MPs take the train to get to work, hybrid cars also popular

Photo: Alfenaar via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Alfenaar via Wikimedia Commons

Two third of MPs take the train to get to work and electric cars are also popular under parliamentarians, according to a survey of 79 MPs’ commuting habits by the Financieele Dagblad.

The car is the most popular means of commuting in the population at large, with three in five people opting to drive to work. That rises to four in five if the distance is more than 15 kilometres.

The train is the most popular method of transport across the party spectrum, the FD said, although the car is popular with the right-wing VVD. MPs, the paper notes, get a free first-class season ticket to use the train. In addition, parliament is just a short walk from The Hague’s main railway station.

Of the MPs who drive, 17% have a hybrid car – while just 1.6% of the cars on the Dutch roads are both petrol and electricity powered. VVD parliamentary leader Klaas Dijkhoff is the only MP who runs an electric car.

The paper notes that the difference in transparency between the parties is great. GroenLinks MPs did not take part because of privacy concerns, although a spokesman said that most MPs had a public transport season ticket.

Denk and Forum voor Democratie did not respond to the paper’s request for information. This weekend, Forum leader Thierry Baudet was fined for driving a rental  electric moped on a bike path in Amsterdam.

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