“Drastic” cuts looming for public transport: Higher fares, cuts to key routes

The government’s plans to cut over 335 million euros from public transport will result in ticket prices jumping by up to 20 percent and fewer buses, trains, trams, and metros on key routes, the industry association OV-NL warned. Travelers’ organization Rover is also sounding the alarm, warning that this will cause irreparable damage to public transport in the Netherlands.

The Cabinet is planning to annually cut 110 million euros from public transport in the large cities, and 225 million euros from the public transport student card.

“Tickets will become 15 to 20 percent more expensive if the government implements the planned cuts,” Hatte van der Woude of OV-NL said in the NOS Radio 1 Journaal. Travelers will notice lines canceled, stops removed, and buses and trains running less often, she warned. “Public transport companies in Groningen and Drenthe are already looking at where they can make the lines even thinner or even stop running them.”

Public transport is becoming more expensive due to fewer passengers since the pandemic and rising costs. “We are getting into a vicious circle in which public transport is unintentionally becoming less attractive,” Van der Woude said. “This has major consequences for people without a car, but also for the housing market and the economy.”

Rover also pointed out that fares are rising rapidly. NS increased ticket prices by 6 percent this year and plans another 10 percent bump on 1 January 2026. The travelers’ organization fears that the budget cuts will cause ticket prices to rise even further, while travelers get less and less for their money.

This will lead to “a dismantling of public transport as we know it,” Rover director Freek Bos told ANP. More people will opt for traveling with their own vehicles due to the high costs and greatly reduced supply, resulting in public transport companies having even fewer resources to keep things running. Rover warns of “transport poverty” for large groups of the population.

Van der Woude shares this concern. “This is the Cabinet of accessibility of the region, which wants to solve the housing crisis and staff shortages - these are all issues for which you need good public transport,” she told the radio program.