Beter Benutten – Maastricht Bereikbaar
“Beter Benutten” (Optimising Use) was a national programme focusing on reducing car travel and rush hour congestion between 2012 and 2017. In Maastricht, the Beter Benutten programme was managed by the Programme Office Maastricht Bereikbaar (MB), now called Zuid-Limburg Bereikbaar, which had already been established in 2010 to promote cycling due to several large-scale infrastructure projects in the city and region causing traffic disruptions. Initially, the Programme Office focused solely on the city of Maastricht but later expanded to include other parts of the Limburg region. During the programme period, agreements were established between MB and multiple companies to decrease car usage and mitigate rush hour traffic by offering options such as working from home, flexible work hours, e-bike discounts, or assistance in purchasing bicycles.
Fietsimpuls was an umbrella project developed by MB for biking initiatives from 2012 to 2017. The initiatives were divided into three categories: (i) Try-an-E-bike, (ii) Purchase, and (iii) Reward. These three categories are further explained with examples under the website’s initiatives section. Similar initiatives continue to run after the Beter Benutten programme, several of which are listed on the SPECIFIC website.
Domain: Passenger transport
Type of initiative: Information, communication, awareness raising and capacity building, infrastructure, maintenance and service, regulations, pricing
Main goals:
- Mitigating climate change (decarbonization)
- Improving accessibility
Target practice: Commuting
Period: 2012 – 2017
Lead organizations: Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environmen (Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Milieu), Maastricht Bereikbaar (Zuid-Limburg Bereikbaar) – National public authority, regional public authority
Type of funding institutions: National public authority, regional public authority
Participatory process: No.