Congestion on the Dutch roads fell slightly in the first six months of this year, particularly during morning rush hour, motoring organisation ANWB has said.

It is the first time in years that the number and length of traffic jams have gone down, apart from during the pandemic when people were largely confined to their homes.

ANWB traffic expert Arnoud Broekhuis said that working from home and efforts to avoid the busy morning commute are behind the decline. Congestion in the morning rush hour period is down around 2% but there is no difference in the evening, he said.  

However, during the day, the roads are more congested, particularly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when the volume of traffic is up 20%. “At the moment it is impossible to predict jams, and they are different every day,” he told news website Nu.nl.

Road works are a primary cause of jams, particular on the A7 and A12, he said, and there has also been chaos on the Amsterdam ring road in recent days.

The busiest day of the year so far was May 21 when thunderstorms led to a total of 1,170 kilometres of traffic jams.