Flevoland prepares to arrange bus transport independently

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Flevoland is preparing to arrange a new bus transport contract independently after Overijssel and Gelderland indicated that they would organize their own concessions. The three provinces had jointly contracted EBS for the IJssel-Vecht concession, but announced in October that they intended to end the agreement by July 2029, six years earlier than planned, citing EBS’s weak financial position. Negotiations on the early termination are continuing. Flevoland has agreed to provide up to €5.1 million in financial support, while EBS’s owner, the Israeli company Egged, has guaranteed to cover most losses until July 2029. EBS remains responsible for maintaining the buses, some of which will become the provinces’ property.

Flevoland’s provincial executive wants ideas on how to organize transport after the summer of 2029, including possible cooperation with Friesland or Utrecht and demand-responsive transport in sparsely populated areas. Provincial council members are expected to decide on the approach by February at the latest so that a successor to EBS can be ready by July 2029. EBS may also compete for the new contract.

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Transport & Travel

Cabinet reprioritises infrastructure funding

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The cabinet allocated €18 billion for maintenance and renewal of existing roads, bridges, waterways and railways, with Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Vincent Karremans saying safety and tackling overdue maintenance take priority. Funding was shifted away from a number of expansion plans, while projects including the Nedersaksenlijn, work on the N50 and rail maintenance continue. Karremans said postponed projects remain necessary and could resume when funding becomes available.

Politics

Flevoland challenges plan for three homes near Marknesse drone test site

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Flevoland has asked the Council of State to block Noordoostpolder’s plan to build three homes on Voorsterweg near the Fletcher Hotel in Marknesse. The province says the homes would interfere with drone test flights by the Netherlands Air and Space Centre (NLR), particularly during landings, and would breach provincial policy for the area around the Mobility and Infrastructure Test Centre (MITC). Flevoland also opposes three detached homes away from a village centre. It intervened in the zoning plan through a reactive indication, which can require the municipal council to withdraw a plan. Noordoostpolder and developer Wiepke Haagsma have challenged the provincial intervention. The municipality said the area south of Voorsterweg was intended for residential recreation rather than high-quality businesses, while Haagsma argued that the NLR would be better served by the three homes than by taller commercial buildings and five business residences permitted under the current plan. The Council of State is expected to rule in a few weeks. Separately, Flevoland’s Provincial States recently retained priority for drone testing around the MITC while allowing other activities to be considered case by case, with possible adjustments in coordination with the municipality, NLR and the relevant ministries.