Imagine this: You grab an OV-fiets for a quick spin, cycle home like a responsible human, and return the bike dutifully to their return locations. All good, right?
Wrong.
Because in the magical world of the NS, your properly returned bike may still be marked as “missing”, and a few days later, you’re slapped with a €350 fine. Surprise! 🎉
Locked in… but not really
RTL reports that since 2021, the NS has been rolling out shiny new electronic locks on their OV-fiets. Fancy? Sure. Foolproof? Not even close.
In just the past six months, NS has issued over 4,300 fines for supposedly unreturned bikes.
Out of those, at least 300 each month were wrongly charged — meaning hundreds of innocent travellers are paying the price for a system flaw.
Here’s the catch: you use your OV-chipkaart to unlock the bike, but locking it again? That’s a whole different ritual.
You have to manually close the lock, no card required. If you forget, or it doesn’t click quite right, NS’s system acts like you’ve stolen the bike.
Next thing you know, your supposedly “missing” bike is chilling safely in NS’s own storage shed, while your inbox welcomes a €350 fine.
Oh, and if you don’t pay right away? Your transport card gets blocked and collection agencies come knocking. Cosy.
How do you fix it?
Well, you don’t. Instead, you have to:
- Call NS customer service (maybe multiple times)
- File a false theft report at the police (yes, really)
- Wait weeks for a refund
- Still be down €350 in the meantime
All for returning a bike on time. 🧘
NS says: “Oops, we see your point”
Responding to RTL, the NS admits that “the electronic lock is new and works very differently than what everyone is used to from home. This will take some getting used to for passengers, but also for NS.”
They’ve promised to improve things. They’ve even said there’s a “leniency scheme”, though they admit that “this hasn’t always gone smoothly recently.”
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Despite all the chaos, NS is doubling down and continuing to roll out more electronic locks. Because what’s a little public outrage when you can go fully digital?
Have you ever had a fine to pay because of these annoying locks? Tell us in the comments below.
