Netherlands Transportation Card OV-chipkaart

score:6

Accepted answer

There is an English version of the OV-chipkaart website: https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/home-1.htm

In my experience, not a whole lot of companies will give out a business card. Also, it is not possible to buy a subscription for unlimited access in both buses and trains. The OV-chipkaart can be used for both trains and buses but there is no subscription that covers unlimited use for both as they are different companies.

For trains you will need an NS subscription, for buses you will need a Connexxion subscription.

Try to figure out what you will need to use most and which will be most expensive. Complete unlimited use is quite expensive though, unlimited access to buses in Utrecht is about 500 euro a year.

For information about NS subscriptions: https://www.ns.nl/producten/en/abonnementen

And a general tip; get a personalised card, not an anonymous one. It has a lot of benefits such as being able to review your expenses and remote updating.

Upvote:4

Around Utrecht there is another option, which ties in to the OV-chipcard, which is to get a montly subscription to the regional transport network "U-OV".

You could get for instance the U-OV Gemak Utrecht Stad Maand, i.e. "U-OV Comfort Utrecht City Month" at https://webshop.u-ov.info/nl_NL/webshop/product/details/product/60/tariff/221. It gives you free transport in the area bounded by the 4 highways around Utrecht, for a fixed fee (around 80-90 euro IIRC). This is fine if you travel around the centre of Utrecht, not so much if you need to visit the suburbs like Nieuwegein every day.

There are some caveats: you need to have certain products on your chipcard, and NOT have certain other products, otherwise you can't buy the product. You also have to have the card already, otherwise you (again) can't buy the product. It's probably best to contact them by phone during business hours and discuss the matter or go to their office with the card and have them help you get the right items.

Upvote:6

If you take the train every day, it is best to get a season ticket for the specific route you're using, e.g. a Traject Vrij Monthly card. It is sent to you by mail on its own chip card, and payments are by automatic bank transfer each month (you can see the bills online). Cost depends on the destination.

These cards cover all kinds of public transport, any travel you use them for that's not in your fixed route is added to your monthly bill automatically.

It's going to be hard to order this from abroad (for instance because of the need for a local bank account), so use a normal card at first.

However, if you already have a job lined up, ask them. Business cards with season tickets loaded on them are a thing, and many companies reimburse travel costs like these.

More post

Search Posts

Related post