Rover regrets the decision by NS to abolish the afternoon rush hour discount as of 1 January 2021 within the benefit hours subscription (VDU). Rover and the other consumer organizations in the Locov have negative comments on the abolition advised. In the same opinion, Rover called for collaboration with other carriers. At the time, they expressed concerns about:
“The uncoordinated introduction of postpay by the entire public transport sector. This creates an unclear offer with frequent restrictions for public transport chain travelers (train and metro / tram / bus) with limitations that are difficult to explain. ”
A large part of the other NS season tickets will be transferred to NS Flex by 2021, whereby the rail passenger will pay for the journey afterwards. Rover is positive about these new subscriptions and had a nice finger in the pie when they were introduced. Rover would rather see NS tempt VDU cardholders to voluntarily switch to NS Flex instead of cutting back on the subscription.
NS advised negatively about the abolition
“VDU season ticket holders are loyal customers of NS. By abolishing the VDU subscription, we expect that many customers will reconsider whether they want a subscription at all. If they decide not to take a new subscription, this will increase the barrier for these customers to travel by train ”, the advice to NS states.
Rover and the other consumer organizations have advised NS negatively on the abolition of the VDU card. After the negative advice, NS decided to keep the discount hours subscription including Keuzedagen, but to cancel the afternoon rush hour.
To “compensate”, NS reduces the subscription fee by € 7, which is disproportionate to the loss of discount. Rover therefore receives many complaints about this change. Many travelers see the changes as a form of breach of contract.
However, NS may implement these kinds of changes in accordance with the product conditions. VDU cardholders will still receive notice from NS and will therefore have the opportunity to cancel the subscription immediately if they wish and to receive a proportionate refund of the subscription fee.
Also read: According to Rover, the traveler is a producer and owner of public transport data