Rotterdam/The Hague
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Basic information
Name of the public transport authority: MRDH (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag)
Other public transport trademarks: RET (operator in Rotterdam), HTM (operator in The Hague)
Geographical area: 21 municipalities in the south-western part of the Netherlands, including cities like Rotterdam, The Hague, Delft, Zoetermeer and facilities like Port of Rotterdam, Greenport Westland, Rotterdam-The Hague airport
Inhabitants in the PTA area: 2.4 million (Rotterdam 664 000, The Hague 549 000, Zoetermeer 125 000, Delft 104 000)
Responsibilities
Ticketing: MRDH is responsible on the policy level. Transport operators are responsible on the operational level and for the planning.
Procurement: Public tendering of all public transport services within the area. Also responsible for the in-house contracting to the publicly owned transport operators and rail infrastructure.
Rolling stock and depot ownership: Legal, policy responsibility and ‘asset owner’ for tram and metro vehicles. Policy responsibility for buses and autonomous driverless vehicles. Policy and (partly) legal and financial responsibility for depots.
Public transport planning: Strategic and policy responsibilities for regional mobility, including public transport, bicycles and cars. Development and planning responsibilities for public transport. Transport operators are responsible for tactical and operational planning, including new line and product propositions, yearly planning and timetables.
Development of mobility policy / Transport system planning: Full responsibility for mobility planning (long and short term), including asset ownership of public transport infrastructure. Also responsible for economic development. No tasks in spatial planning or housing.
Marketing of public transport: Operators are responsible for marketing. MRDH is responsible on the policy level only.
Passenger information: Data collecting, improving and distributing (ticketing data, time schedules, travelling data) is centrally organised by a national public transport data organisation. Transport operators develop and distribute data in their own apps and displays etc.
Organisational model
Inter-municipal co-operation
MRDH is owned by 21 municipalities that are also represented on the board. The municipalities are jointly responsible for decision-making. The budget comes from the Dutch national government. By law, MRDH is a public transport authority. It is thus responsible for all legal tasks concerning development, planning, investments and finance, tendering and maintenance of public transport.
Transport service contracting
Procured by the PTA: urban buses, regional buses within the PTA, regional buses stretching outside the PTA, metro, tram, light rail
Not procured by the PTA, but most/all services accept PTA tickets: regional buses stretching outside the PTA, commuter trains, regional trains
Other modes of public transport: self-driving autonomous vehicles, on-demand buses
Current developments
As of 2024, there are many ongoing projects in Rotterdam/The Hague metropolitan region. These include 3 new tram lines, metro lines with higher frequency and some station improvements. The bus fleet is also being transformed to zero emissions by 2030. There are also some BRT (bus rapid transit) projects as well as developments in demand-responsive transport and the planning of dedicated bus lanes for autonomous vehicles. Park and ride facilities are also being developed, including combined ticketing solutions. Nationwide, new EMV (credit card) payment systems are being introduced.
The region is also working on a TOD (transport-oriented development) strategy which will see public transport investments combined with housing near stations, for instance.
The public transport network, especially for buses and local trams, is also being rethought and redesigned, to adapt to changing travel habits.
