Thursday has been declared the country’s first traffic jam-free day by the motoring organisation ANWB and, according to today’s Telegraaf, it could save businesses €6bn.

The figures have been calculated by the transport sector associations EVO and TLN who believe that if traffic can indeed flow freely, less petrol will be used and less time will be wasted sitting on congested roads.
EVO and TLN estimate that the total direct cost of congestion to its members last year was over €700m, the Telegraaf says.
And according to the institute for mobility policy, KiM, the total damage to the Dutch economy as a result of traffic jams was between €2.7bn and €3.6bn in 2007. Businesses shoulder half of these costs.
Some 80,000 people have registered themselves as supporters of the traffic jam free day on the special website set up for the initiative, says the Volkskrant.