Netherlands public employees have free public transportation

The Dutch believe that the “care of the environment is more than a list of technical measures, but a combination of policy, technology, responsibility and behavior.”

I asked how they encourage people to switch to more eco-friendly practices. I was told that they believe in penalizing and rewarding. Below are some interesting examples of such penalties and rewards and other interesting facts and good practices:

TRANSPORTATION/USE OF BICYCLES

-The ministry believes it should practice what it preaches. Therefore its head office uses energy that is 100% environmentally friendly (more on this in a separate report).

- to reduce the use of fossil fuel, government discourages the use of private vehicle and instead offers its employees free public transportation.

- To be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, they promote public transportation and the use of bicycles. The planning of public transportation facilities is an integral part of planning for urban and rural development.

- to promote the use of bicycles:

-- the ministry recently mandated that real estate developers/builders build new houses with a bike storage area.

--government employees have access to government bicycles for their official use.

--government employees will also receive a subsidy for using a bicycle as their mode of transport to work. mydailyrace