Photo: Oxyman via Wikimedia Commons
The public transport smart card OV chipkaart may not continue in its current form, caretaker junior transport minister Stientje van Veldhoven has told transport companies.
The junior minister wants a more ‘modern’ system which will give users the option of using their bank card or mobile phone to pay for a trip on bus, tram of train. The current card, which needs to have an amount of money of it to be able to travel, is also relatively expensive Van Veldhoven said.
Public transport travel without an account, for instance for tourists, will still be possible, the junior minister said.
The new payment methods are being tested at the moment and will be introduced in 2023 on condition that they are more user-friendly than the current card, a spokesman for the transport ministry told broadcaster NOS.
The old card could possibly be replaced by a new type of public transport card but it wouldn’t be the only way of paying, he said.
A Dutch rail spokesman said the smart card will probably not be phased out. ‘People who want to keep using that method will probably be able to continue using it but they will probably need a new card [to do so],’ he said.
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