recent projects

As a Transportation Planning Expert, I was part of a multidisciplinary team — led by global engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV — that developed a public transport system for Sakakah and the surrounding areas. Sakakah is the capital city of the Al Jouf region in the northern part of the country. The project’s owner is the national Transport General Authority (TGA, based in Riyadh), and the most important stakeholders are the local authorities in Al Jouf. The project is part of a national strategy to bring public transport to all intermediate cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). I developed a vision for the new public transport system in close collaboration with the other project team members and the end client. Considering the results of the transport model, I designed three options for the new system: a system based on regular buses, a system with Bus Rapid Transit as its backbone, and a system with LRT/Tram as its backbone. These three options were detailed into nine sub options (e.g., Regular Tram and Tram Deluxe). Furthermore, I led the development of an Investment Strategy (CAPEX), an Operational Plan (OPEX) and a Contract of Operations for the selected public transport option: a system based on electric buses. In addition to the results of the transport model (with a forecast for 2040), I developed a Backcasting Excel Model to predict ridership and revenues for 2024-2040 on an annual basis. I also served as the project team’s representative in the country for three months on this 16-month project (as a Deputy Project Manager).

As a Transportation Planning Expert, I was part of a multidisciplinary team — led by global engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV — which developed an integrated national tool to measure the economic benefits of urban public transport in the country. The project’s owner was the national Transport General Authority (TGA, based in Riyadh), and the most important stakeholders were the five largest cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, and Dammam. This project was part of a national initiative to streamline and professionalize the assessment and prioritization of large mass transit schemes, especially LRT, metro and commuter rail projects.

During a short assignment, I provided advice to a European public transport operator about the possibility of bidding for a bus service contract in the MENA region.

As a tender strategist, I was hired by Movares – a leading Dutch consulting firm – to assist in the development of a plan of approach to solve infrastructural problems for four Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines in the vicinity of Amsterdam. This Plan of Approach was required as part of a bid for a large framework contract to provide consultancy services for Amsterdam’s transport region. I wrote the main text for the bid. Several weeks after submission, Movares was announced as one of the three winners of the tender.

10 – Urban Mobility Plans Izmir and Kocaeli

year:           2018 – 2019

country:      Turkey

client:         ITP                                 (end client: World Bank)

As a sub-consultant to Transmotion – a Kuwait-based traffic and transportation consultancy – I developed an integrated public transport plan for the Saad Al Abdullah City Master Plan Project. In cooperation with South Korean partners, South Saad Al Abdullah City will be developed as a smart green city for 250,000 people. The integrated public transport plan includes a BRT system as the backbone of the city’s public transport system.

As a Subject Matter Expert (SME), I conducted assessments at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai to prepare the organization for the 21^st edition of the prestigious Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) in 2019. The assignment involved two assessments: Financial Sustainability (with RTA’s Sustainability Committee) and Buses and Public Transportation (with RTA’s Public Transport Agency).

As an advisory council member of GLG – the world’s leading platform connecting business to insight – I regularly gave advice about the effects of the rise of electric buses and other mobility trends to bus manufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers.

As a Public Transport Specialist, I was part of a team of experts conducting an integrated study for the City of Amsterdam to identify the best location for a new cruise terminal (due to the planned closure of the cruise terminal). As part of this integrated study, I carried out a feasibility study for the development of an LRT or BRT link to provide tourists on cruise ships with easy access to Amsterdam’s city centre.

Together with its 35 municipalities, the public transport agency for the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe is responsible for the procurement and operation of Hub taxi, a shared taxi transport service. I came up with a strategy for the client to develop this system to a higher level in three phases: (i) enhancing the current transport hubs in the region and/or extending them with small-scale hubs; (ii) introducing electric taxis; and (iii) introducing booking and paying with a MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) app.

As the founder of Go! Groen ov – a Dutch start-up that aimed to become a fossil-free public transport operator – I prepared a long-term business plan based on the deployment of electric buses running on electricity from renewable resources. Together with the two co-founders, I carried out extensive market research and had discussions with electric bus manufacturers, venture capital investors, and other strategic partners. I also led the setting up of Bus Service Bids for two contracts in the Netherlands: Southeast Brabant (€50 million yearly turnover) and Almere (mainly BRT, €30 million yearly turnover).

As a sub-consultant to Fimotions – a boutique consulting firm in sustainable transport – I took part in the writing of a Position Paper aiming to increase the share of electric buses in urban areas. The paper was financed by the European branch of BYD – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric vehicles – and included a detailed calculation of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for diesel and electric buses. My main role in the research phase of this project was to develop an Operational and Financial Case Study of the Amstelland-Meerlanden Bus Contract (mainly BRT with a fleet of around 270 buses).

My colleague and I were hired by CROW – the Dutch technology platform for transport, infrastructure and public space – to conduct a research project on CO2 emissions of the national fleet of 5,000 public transport buses in the Netherlands. We collected data regarding the bus vehicle fleet, fuel consumption, bus depot energy efficiency, and passenger numbers for the different public transport authorities. Based on this, model calculations were made, resulting in an average CO2 emission (in grams per passenger kilometre) for every public transport authority in the country.

As an electric bus specialist, I was hired by Keolis – a global public transport operator – to participate in their bid team for two bus contracts in the province of North Brabant (with a total of €100 million in yearly turnover). I prepared the deployment plan for electric buses, dubbed as a zero-emission plan, for the bid.

My colleague and I were hired by RET – the public transport operator of the City of Rotterdam – to execute several tasks for the EU project Ticket to Kyoto. In this project, five large European operators joined forces to reduce CO2 emissions from their public transport systems. We assisted RET with its role in a workgroup responsible for energy savings in Rotterdam’s metro stations and represented the operator during a project meeting in Manchester.

My colleagues and I were hired by the Transport Authority Amsterdam to develop an extensive Policy Paper that offered a framework for a sustainability transition for the public transport systems in the Amsterdam region (consisting of bus, tram, LRT and metro). As a Project Leader, I was responsible for the final deliverable.

As a strategic advisor, I was hired by EBS Public Transportation – a national public transport operator – to take part in the development of an integrated restructuring plan for a public transport operator with (at that time) a negative profit margin.

As a strategic advisor, I was hired by EBS Public Transportation – a national public transport operator – to select an upcoming bus tender and to prepare a bid team for the actual bidding process. The assignment included SWOT analysis of several bus tenders, forecasting profit margins, and detailed planning and division of tasks for the bid team. 

New electrified rail connection across the IJmeer lake to connect the capital of Amsterdam with the relatively young city of Almere. I was involved in the development of a new, more cost-effective, sustainable design for this new projected rail connection. The result was a hybrid model between a heavy rail commuter route and a regular metro route.

My colleague and I were hired by Keolis – a global public transport operator – to collaborate on their bid for the multimodal concession Arnhem Nijmegen (two cities in the eastern part of the country). As members of the bid team, we developed and wrote the Public Transport Vision, the social safety plan, the participation plan, and the plan to deploy a large fleet of biogas buses. The multimodal concession consisted of three modalities: bus, BRT and trolleybus.

My colleague and I were hired by Keolis – a global public transport operator – to collaborate on their bid for the bus concession Waterland (a suburban area north of Amsterdam with many BRT lines). As members of the bid team, we developed and wrote the Public Transport Vision, the integrated sustainability plan and the bus fleet deployment plan.

As a sub-consultant to Corporate Solutions – a UK consultancy – I was part of an international team that conducted a public transport study funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. As a Public Transport Specialist, I contributed to the main components of the study: (i) development of a new bus route network; (ii) upgrading of the bus fleet; and (iii) developing a new governance framework with Public Service Contracts between the government and existing bus operators.

As a sub-consultant to ITP – a pioneering UK consultancy – I was part of a team of experts carrying out a pre-feasibility study for the development of a BRT system in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area. The result of the study was a plan for eight potential BRT corridors.

As a Public Transport Specialist, I was hired by Keolis – a global public transport operator – to assist Keolis’ tender team with the development of an integrated Commuter Rail and Bus Routes Network Plan for Achterhoek Rivierenland (a multimodal public transport concession in the central part of the country).

As a sub-consultant to inno-V – a Dutch consultancy in public transport – I assisted the Province of Friesland in improving the monitoring of its bus service contracts. I developed a new framework to award bonuses and maluses to the public transport operators running the transport concessions.

As a sub-consultant to Keypoint Consultancy, I was a member of a commission assessing several design principles (e.g., width of bus lanes, locations and designs of bus stops) for a new BRT line.

I was hired by Nakheel – a large property developer based in Dubai – to assist their Waterfront Company with the design of Dubai Waterfront, a city with 1.4 million inhabitants. I developed the public transport strategy for the planned city, including a network of several metro lines.