Welcome
Welcome to my website. The site keeps you informed about my work in English. My book ‘New Mobility – Beyond the car era’ has been published March 2017. Slides are posted of my lectures on the driving forces behind mobility and how the future of mobility might look like. You can find my study on Europe’s oil dependency, as well as some older publications that might still be of interest. My work focusses on structural developments in mobility, urbanization, infrastructure, energy, climate change and economy. I am intrigued by the power relations that shape our societies, unseen to a large extend, and how we can rewrite the rules which steer our economies.
Recent publications
The future of freight transport in 2 pages
What does the future of freight transport look like? What are the implications of the energy transition, electrification, and autonomous vehicles? The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management asked… Read More
Car trends
In the Dutch journal for economic policy, I analyse the most significant trends and shifts in the automotive industry. Topics covered include stagnating car mobility growth, the trend towards larger… Read More
Low energy prices conflict with energy security
The industry lobby for lower energy prices is short-sighted because it ignores the geopolitical reality of the EU's heavy dependence on energy imports. Instead, state aid should focus on improving… Read More
People do not want to get from A to B
That is the biggest misconception about mobility. People choose their A and B according to their transport options. They cycle to the local supermarket, take the tram to the city… Read More
Clean cars vs less traffic
What works when it comes to cutting pollution from cars? Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport in the EU-27 have increased by 23% between 1990 and 2022, while in the… Read More
Better public transport does not reduce car emissions
Public transport is seen as an alternative to the car and therefore as a way to reduce pollution from car traffic. Indeed, trains, trams and buses are cleaner than cars.… Read More
Coming soon: Your European train ticket with just one click
It will soon be possible to book your international train journey with one click. This was promised by the coming European Commissioner for Transport on 4 November, during the European… Read More
More asphalt doesn’t reduce road congestion
We will have to get used to the fact that traffic jams are here to stay. After all, if traffic can move one per cent faster during rush hour, this… Read More
Working from home does not reduce commuting
Working from home does not reduce commuting time, nor road congestion and crowded public transport. Instead, it increases commuting distance. Surprised? Only when we consider the entire system of mobility… Read More
Dense European cities outperform America’s suburbia
“In praise of America’s car addiction – How vehicle-dependence makes the country fairer and more efficient” was a headline in The Economist November 9th 2023. The opposite is true. This… Read More
Accessibility inequality
'Transport poverty' is a new buzzword. I recommend no longer using this. There is certainly poverty in the Netherlands, because we have food banks and thirty-two thousand 'registered' homeless people,… Read More
European Union expands national autonomy
Due to globalization and digitalization, countries have lost power relative to international markets and companies. The European Union provides a necessary countervailing power to this. This leads to the apparent… Read More