The Province of North Brabant is reserving almost one million euros for pilots to make various ferry connections more sustainable. This funding will help operators switch to electric ferries and install charging infrastructure. This saves a lot on energy and maintenance costs and is better for the environment.
Brabant has a diverse range of 37 different ferry connections. These include 10 foot ferries, 14 combined bicycle and foot ferries, and 13 car and bicycle ferries. The years of construction, sailing frequencies, and organizational forms vary greatly. What they all have in common is that electrification offers great potential. Electric ferries significantly reduce operating costs and make the connections future-proof.
However, electrifying a ferry connection is not simple. Costs are high and the right technology is not always available. Therefore, the province wants to help. In various pilots, the province will investigate if and how the 12 so-called cable and chain ferries in Brabant can be electrified. These are ferries that use a cable to cross the water.
50 percent financing
These ferries have the greatest potential learning yield because they represent a relatively large share of Brabants ferry fleet and there is little experience in the Netherlands with making this type of ferry more sustainable. If electrification actually takes place, the province is willing to finance up to 50 percent, or up to 25 percent if another government participates. A total of 950,000 euros is available.
Ferry connections are strictly speaking not part of our public transport or provincial road network, says Deputy Stijn Smeulders (mobility). But at the same time, we see the great added value of the ferries for the accessibility of our province. That is why we have already agreed in our administrative agreement to focus on the sustainability and strengthening of the ferries. We do this by helping now with an investment that will benefit all of Brabant for many years.
Logical next step
After the car and the bus, it is a logical next step to also make our ferry services more sustainable, says Deputy Bas Maes (energy). Good charging infrastructure along our waterways is not yet a given. By investing in this, we enable electric sailing and lay a foundation for further sustainability on and around the water in Brabant.
The pilot is coordinated with the Brabant Ferry Coalition. This is a collaboration between ANWB, Wandelnet, Fietsersbond, Stichting Maasmeanders, and ZLTO. Janique Huijbregts, regional manager ANWB, on behalf of the Brabant Ferry Coalition: We are very pleased that the province is reserving almost one million euros for the sustainability of the Brabant ferries. This investment is the beginning of an important step towards cleaner mobility and a future-proof network of connections for all travelers. We have been in consultation with the province and operators for some time about this, and this is a nice first result that we have achieved together.