OV-Chipkaart

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The OV-chipkaart, also known as the OV-chip, is the ticket-replacing card used in Dutch public transit, most prominently on trains, trams and buses.

History edit

Types of card edit

There are several types of chipkaart. In most cases a disposable or anonymous card will suffice for travel purposes, though all types are listed below.

Disposable cards edit

Example of a disposable chipkaart for a journey with NS. A simple chip is tucked in between the paper front and back.

A disposable chipkaart is essentially a regular ticket with the added benefits of a chipkaart. Between the paper front and backside hides a coil and chip, that lets card readers know what kind of ticket it is. The disposable card holds a fixed right to travel, meaning that once bought, it cannot be altered. Naturally, this ticket can open barriers at stations and halts. The permit to travel is only valid once the ticket has been properly checked in and out. Not checking out the ticket at the end of the journey has no repercussions, though you cannot be refunded in the case of delays and the like.

Disposable cards can be obtained at most stations, either through a ticket machine or at a ticket office. Typically, buying a ticket at a railway station won't let you set a metro or bus halt as your destination, and the same goes vice versa. Once you change of medium, you will have to get a new ticket.

Disposable cards for journeys by train have an additional printing fee of €1, and can be purchased up to eight days in advance. Only once the ticket gets checked in will the ticket be activated. City transport companies such as RET (Rotterdam), GVB (Amsterdam) and HTM (The Hague) also issue disposable cards. These can, depending on what is purchased, be used for multiple journeys. These cards too may or may not be more expensive than travelling on funds.

Personal card edit

An anonymous (top) and personal (bottom) OV-Chipkaart.

The personal card is a plastic card with a validity of five years. It is issued with personal information, including the name of the cardholder, their photo and then some. Even though it holds this information about the cardholder, the personal OV-chipkaart is not a valid ID card, and you're expected to carry a valid ID on you should anything go wrong. On the flipside, norms for the photo on the chipcard aren't as strict as that for an ID. The most prominent rule on the application form is to not use a photo with a Snapchat filter. The card costs €7.50 to order, excluding funds. This payment, as well as the payment of funds onto the card, can be fulfilled through iDEAL (for people with Dutch bank accounts) or PayPal (for Belgian, German or Luxembourgish citizens). Should you not meet these requirements, you cannot purchase a personal card.

The personal card can hold travel products such as route subscriptions, but automatically has travelling on funds enabled. When purchasing a card, you can automatically turn on "automatic reloading", which charges funds directly from your bank or PayPal account rather than from the funds booked onto the chipkaart.

Personal cards may be issued in a corporate livery, but these are purely cosmetic. A card in NS-livery can be used with any other transport company, and vice versa. After five years, the card will expire. Any funds not refunded before then will be lost.

Anonymous card edit

The anonymous card is a much more available version of the personal card. The two are virtually the same, except for the fact that an anonymous card does not hold your personal information, and thus can be used by anyone and everyone who gets a hold of it. The card can be obtained at sales devices in stations, at various supermarkets and newsagents (most prominently Primera), at some Bruna shops and at a public transport company's counter. You can find the nearest sales point at the OV-chipkaart website.

Obtaining a card edit

	ARR	BRG	CXX	GVB	KEO	NS	Qbuzz	RET	R NET	U OV
ARR Arriva
BRG Breng
CXX Connexxion
GVB GVB
KEO Keolis
NS NS
Qbuzz Q-Buzz
RET RET
R NET R-Net
U OV U-OV

As previously mentioned, the personal OV-chipkaart can only be obtained by people with a Dutch, Belgian, Luxembourgian or German address, so an anonymous chip card will most likely be your go-to card. Either of these two is identical when it comes to fees and usage in general. Due to the €7.50 fee associated with obtaining one of these cards as opposed to the €1 fee for disposable tickets, an anonymous or personal card is only worth it when you're going to make eight or more journeys by train, light rail (RandstadRail) or metro (Amsterdam and Rotterdam Metro systems).

As for (trolley)buses and trams, or any public transit where you check in in the vehicle rather than at the station entry or platform in general, you can get a ticket on the vehicle itself most of the time by paying with card or contactless. Cash payment is on its last legs in the Netherlands and should not be relied upon as an option, as it's more an exception to the rule than anything. Cash payments are most notable still a possibility on the West Frisian Islands, excluding Texel.

For any mode of transport you're also able to get an e-ticket. There is no additional fee for these kinds of tickets, though they do require a printer. Nine out of ten times, the hotel, campsite or whatever accommodation you're staying at will be willing to print out an e-ticket for you. The downside is that you cannot always get away with just a single ticket to get from A to B. Below you can find an overview of operators, their shops and what other operators their tickets can be used on.

Usage edit

Checking in and out edit

Obviously the main use of the card, checking in and out with modes of public transport can be quite different depending on the mode.

Usage on separated modes edit

Barriers are most often found on larger stations. Shown here is Haarlem station. The lit displays (rightmost and fourth from the right barriers) can read barcodes as well as regular cards, whereas the regular gates with pink pads can only work with cards. The arrows and crosses on the front indicate which gates you can and cannot use when approaching from your direction.

A set of NS and Arriva posts, intended for switching operator, pictured here in Groningen. Above the posts is the indicative sign reading "overstappen", and between the sign and the posts themselves is a brief explanation on how to do so, which is most often written in Dutch and English.

See also: Rail travel in the Netherlands

Trains, metros and light rail systems are counted to separated modes. These modes almost always use either barrier gates to enter the station at which you have to present your card, or will have easily distinguishable poles on the platform at which to present your card. You only have to present the card once an action must be taken. These actions can be changing mode or operator, or ending your journey. Another possibility is paying for supplemental charges (toeslag).

So long as you're travelling with NS, the posts you will use are all variations of the same model, with their stickers and labeling depending on whether they are intended for switching operators or grabbing supplemental charges. Should you be on a train and wanting to switch operators, then you'll be looking for a sign that reads "overstappen", which two or more posts beneath them. First check out with the operator you are already checked in with, and follow that up with a check-in with the operator you wish to travel with next. These posts will always be found on the platform itself. Stations like Arnhem Centraal are serviced by multiple operators. In Arnhem's case, both NS and Arriva use the chipkaart. When entering the station on foot or bus, you will need to go through OV-Chipkaart gates before being able to access the platforms and board a train. Above the gates you will find indication as to which gates are for what operator. Other stations that this applies to are Amersfoort, Amsterdam (Centraal, Amstel, Holendrecht, Lelylaan, Sloterdijk, Zuid), Apeldoorn, Diemen, Duivendrecht, Leeuwarden, Nijmegen, Sittard and Zwolle.

Usage on street-bound modes edit

Card readers come in many shapes and sizes. This is one of the more common editions of the card readers. Readers always feature either the OV-chipkaart logo or the pink "Houd uw kaart hier" (present your card here) sticker.

Street-bound modes consist of most notably buses, trams and trolleys. These all have on-board card readers. You present your card when boarding the vehicle, and again when leaving the vehicle. You'll find the card readers at the entry and exit points of the vehicle.

OV-fiets edit

The OV-fiets can always be easily spotted due to its iconic yellow-blue colour scheme.

The OV-fiets is a bike-rental system run by NS. A rental bike that you can obtain at over 300 locations in the country, mostly railway stations, and can rent for €3.85 per 24 hours per use. This does require a subscription to be added to your anonymous or personal chipkaart. The subscription is virtually free if you don't use it. NS, who operates the system, only charges €0.01 annually to verify that your details are still correct and up-to-date.

Prices for the OV-fiets are €3.85 per use per 24 hours, adding another €3.85 for every 24 hours that pass after the initial 24. After 72 hours (3 days), an additional €5 will be charged. When returning the bike to a different location than the one you got it from will charge an additional €10. Renting the bike for more than three weeks? Consider buying a bike instead, as after 21 days, NS will charge you €250, which is an identical amount to theft of the bike when not being able to return the key. Any damages as a result of your own bad usage of the bike will be completely for you to pay.

In the case of a theft of the bike, you are expected to produce a police report. If you can hand over the key (as to prove you actually locked the bike), you will only be charged €50. If you cannot produce the key from somewhere, that fee will multiply a fivefold. Simply losing the key, whether it be through your own fault or through theft, will set you back €20. In other words, take good care of your bike and key!

You can obtain an OV-fiets, should you have the subscription activated, at any of the stations indicated as such on this page of the NS website. At these stations you will find any of the following kinds of OV-fiets rental points:

Guarded bike shelter (Bewaakte fietsenstalling):

Simple as can be: Find a bike in the shelter, often located by the exit, take it to the guard, who will then scan the bike or key, as well as your OV-chipkaart. When you return, all that needs to be done is for the guard to scan your bike again, after which they or you can put the bike back.

Guarded self-service bike shelter (Bewaakte zelfservice fietsenstalling):

The self-service bike shelter, as the name implies, is not staffed by humans. You are ought to instead scan the key and chipkaart yourself at the carousel at this bike shelter. The steps as needed will be displayed on the machine itself. Should the machine malfunction, you are ought to phone the NS customer support line (+31 037 515 155), the phone number for which can also be found on-site.

OV-fiets point (OV-fietspunt):

As of October 2019, there are three of these. They are found outside of stations, being found at the Janskerkhof in Utrecht, as well as the Wilhelminaplein and Marconiplein in Rotterdam. They are essentially bike racks full of OV-fietsen, with an added machine that lets you activate your subscription, as well as rent or return bikes.

OV-fiets locker (OV-fietskluis):

Exactly as the name implies. Again, you're working your way through a display on the machine after entering your OV-chipkaart. The display then shows the number of the locker you may open, which you do by forcing the handle up, which may require some force to be put into it. You take the bike, close the door again, and check the display whether the locker has been locked again. When returning a bike, you follow a similar process. If something is wrong with the bike, you can indicate so on the display, which will prevent the bike from being assigned to the next person to come along so long as the bike isn't fixed by NS maintenance staff.

OV-fiets carousel (OV-fietscarrousel):

Another automated system. Present your card and follow instructions on the display. After this, the carousel will spin and present you with a bike. After taking this bike, the door will close automatically. Returning the bike follows a similar process.

OV-fietsbox (OV-fietsbox):

Essentially a locker, though the bikes are locked together in a 'box', rather than individually in a locker. The action of getting a bike from one of these systems again requires you to present your card, after which the door to the box will open. Inside of the box, you follow the instructions presented on the display.

Universal for all of these except the guarded bike shelter, is that for renting or returning more than one bike, you restart the process for every bike.

Before departure, always check the tyre pressure and bikelights. If you return the bike within fifteen minutes, the payment will be cancelled, and you can get a different bike instead, which will initiate a new rental session.

Chipkaart funds edit

A simple charging point for the OV-chipkaart.

An NS ticket machine (left) and NS-styled ticket machine (right) for OV-chipkaart holders specifically.

Devices like these can be found in places such as supermarkets.

Personal and anonymous chipkaarten automatically work on funds on your card. When first getting a card, no funds will be present on the card. There are several options for topping up your funds on the card:

Ticket machines can be found most places you may want to use a chipkaart. Most of these are adapted versions of the NS-style machines. Using these as an example, you'll find a display to interact with in Dutch or English, and in some cases also German or French. These machines typically don't accept cash money (though those machines used for buses and trams might), so don't rely on them. They do instead accept debit and credit cards. These machines typically feature the bright pink pad in the lower right of their interfaces for you to present your chipkaart to.
Charging points can be found at smaller stations and halts. They usually only accept card payments, but also let you check your last few transactions.
Commercial points aren't meant to make a profit, as the name may imply. Instead, they're found in commercial places, most notably supermarkets. These too don't accept cash, and card payments may be available in limited forms.
On the road; some buses can feature a single 'special' card reader, which lets you check your balance. You can't load anything onto it, but it gives you insight into your usage instead.
Online; The OV-chipkaart website has a tool on their homepage that lets you directly check your credit by entering the 16-digit ID number on the card.
Mobile; The OV-chipkaart app, available for Android and iOS summarizes the essential tools found on the chipkaart website. Aside from letting you top up your credit, it also gives you the complete overview of transactions on your card(s), lets you correct missed checkouts, see service points nearby and can get you through to support lines directly. As of late 2019, the app can be switched to English, though if set to English, the text will remain in Dutch. In other words, the app is only available in Dutch.

What kind of service point is closes to you can be found on this website.

Other tools edit

These are tools and apps that aren't focussed around the OV-chipkaart itself, but rather the practical usage of them.

NS Reisplanner Xtra; as an app and tool on NS' website. Though not very widely applicable, being limited to trains, metros and light rail systems, the NS Reisplanner Xtra is the go-to route planner tool for many. Aside from predicting the cost of your journey, it will also present you with handy features such as seeing what kind of trains you will use on your journey, and, should NS' tests with the app work out successfully, will also show you which parts of the train are the least occupied.
9292; as an app and online tool. 9292 is the more broadly usable app, including all modes of transport by all operators in the Netherlands. Its data seems to occasionally take longer to update delays and other irregularities you may run into while travelling, but so long as you're not tight for time, it'll prove very usable.
Additionally, pretty much every operator in the country has their own website and app, which will happily report you the necessary information about your journey.