that politicians have the opportunity to correct this mistake during the spring memorandum. This is not the first time protests have been held against these cuts; last April, public transport stopped for 110 seconds in protest against a reduction of 110 million euros in government support.
Transport companies warn that a budget cut of 335 million euros will have wide-ranging effects, including the disappearance of 20% of public transport services, an increase in ticket prices, as well as hindering access to education, work, and healthcare, and even affecting housing construction projects.
Van der Horst said: "Without good public transport, people become isolated and it becomes difficult for them to access their daily needs or visit their loved ones." She added that these cuts increase individual isolation and transport poverty, making transport unreliable and inaccessible to everyone, considering that "these cuts are a very bad idea."