How handy is this if you occasionally travel by public transport.
It started as a trial, but in more and more places in the Netherlands you can check in and out in public transport with your contactless debit card, mobile phone or credit card instead of with your OV chip card. This payment system is called OVpay. You can already use this in the buses of Arriva and Hermes in Brabant and in the city buses in Lelystad and the Arriva trains in Friesland and Groningen.
You can also check in and out on Connexxion buses with a contactless debit card, mobile phone or credit card in Lelystad, Gooi en Vechtstreek, Zwolle, Zaanstreek, Haarlem-IJmond, Haaglanden (including Delft), Voorne-Putten & Rozenburg, Amstelland- Meerlanden, Haarlem-IJmond, Groningen-Drenthe and North Holland North.
You can also check in and out on the Qbuzz buses in Groningen and Drenthe with your contactless debit card, credit card or mobile phone. Travelers in Twente can use this easy payment method in all major regional buses of Twents (part of Keolis).
How handy is this if you occasionally travel by public transport. No more hassle with purchasing an e-ticket or charging an OV chip card. You hold your contactless debit card, mobile phone or credit card against the gate or card reader when boarding and you hear a beep as soon as you have checked in. When you get out, you repeat the same action and as soon as you hear a beep you are checked out.
The payment is automatic, you will see the debited amount with the description NLOV in your payment overview the next day. The price for traveling with your debit card, mobile phone or credit card is the same as traveling with your OV chip card without a discount or subscription. Travelers with a subscription or students will have to wait a little longer before they can use this convenience. OVpay is an initiative of all public transport companies in the Netherlands: Arriva, EBS, GVB, HTM, Keolis, NS, Qbuzz, RET and Transdev.
Photo above: Dutchmen Photography/ Shutterstock.com.
