I’ve lost and later found my transport cards so many times I could build a deck of cards from them. If you’re like me, then there is good news coming – the public transport chip card may be gone by 2023!
I know, we’ve just got used to the ‘OV-chipcard’, right?
Van Veldhoven, the State Secretary, thinks it is time a more contemporary system was invoked. She believes having a more centralized system for the balance, such as a bank, is preferable to having to constantly load money onto the chip card.
Tests and trials
Replacement methods are still being suggested and tests and trials are currently being carried out. Once a system is decided upon, Van Veldhoven hopes that the new payment method can be rolled out within two years. It could be a banking card, your phone or who knows – Chinese face scanning or that zipcode tattooed in your neck. The minister did say that it would continue to be possible to check-in and travel anonymous.
If the new system performs well, the public transport chip card could then be abolished two years later, in 2023.
London success story
In London, contactless payments are already in place. Since early 2016, the proportion of pay-as-you-go journeys made through London’s contactless systems has risen from 25 to more than 50 per cent.
Need some tips and tricks on Public Transport in the Netherlands? Why not check out our guide to cheaper traintickets? Or this one on how to behave yourself in Dutch trains, or this one – on traveling first class with a Dutch train.
What do you think? Would you prefer paying with your bank card over an OV Chip Card?
Linking it to bank cards is not as simple as it sounds like. The major benefit of a transport card is that it provides you with versatility. On the OV card, you can load not only money but also different travel products, like discounts and subscriptions. That alone makes it worth it.
Most importantly – the government (and public transport) should work for everyone, not the majority. What about people who don’t have a smartphone? What if your smartphone is dead or you lost it? Changing the concept of having a transport card that works everywhere already would be a waste of money and time, in my opinion.