Goodbye OV card, hello paying for Dutch public transport with phone or bank card!

The OV chipkaart issuer Translink announced the introduction of a new public transport payment system. 

If you’ve been enjoying the perks of having a personal OV chipkaart in the Netherlands, you may be sad to find out that the days of this piece of plastic are coming to an end, but happy to see that something better is coming to replace it.

The new system replacing OV chipkaart — OVpay — will allow travellers to use their debit cards and smartphones for public transport. The system is to be introduced next year, reports RTL Nieuws

Work in progress

OVpay is currently being tested on city buses in Lelystad. Once all the bugs are fixed, the rest of the country can follow. 

According to the spokesperson for Translink, Gerbrant Corbee, “60,000 gates and card readers will already be adapted this year for OVpay.”

Public transport companies are investing 100 million euros in the transition to offer customers more convenience.  

“OVpay is a more modern solution that offers travelers easy, fast and safe public transport,” says the chairman of the umbrella organisation OV-NL (Openbaar Vervoer Nederland) Pedro Peters.

Are you sad to see the good old OV chipkaart go or are you looking forward to this new system? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: Alwin Croon/Unsplash

Jana Vondráčková 🇨🇿
Jana Vondráčková 🇨🇿
Originally from the Czech Republic, Jana moved to the Netherlands for her studies. Seven years in the flattest country in Europe has brought her a Masters in Environmental Management, experience in content creation, projects, partnership coordination, and about 20 ideas on how to deal with Dutch winter blues (most of which didn’t work). Her love for the local cycling culture is undying — but she finally knows better than to hop on a bike in a typical Dutch downpour.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Sad? But why would anyone be sad? I dont have to worry about carrying another card anymore and can have a card payment added to my mobile. It’s a massive reason to celebrating rather than feel sad about it.

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