Amsterdam’s city administration has unveiled a string of plans to cut car use in the city centre and to boost cycling and public transport.

The city’s left-leaning, green coalition said earlier it planned to cut the number of parking spaces within the ring road by 10,000 but has now announced plans to get people onto bikes and trams instead.

Children up to the age of 12 will be able to use trams and buses free of charge on Wednesday afternoons and at weekends from 2021. ‘We hope that this will encourage more people to use the city’s great public transport network,’ alderman Sharon Dijksma said.

The city will also experiment with running metro services at night and increase the number of park and ride locations on the edge of the built up area.

Shared bikes will also be parked at metro stations in addition to railway stations.

The plans are part of city efforts to cut pollution and will cost up to €700m. They will be debated by councillors next year.