Dutch news in brief – 16 February

Car remains popular for commuting

Six of out of seven people drive to work, meaning that 2.7 million of the nation’s 5 million workers take the car to work and 0.3 million catch a ride with someone else, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said on Monday. A total of 25 percent travel by bike and 3 percent walk to work. Public transport accounts for just less than 10 percent of the home-work commute. The number of people who travel to work every day rose by 13 percent between 1995 and 2002, while the number of people who used the car increased by 23 percent. The number of car poolers fell by 20 percent, but public transport popularity increased.

Guusje’s song a number one honour

The Kane song Dreamer (Gussie’s Song), which singer Dinand Woesthoff wrote in honour of his deceased wife Guusje Nederhorst, claimed the number 1 position on the Mega Top 50 and the Wanadoo Top 40 on Monday. The single was released on 4 February to coincide with the funeral of Guusje, who died at the age of 34 from breast cancer. Guusje gave birth to the couple’s son, Dean Maddy, last summer. The earnings from the Kane single will go to the Dutch cancer fund, KWF Kankerbestrijding.

Dutch population could hit 20 million

In the year 2050, the number of Dutch residents will be between 15.1 million and 20.3 million, a long-term population forecast from the Environment and Nature Planning Bureau (MNP-RIVM) and the central statistics bureau CBS indicated. The differences are due to four scenarios the researchers based their studies on: Global Economy, Strong Europe, Transatlantic Markets and Regional Communities. They examined the effect each scenario would have on births, deaths and migration. The Netherlands has 16.3 million residents at present, compared with 10 million in 1950.

Air Holland battling to transport stranded passengers

Air Holland is expected to conduct its regular flight to the Netherlands Antilles on Monday after weekend negotiations around the future of the financially troubled carrier. Having recently won a stay on debt repayments, the company could possibly be relaunched, Air Holland administrator P. Ingwersen said. But there are hundreds of passengers still stranded at Schiphol Airport due to cancelled flights last week. It is not yet known if the scheduled Tuesday flight will proceed.

Woman rescued from locked church

A 31-year-old woman was locked in a church in The Hague for three hours on Sunday night. The woman said she went to the toilet, but when she returned the building was empty and had been locked up. She was rescued from the church, on the Fluwelen Burgwal, after police saw her through a window. Municipal workers were forced to remove a window to rescue the woman because church officials could not be contacted.

Subject: Dutch news