Amsterdam’s public transport company GVB is to remove a further 21 bus and tram stops in an effort to cut journey times and make the network more efficient, the Parool reported on Friday.

Stops which involve a small detour, are not widely used and which are close to other stops, are up for the chop, the organisation said. There are currently 850 tram and bus stops in the city’s public transport network.

The Parool said 89 stops have been abolished in the past four years and 36 new ones – including eight for the new Noord Zuid metro route – have come into service.

The news comes just a day after city officials said they would raise parking fees in the city in an effort to encourage more people to use public transport and bikes.

‘We will keep the guideline that everyone should have a tram or bus stop no more than 400 metres from their front door, with a distance of 250 metres for locations where many people find walking difficult,’ a GVB spokesman told the paper.