15 Years of commuting; the successful bicycle/train combination in the Netherlands

In 2009, I created my very first video on my channel to demonstrate that cycling can be a practical and efficient mode of transportation, even for longer distances in the Netherlands. Now, in 2024, 15 years later, I published over one thousand videos about cycling in the Netherlands.

Many smaller differences in 15 years. Top left the analog train departure signs, right the current computer screens which are also bi-lingual. Bottom left to right; newspapers were replaced by news on the smart phone and paper cups by reusable cups since I take the first coffee at work now. (Reuseable cups can now also be used to get a coffee to go.)

Over the years, I documented my commute every five years. The initial video in 2009 emphasised how easy it is to combine public transport and cycling for a 50-kilometer journey from ʼs-Hertogenbosch to Utrecht. In the 2014 and 2019 versions, I reflected on the changes and constants in my daily commute, especially with Utrecht’s Central Station undergoing a considerable reconstruction from 2011 to 2016.

The four locations where my bicycle was parked in 15 years. Top left: 2009, the underground station bicycle parking garage. Top right: 2014, a dark old mall parking with wooden racks. Bottom left: 2019, a temporary bicycle parking garage from the city of Utrecht and bottom right: 2024, the world’s largest bicycle parking garage where my bicycle has been parked since the summer of 2019.

The Utrecht leg of my journey witnessed the most significant transformations, with my bicycle finding different homes in all four videos due to the station refurbishments. The once-underground bicycle parking, later closed during reconstruction, emerged as part of the world’s largest bicycle parking garage in 2017 that has been fully operational since the summer of 2019.

One of the tunnels under the tracks of Utrecht Central gave direct access to the original bicycle parking garage. This was the situation in 2009 the picture below shows the exact same location in 2024. The stairs to platform 1 and 2 (right) were closed (because those plaforms were relocated).

The tunnel was refurbished, but still gives access to the bicycle parking garage where the rental bicycles of the OV-Fiets scheme are stored as well as the ‘exceptional’ bicycles (such as cargobikes and bicycles with children’s seats or baskets). The current main entrance to what has become the world’s largest bicycle parking garage is on the right hand side of this picture.

Through these changes, my commute maintained its essence – a combination of train and bicycle. I have made this daily commute since 1995. I calculated that the distance I traveled by train in those 29 years was about 228,000 kilometres. The later years considerably less than the earlier, especially due to two pandemic years of working from home. After the COVID crisis, I kept working from home for a third of my working hours. The Dutch Railways use sustainable wind-generated energy to run their trains, so all those kilometres traveled were much greener than they would have been in a private car.

This week’s new video is again about getting to work but even more about showcasing cycling as a viable transportation option. Freedom of travel is also about being able to choose eco-friendly transportation and not being forced to use a private car. I hope and expect to be able to make my commute the same way I did in the last 29 years, also in the coming decade, after which I hope to retire.

This week’s video: 15 years of commuting by bicycle and train in the Netherlands.