Amsterdam Region

The Amsterdam Region comprises an area with 1,5 million inhabitants, in which the City of Amsterdam and fourteen neighbouring cities and municipalities work together on a more liveable, attractive and accessible capital region. The Amsterdam Region is embedded in the larger Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and forms the northern core of the wider Randstad agglomeration with its population of 6.7 million. The region is very diverse with regard to its urban and economic fabric, bringing together idyllic rural countryside with the high culture and business of the largest city in the Netherlands, and picturesque small towns and suburban developments with the economic activity around the Port of Amsterdam or Europe’s third busiest airport, Amsterdam Schiphol.

The Amsterdam region is growing, with the current strong economic development as well as the regions’ great attractiveness for living, working and recreation as main factors influencing this development. The Amsterdam region is a tourist magnet and major driver behind the strong growth national growth in tourism in the Netherlands (7,8% in 2015). The region’s population is expected to grow to 1,8 million (about 9,3 %) by 2040 creating an immense pressure on housing and social services. In the city of Amsterdam alone, more than 50.000 new houses will need to be built by 2025 to keep up with current demand. Employment possibilities in the region are growing alike with Schiphol Airport alone expected to grow with 2-3% per year in the decade to come. While these developments are considered positive for the region and its inhabitants, the resulting rise in transport demand also poses significant challenges to region and its municipalities.

Transportation and Mobility has been an urban topic for many years, where collaboration in the Amsterdam region is most formalized and recognized. The Vervoerregio Amsterdam Transport Authority (VA) officially connects the 15 municipalities and other transport stakeholders to improve connections and optimize the accessibility of each municipality and the region at large.

To this end, VA makes traffic and transport policies in coordination with other governments and policy areas, commissions public transport services by bus, tram and metro throughout the region and takes responsibility for the management, maintenance and construction of local and regional rail infrastructure. VA provides financial contributions to projects that, while falling out of its direct duties, contribute in a cost-effective manner to the objectives and the quality requirements of its Mobility Policy Framework for the region. The Authority furthermore initiates and conducts explorations and planning studies for regional infrastructure projects and coordinates these regional plans with the central government.