Smart mobility

If we are to prevent traffic in the Netherlands from coming to a complete standstill, taking into account the fact that more roads are not necessarily the answer, we must embrace new technologies. Technologies that allow people to get from door to door in a smarter way, both now and in the future.

Smart mobility for all

Over the next few years, we are going to put an increasing number of smart mobility innovations into practice. We can only be successful in that endeavour if we keep pace with the market place and leading research institutions. In addition, we must collaborate closely with other road managers in the Netherlands and abroad. After all, our roads and waterways do, literally, link up. We aim to tackle problems, make choices and capitalise on opportunities as one, and to apply innovations in a way that is sustainable.

Development tracks

We are working on the future of smart mobility on the basis of 4 development tracks:

• Infrastructure: new generations of motor vehicles and watercraft need to be modified to meet the requirements of an infrastructure that is fit to face the future.
• Motor vehicles and watercraft: What sort of smart traffic services do new motor vehicles and watercraft need? And how are these motor vehicles and watercraft going to behave in relation to the existing fleet of vehicles that will slowly disappear from the roads and waterways over the coming decades?
• Data: Rijkswaterstaat collects a lot of traffic data. In addition the number of alternative sources of data, such as from suppliers of navigation apps, is growing explosively. Working together in smart ways provides a lot of valuable traffic-management information.
• Behaviour: information services in motor vehicles and watercraft are better able to predict journey times for travellers on roads and waterways. This will have a positive impact on traffic flow and safety on our roads and waterways.

Working together

Rijkswaterstaat offers businesses and research institutes room for experimentation, has a great deal of data that can be shared, and supports practical tests on the public highway. This means that we all benefit from smart mobility.

Want to know more? Then contact us using our contact form Smart Mobility.

Spotlight: a selection of collaborative Smart Mobility projects

'Blue Wave’

Better information, allowing shippers and road users to plan their journey and arrival times better, with less disruption, less fuel consumption and fewer CO2 emissions. We are working on strong links on our waterways and roadways in collaboration with other road and waterway managers.

Talking Traffic

Road users, motor vehicles, overhead road signs, traffic-control centres and traffic lights. Everything communicating with each other. Within the Talking Traffic partnership, road managers and businesses share data and we utilise smart technologies in order to better control traffic flows.

Field test in Amsterdam

The Amsterdam Practical Trail is a large-scale test with the aim of reducing congestion in the Amsterdam region. Nowhere else in the world has intelligent technology in the field of traffic management been tested on such a large scale in day-to-day traffic. The idea being: if it works here, it can work in any other city in the world.