Alternative
There is a train strike going on that is halting train traffic throughout the country. Shared car providers are noticing this, because suddenly there is much more demand for shared cars.
SnappCar is recording 50 percent more bookings of shared cars due to Friday’s train strike. The strike by NS personnel in the Central region is halting train traffic throughout the country. The car sharing platform reports several hundred extra bookings in the major cities. Most bookings have been made in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam. SnappCar has asked owners of shared cars to make their vehicles available in order to be able to offer enough cars.
Shared car provider MyWheels is also seeing a peak in the number of bookings. Currently there are five times as many bookings as on the same Friday last year. Also compared to Fridays of the past few weeks, the number of reservations is “considerably” higher. According to MyWheels, this shows the importance of “a mobility mix”. “Not only for the daily pressure on transport, but also when there is a failure of one of the transport options, as is the case now with the train strike.”
A spokesperson for Uber cannot say in advance whether it will be busy, because drivers decide for themselves when they will drive. But he expects that many drivers are aware of the extra demand due to the strike and will therefore hit the road.
The train strike lasts from Friday 04:00 to Saturday 04:00. After that, the regular timetable is expected to resume immediately.