Approximately 200,000 individuals travel to & from Schiphol Airport daily through various means such as cars, taxis, buses, shuttles, trains, motorcycles, scooters, and bicycles. With this perspective, Schiphol Airport is the largest mobility hub in the whole Netherlands, making accessibility a critical aspect. The Schiphol Group is responsible for providing/ensuring accessibility. Their main goal is to alleviate accessibility for Schiphol's customers, including passengers, personnel/commuters, business partners, and cargo, by focusing on different transportation modalities.
To achieve the goal of “the best airport for accessibility and sustainable aviation as well as land-side transport in Europe,” Schiphol Group works toward a car-free, emission-free vision and plans to apply on-site.
This thesis conjugates Schiphol’s and European Union’s (EU) goals (EGD, TULIPS) set for the aviation sector and further investigates the possibility of reaching the “Car-free Schiphol Centrum”. The objectives designated the reach this primary goal.
- A combined method to design and evaluate the car-free Schiphol Airport efficiency
- A system that uses the methods to display the efficiency of the car-free Schiphol Airport.
By exploring these objectives, the thesis aims to contribute to the overall goal of making Schiphol Airport a sustainable, accessible, and car-free hub for all commuters and users. The problem statement and main research question gather around this unifying goal:
“How can Schiphol Airport become car-free in its land-side areas?”
To address this question, the thesis proposes a combined method to design and evaluate the efficiency of a car-free Schiphol Airport. This method considers the goals set by the Schiphol Group and the European Union.
The methodology constitutes the combination of the literature-based frameworks to create anew the thesis as well as finding the best measurement tools to seek the results of a successful car-free Schiphol Centrum. Car-free Development and Transit-oriented development allow for discussing and creating the framework for a car-free Schiphol Airport. The evaluation of this framework will be done by implementing new modalities to the Schiphol to ensure a possible/potential modal shift of the users and assess the walkability of the land-side areas.
Along with the theoretical work, a case study for the thesis is conducted to apply the proposed methodology and evaluate its effectiveness. The case study focuses on the land-side areas of Schiphol Airport and aims to assess the feasibility of implementing car-free measures in these areas.
The case study's findings show that a car-free Schiphol Centrum is feasible and should be implemented in real life. The proposed measures depict such as improving public transportation, promoting cycling and walking, and providing efficient and sustainable alternatives to private cars (micro mobility options), can contribute to reducing car dependency and creating a more sustainable and accessible airport.
Overall, this thesis provides valuable insights and recommendations for achieving a car-free Schiphol Airport. By combining theoretical frameworks, measurement tools, and a practical case study.